Washington – Timothy E. Flanigan on Friday withdrew his nomination to be deputy attorney general amid a delay in his confirmation because of his dealings with indicted Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Flanigan, a senior lawyer for Tyco International Ltd., wrote to President Bush that he was withdrawing because of “uncertainty concerning the timing of my confirmation.”
Meanwhile, the Bush administration’s former chief procurement official pleaded not guilty Friday to charges that he made false statements and obstructed investigations into Abramoff.
David Safavian entered the plea at a brief arraignment in U.S. District Court in Washington.
Barbara Van Gelder, Safavian’s attorney, said prosecutors want to use her client to advance their investigation of Abramoff. Safavian answered investigators’ questions until he was arrested last month, Van Gelder said.
“To go from being a good administration employee to being arrested in a weekend is an overwhelmingly distressing occurrence,” Van Gelder said. “He is justifiably bewildered by the whole process.”
Flanigan was facing a second hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, requested by the panel’s Democrats. It was expected to focus on Abramoff’s lobbying on behalf of Tyco.
Lawmakers also have raised questions about Flanigan’s role, while he was deputy White House counsel, in crafting administration policy allowing aggressive interrogation techniques to be used on detainees in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Some Democrats said they would prefer that Bush put a former federal prosecutor in the deputy’s spot.
