David Safavian gets about half the sentence prosecutors were recommending. Still, it’s hard to spin this asgood news for the Bush Assministration.
Former White House official David Safavian was sentenced to 18 months in prison for lying and obstructing justice in the investigation of disgraced Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
[snip]
“This was an abuse of the public’s trust,” U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman said in imposing sentence today in Washington.
That’s no problem. The president will be in the lame duck part of his term, and 18 months from now, Safavian can emerge tan, rested, and ready to join the final drive for the ’08 campaign…