Though she pleaded guilty earlier this year to taking official actions because of tickets and meals given to her by lobbyists, a former Senate staffer said today in testimony that her actions would have been the same with or without the gifts. Ann Copland, a legislative aide to Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., for nearly 30 years, testified this morning in the trial of Kevin Ring, a former associate of Jack Abramoff.

"The receipt of the tickets and the meals made the lobbyists more accessible to me, and I took official actions during that time. I knew it was their job to influence me," Copland said during cross-examination by the defense. But she insisted that no single action was taken "because of the tickets."

While in Cochran's office, Copland worked primarily on issues concerning the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, a lobbying client of Ring and "Team Abramoff."

Copland said that she would have taken the same actions she took for the Choctaw whether their concerns were brought to her by the lobbyists or directly from the tribe.

"I can't imagine not helping the Choctaw," she said. "They were constituents."

Copland said that she also received gifts directly from the Choctaw -- plane tickets, hotel suites, spa visits and art items -- but those gifts were permitted under an exception to the Senate rules that allowed gifts from Native American tribes and other government entities. She said her boss, Cochran, likely knew about those gifts, but she did not tell him about the tickets she received from the lobbying firm because "he would not approve."

Copland characterized Ring as a policy wonk who understood the political process "sometimes better than I understood it." Ring continued working with Copland on Choctaw-related issues after the Abramoff scandal emerged, and he moved to a new lobbying firm, Barnes & Thornburg, where he no longer provided Copland with tickets or meals.

Copland's testimony has now concluded. Greg Harris of the Department of Justice will testify next about Team Abramoff's lobbying of the agency. Todd Boulanger, a lobbying associate of Ring and Abramoff, is also expected to begin testimony this afternoon.