September 23, 2005

The David Safavian, Grover Norquist, Chris Cannon connection

From "David Hossein Safavian: From the White House to the Jail House":

Last Monday, David Hossein Safavian, a high-ranking White House official and pal of GOP powerbroker Grover Norquist, was arrested in a federal corruption case involving lobbying bad boy Jack Abramoff. According to the FBI, Safavian repeatedly lied to federal investigators in order to cover up Abramoff's shady dealings. He not only bent ethics rules to accompany Abramoff on a 2002 golf junket to Scotland; he also used his position as chief of staff at the General Services Administration to deliver GSA-managed land into the lobbyist's hands.

For more on Norquist, see "Will Bush give Katrina rebuilding jobs... to illegal aliens?" and "Chris Cannon, Grover Norquist, WSJ, Fox News all linked together?"

But Safavian's not just tied to a dirty lobbyist. He's also tied to a convicted terrorist and a suspected terrorist supporter. Lobbying disclosure forms revealed last year that he has been in the employ of Abdurahman Alamoudi, an avowed supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah. Prosecutors have discovered evidence that he has links to al-Qaeda. At the time, Safavian waved aside any affiliation to Alamoudi. He insisted that he was really lobbying for a client named Jamal al Barzinji. That revelation did little to clear Safavian's name: A federal affidavit identifies Barzinji as the ringleader of a group suspected of aiding terrorists.

What's worse, Safavian has demonstrated a pattern of concealing all these ties in order to gain access to sensitive positions in the government; and despite this pattern of dishonesty and despite serious security concerns, both the Senate and the agencies that have hired him have given him a pass...

..."I think he will do a great job for the American people in this job," testified Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, who had previously employed Safavian as a top aide. "I would like to second what Chris Cannon has said," added Rep. John Conyers, D-Michigan, who brought along his chief of staff and two lawyers to add to his cheering section...

Extensive coverage of Cannon starts here.

Posted to Politics at September 23, 2005 10:47 AM

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