Safavian, 38, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson in federal court.
His attorney, Barbara Van Gelder, has said that prosecutors are using the charges against Safavian to try to build their case against Abramoff, who was an influential lobbyist but now is under investigation for his practices.
Safavian has been charged with eight counts of obstructing and lying to investigators looking into a golf trip Safavian took with Abramoff to the St. Andrews golf course in Scotland in August 2002. At the time, Safavian was chief of staff to the administrator of the General Services Administration, which manages federal property.
According to court documents, Safavian told investigators with the GSA and the Senate Indian Affairs Committee that Abramoff had no business before GSA when they took the golf trip. However, e-mails at the time show he was advising Abramoff in acquiring property in Maryland and rental space in Washington.
Safavian was the head of procurement policy at the White House Office of Management and Budget until he resigned Sept. 16, three days before his arrest. He was released on his own recognizance. Safavian was chief of staff for Cannon, R-Utah, from January 2001 to May 2002, when he left to work at GSA.
- Robert Gehrke
