US aide lied about lobbyist links

Safavian was chief of staff at the General Services Administration

A jury in the United States has found a former top Bush administration aide, David Safavian, guilty of lying about his ties to a disgraced lobbyist.

The trial was the first connected to the scandal surrounding lobbyist Jack Abramoff, convicted fraud, tax evasion and bribing public officials.

Abramoff is now helping prosecutors with their corruption inquiry.

Safavian resigned last year from his post as the US government's chief procurement officer.

The jury found Safavian guilty on four counts of lying and obstructing justice.

It was the culmination of eight days which included testimony and e-mails to support the prosecution case that Safavian had lied about his links to Abramoff.

Safavian was one of the officials who travelled on a now infamous golfing trip to Scotland, paid for by Abramoff.

Once one of the most powerful lobbyists in Washington DC, Abramoff pleaded guilty in January to fraud, tax evasion and bribery charges.

That guilty plea sparked speculation that several members of Congress could potentially find themselves indicted and prompted Democrats to denounce what they called a Republican culture of corruption.

But the BBC's James Coomarasamy in Washington says that is a phrase which has been heard less frequently in recent months.