Ensign won’t return campaign donations

Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2005 | 11:04 a.m.

SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON -- Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., will not return campaign donations from a figure embroiled in the controversy surrounding former lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

The donations from former Bush administration procurement official David Safavian total $3,024 and were made to Ensign's 1998 and 2000 Senate campaigns, according to Ensign campaign adviser Mike Slanker. Ensign ran unsuccessfully for Senate in 1998 against Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., but won his race two years later to fill the seat of retiring Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev.

The money cannot be returned because the money was spent long ago, Ensign campaign adviser Mike Slanker said.

"The way federal campaigns are set up, this money went into an account that doesn't exist anymore," Slanker said. "This money doesn't exist anymore."

Safavian was arrested Sept. 19 in connection with a federal investigation into Abramoff that originally stemmed from Abramoff's questionable dealings with his Indian casino clients. Safavian, a longtime friend of Abramoff and former lobbying colleague, served recently as chief of staff of the U.S. General Services Administration. He was questioned as part of a federal probe into Abramoff's dealings with the government.

Safavian was charged with making false statements to a GSA ethics officer and the agency's inspector general about Abramoff's dealings with GSA.