by Jerome Armstrong
Whoa, even the cynic whose watched these crooks in action for 5 years has to step back a bit with the latest:
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.
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.
Via Jesse at the DCCC (and he's got lots more), to Frontpage. This is a good timeline of Safavain, if you are just hearing about it and want to catch up. Granted, FrontPageMag is a rag Horowitz joint, but this is factual stuff. I bet John Conyers is feeling a bit used by now, and Carl Levin, wtf? The patron Norquist and his old pal Karl Rove hear footsteps.
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