Rep. Charles Taylor (R-North Carolina) says he met with members of Team Abramoff a month before he sought $3 million for one of Jack Abramoff's wealthy tribal clients.

Taylor told The Asheville Citizen-Times that he met with �five or six� lobbyists from the Greenberg Traurig firm for lunch in April 2003. He says the lunch may have taken place at the Signatures restaurant in Washington.

Taylor says he doesn't remember if Abramoff attended. But two days later, Abramoff donated $2,000, and two of Abramoff's associates each donated $500.

A month after the meeting, Taylor pressed the Bush administration to set aside $3 million for the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan even though the wealthy tribe didn't qualify for school construction funds. But Taylor said the donations he received had nothing to do with his support for a program that also benefits the Eastern Band of Cherokees, a tribe in his district.

Taylor is chairman of the House Interior Appropriations subcommittee, which oversees Indian funding.

Get the Story:
Taylor: Meeting not for cash (The Asheville Citizen-Times 4/19)

Saginaw Chippewa Letter:
Dear Congressional Appropriators (April 6, 2006)

Relevant Links:
Rep. Charles Taylor - http://charlestaylor.house.gov
House Appropriations Committee - http://appropriations.house.gov

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