The Washington Post reports that David Safavian, a former Bush Administration official, former chief of staff of the General Services Administration (GSA), and ex-White House budget office appointee, was sentenced to 18 months in prison Friday. He was “convicted of lying and obstructing justice in connection with the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal that has ensared Republicans.” The paper reports:

Besides the Iraq war, ethics breaches have dominated many Senate and House of Representatives campaigns, allowing Democrats to accuse Republicans of fostering a “culture of corruption” in Washington.

Safavian was described as tearful as he addressed U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman.

The post continues, “In another Abramoff case, Ohio Republican Rep. Bob Ney pleaded guilty on October 13 to illegally accepting trips, meals and other items worth tens of thousands of dollars in return for doing favors for Abramoff and his clients.”

I wonder if President Bush will admit to knowing either Safavian or Ney?

I’d love to know what the international community thinks of our president.