Former Procurement Chief’s Conviction Overturned A federal appeals court has ordered a new trial for David Safavian, the former administrator of federal procurement policy who was the first Bush administration official convicted in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. A Washington jury found Safavian guilty two years ago of lying and obstructing justice by concealing his relationship with Abramoff and the lobbyist’s relationship with GSA, where Safavian was chief of staff. Safavian was Abramoff’s guest on a 2002 trip to the famed St. Andrews golf course in Scotland. The three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit overturned the convictions, saying “the government cites no regulation or form or statute” that required Safavian to tell everything he knew to the GSA ethics office or to investigators. In the unanimous opinion, Judge A. Raymond Randolph wrote, “The government essentially asks us to hold that once an individual starts talking, he cannot stop.” Attorney Barbara Van Gelder, who defended Safavian at his trial, said she hopes prosecutors will not try him again. “David Safavian has been destroyed by this,’’ she told the Associated Press. ‘’He has been debarred. He’s been unemployable and he’s been seen as a villain. This is vindication.’’ It is less than total vindication. The appeals court found there was “sufficient evidence” to convict Safavian on one charge of obstruction of justice: that he told an investigator he had paid Abramoff $3,100 to cover the full cost of his trip to Scotland. Prosecutors said Safavian must have known the trip cost much more, since his greens fees alone amounted to at least $2,400. He could be retried on that charge. He could also be retried on two charges of concealing facts and making false statements when he told investigators that Abramoff had no business with GSA. Before the trip Safavian had given Abramoff information about two GSA properties that the lobbyist was interested in. Safavian contended his statement was true because Abramoff had no contract with GSA. A Justice Department spokesman said it is reviewing the ruling. Safavian was sentenced to 18 months in prison, but has remained free pending his appeal.