Ex-Senate aide (to Thad Cochran) charged in Abramoff scandal

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090220/ap_on_go_ot/abramoff_senate_aide

Ex-Senate aide charged in Abramoff scandal


WASHINGTON – A former aide to Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran has been charged in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.

Court documents filed Friday say Ann Copland took gifts from Abramoff and other lobbyists, including thousands of dollars worth of event tickets and meals out in Washington.

Prosecutors say the gifts were in exchange for her help getting favors for a top Abramoff client, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.

Charges against Copland were outlined in a legal document called a criminal information, which only can be filed with the defendant's consent and typically signals a plea deal.

Copland abruptly left Cochran's office last spring after Abramoff prosecutors had netted a dozen convictions in the scandal.