A former associate of ex-lobbyists Kevin Ring and Jack Abramoff said in testimony at Ring's trial Thursday that other lobbying firms used the same tools used by "Team Abramoff," that many of the controversial statements made by Ring in e-mails were jokes, and that a Department of Justice official allegedly bribed by Ring was not a decision-maker on a crucial project. All three of these claims are key pillars of the defense's argument.

During cross-examination by the defense, Todd Boulanger, a former member of Team Abramoff, said that when he took officials to sporting events and restaurants, he often saw congressional staffers accompanied by lobbyists from other firms.

Ring's attorney, Andrew Wise, had argued in his opening statement that Ring's lobbying practices were commonplace: "Don't buy into the idea that this was somehow a rogue operation and no one else was doing it."

Wise had also argued in his opening statement that many of Ring's e-mails, which make up a large part of the government's evidence, were jokes, not proof of the defendant's actions or intentions. Witnesses in the trial, however, have so far not fully corroborated that. Neil Volz, another former associate on Abramoff's lobbying team, said that "some elements" of the e-mails were jokes but other elements were not.

But Boulanger on Thursday insisted that most of the e-mails in question were indeed nothing more than jokes. "We all sent some fairly outrageous e-mails," he said. He did admit, however, that one e-mail, in which Ring wrote that a DOJ official could "pay us back" for receiving a basketball ticket, was not a joke.

Wise also asked Boulanger about the role played by Robert Coughlin, a former liaison in the DOJ's Office of Legislative Affairs, in deciding a federal grant issue to fund a jail for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, a Team Abramoff client.

"He wasn't the one who made the decision on our specific issue," Boulanger said.

The prosecution is contending that Coughlin, during the time when he was receiving sports tickets from Ring, assisted Team Abramoff with information on how to obtain the jail-building grant from the DOJ. But the defense maintains that because Coughlin did not make the final decision on the jail grant, no official act was swapped for the tickets.

Wise also tried to distance Ring and Abramoff, asking Boulanger if they had a "rocky relationship."

"They had their ups and downs," Boulanger confirmed.

Wise's cross-examination of Boulanger continues today. Two other witnesses, DOJ official Su Daly and Jason Hickox, former vice president of the company that owned Abramoff's restaurant, Signatures, remain in the prosecution's presentation of evidence.