From December 2004 to October 2006, he was an adviser to President Traian Băsescu on matters of domestic policy; subsequently, until March 2007, he directed the Foreign Intelligence Service (SIE).
Among the publications that have featured Săftoiu's work are România Literară, Curentul, Azi, Convorbiri literare, Dilema, Curierul romanesc; and he authored a book in 2003, Jurnalismul politic – manipularea politicienilor prin mass-media, manipularea mass-media de către politicieni ("Political Journalism - Manipulation of Politicians by the Mass Media, Manipulation of the Mass Media by Politicians").
In the early 2000s, he worked as a consultant, offering a number of training courses in media communications and campaign management, as well as advising the World Bank on the feasibility of developing the Jiu Valley.
Săftoiu later attempted to clarify his remarks, asserting that he had not referred exclusively to SIE activities, but he was nonetheless forced to resign by the scandal that ensued.
[12] Two months later, in an interview on Vorbe grele, he claimed that elements within the intelligence services do the "dirty work" of the "supreme person", hinting but not explicitly stating that this individual is Băsescu.