And that Coushatta Chairman Lovelin Poncho also denied it...til his signature was on one of the cashed checks, then he 'fessed up to being at the WH meeting...the meeting that the WH denied happened.
http://www.indianz.com/News/2005/008614.aspBut a spokesperson said the White House has no records that the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana or the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians attended the May 9, 2001, meeting, the Associated Press reported. The tribes each gave $25,000 to cover the $100,000 cost of the event. However, former Coushatta Chairman Lovelin Poncho has confirmed that he attended the meeting. But Choctaw Chief Philip Martin did not, an attorney for the tribe said.
The Coushattas and the Choctaws gave the money to Americans for Tax Reform, records show. The group is headed by Grover Norquist, an associate of Bush's, and is fighting a subpoena as part of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee investigation into Abramoff.
http://www.indianz.com/News/2005/008594.aspCorrection: The two tribes *and* two corporate sponsors paid a total of $100,000. The Choctaws, like the Coushattas, only paid $25,000.
The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians paid a total of $50,000 to attend a White House meeting with President George W. Bush, The Texas Observer reports.
The Coushattas paid $25,000 and the Choctaws paid $75,000. The money went to Americans for Tax Reform, an anti-tax group headed by Grover Norquist, a Republican activist with close ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the White House.
Outgoing Coushatta Chairman Lovelin Poncho initially denied attending a "one-on-one" meeting with Bush. But his signature appeared on a check to ATR and he later recalled that he went to the White House where "Bush made some general comments about Indian policy but did not discuss Indian gaming," The Observer reports.