June 17 (Bloomberg) -- A U.S. appeals court ordered a new trial for former White House official David Safavian, overturning his conviction for lying and obstructing justice in the probe of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Safavian, 40, was convicted by a jury in June 2006 of hiding his efforts to help Abramoff win government business while he was deputy chief of staff at the General Services Administration. He was also convicted of obstructing an investigation into a golfing trip he and Abramoff took to Scotland. Safavian was sentenced to 18 months in prison and was free on bond pending the appeal.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit agreed with Safavian that he had no legal obligation to disclose information about his assistance to Abramoff when he sought a GSA ethics panel's opinion about an offer from Abramoff for a free ride on a jet.

``If an employee violates a standard of conduct, he may be subject to disciplinary action,'' Judge Raymond Randolph wrote for the three-judge panel in an opinion released today. ``We cannot see how this translates into criminal liability.''

The court also said Safavian should have been allowed to present an expert witness to bolster his argument that Abramoff's contacts with GSA didn't amount to doing business with the agency at the time of the golf trip.

Safavian was the first person sentenced in the corruption investigation that also led to a guilty plea by Representative Bob Ney, an Ohio Republican who joined the golf trip to Scotland. Abramoff pleaded guilty in January 2006 to fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to corrupt public officials and has yet to be sentenced.

`Completely Debilitated'

``This is a certain amount of justice for David but it still is a process that has completely debilitated him and his family,'' said his lawyer, Barbara Van Gelder. ``He is basically unemployable.'' She said she hopes the government will ``take a good, hard look'' at whether he should be tried again.

Justice Department spokeswoman Laura Sweeney said the agency is reviewing the decision. She made no further comment.

Safavian left the GSA after getting an appointment from President George W. Bush to the Office of Management and Budget. He served as the government's top procurement officer until September 2005, when he resigned several days before his arrest.

The case is U.S. v. Safavian, 05cr370, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

To contact the reporter on this story: Cary O'Reilly in Washington at caryoreilly@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 17, 2008 14:44 EDT