A former House staffer testified in former lobbyist Kevin Ring's federal trial today that he knew it was wrong to take gifts from Ring, and when the Jack Abramoff scandal emerged, he recognized the illegality of his actions. Ring, who worked under Ambramoff, faces a variety of charges, including conspiring to provide illegal gratuities.

"I went to work thinking, 'I'm going to do something I think is wrong today,'" John Albaugh, former chief of staff to former Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Okla., said of the period between 2003 and 2004 when he received tickets and meals from Ring while helping Ring secure earmarks to fund projects for clients. Albaugh said he continued despite knowing the wrongfulness of his actions because he wanted to help Istook be "successful." Ring was a major political donor to Istook, and he helped plan fundraisers for the congressman.

After the investigations into Abramoff started, "I began to be concerned I may have broken the law," Albaugh said in his testimony. "I had terrors in the night.... I suffered. I knew I had broken the law."

The FBI searched Albaugh's house in April 2008, which Albaugh said did not surprise him.

"When my wife came to me and said, 'The FBI is here,' I knew what they were there for," he said.

After agreeing to cooperate with the government in their investigation, Albaugh regained a "peace in my soul I didn't have for a number of years," he said.

Albaugh pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit honest services fraud last year. He named Ring as his co-conspirator in his testimony.

In his cross-examination of the witnesses, Ring's attorney, Andrew Wise, cast doubt on the trustworthiness of Albaugh's testimony. He called into question Albaugh's recollection of dates and events -- Albaugh repeatedly answered "I don't know" to his questions about specific lunches and sporting events -- and questioned whether he favored earmarks that would benefit his brother's business dealings in South Carolina.

Wise also questioned Albaugh's loyalty to his former employer in describing a phone call Albaugh made to Istook that was secretly recorded by the FBI as part of his cooperation with the government. Istook did not make any incriminating statements during the call, Albaugh confirmed.

Court has recessed for today. Wise will continue cross-examining Albaugh on Friday morning. The judge, defense and prosecution will meet this afternoon to determine whether two potential witnesses for the defense, David and Laura Ayres, can invoke the Fifth Amendment to avoid testifying. Lawyers for the Department of Justice said last week that they have not named the Ayreses as co-conspirators in the case, but it is possible that they are concerned about self-incrimination in relation to a tax issue.