Congressional Democrats said on Tuesday that the arrest of a former senior White House budget official involved in organizing the federal response to Hurricane Katrina demonstrated the need for an independent investigation of the government's reaction to the disaster, especially since the official is married to a leading Republican Congressional aide.
The official, David H. Safavian, 38, a lawyer who was chief of procurement policy in the Office of Management and Budget until he resigned on Friday, was arrested Monday on charges of lying to federal investigators about his relationship with Jack Abramoff, a Washington lobbyist at the center of a corruption investigation at the Justice Department.
Mr. Safavian, who is free without bail, was also accused of lying about a 2002 golfing trip he took with Mr. Abramoff, a former lobbying partner, when Mr. Safavian worked at the General Services Administration.
Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the House Democratic leader, said the arrest of Mr. Safavian undermined the credibility of a House Republican plan to investigate the troubled hurricane-relief effort through a committee to be led by Representative Thomas M. Davis III, Republican of Virginia. Mr. Safavian's wife, Jennifer, is chief counsel for oversight and investigations on the House Government Reform Committee, which Mr. Davis leads.
"Spouses are not responsible for their counterpart's activities," Ms. Pelosi said at a news conference. "But I do say when there is a direct link to the White House and procurement and the investigation that this committee is supposed to conduct, then I think that really shatters all sense of confidence."
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