Convicted WH Official: I Don’t Want to Go to Jail

David Safavian, the former White House official convicted for lying to ethics officials and Senate investigators about his ties to Jack Abramoff, is up for sentencing today.

Newsflash! He doesn’t want to go to jail. He actually wept while he asked the judge for leniency.

The problem, as the judge sees it, is that despite being convicted, Safavian has refused to admit any responsibility for his actions. He’s not really guilty. He was duped! Just like Bob Ney.

From the AP:

At sentencing Friday, Safavian apologized for giving the appearance of impropriety but said it was not fraudulent.

“Yes, Jack Abramoff was a friend but he wasn’t my coconspirator and I wasn’t his,” Safavian said. “There was no conspiracy to defraud anyone, least of all the taxpayers.”

Safavian didn’t say, however, what U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman wanted to hear. Early in the hearing, Friedman told defense attorneys he was leaning toward a sentence of 15-21 months in prison and was not convinced Safavian had accepted responsibility for his crimes.

“Get up here and tell me, ‘I agree I concealed. I agree I obstructed justice,'” Friedman said earlier in the day. “I don’t believe he’s done that.”

Safavian’s sentence should be in shortly.

Update: The sentence comes down: 18 months in prison.