Many of the tribes had casinos and connections to Safavian's firm. Among them the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, an Alpine, Calif., tribe, which Safavian represented in 2000, and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, which he represented in 1999, according to federal lobbying records.

A few months after the Viejas band gave Cannon $2,000, Cannon took their side in a dispute with another tribe that wanted to open a rival casino.

"I believe the Viejas tribe wanted to avoid competition, and I wanted to prevent new gambling," Cannon said in response to questions from the Associated Press.

In 2003, gambling opponents raised more questions when Cannon — an outspoken gambling foe — worked against a bill that would have cracked down on illegal Internet gambling.

Although Safavian had left Cannon's office a year before, anti-gambling groups pointed out that Safavian's clients — and Cannon's donors — had included the online gaming industry as well as the Indian tribes with casinos.

"It was suspicious," said Tom Grey, executive director of the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling, who was dismayed that an anti-gambling congressman worked against the bill.

Cannon opposed the Internet gambling bill because, he said, it would have pre-empted state law and legalized gambling in Utah.

Cannon was involved in other issues supported by Safavian's clients. In 2001, for example, he introduced the "Music Online Competition Act," which sought to relax copyright rules for digital recordings. The online music company Napster was a Janus-Merritt client in 2001, according to lobbying records.

He supported the music online competition bill because he has long been a supporter of "micro-payments" — payments for an online song. "The Napster model was the most likely to make micro-payments work," Cannon said.

In addition to campaign donations from former Safavian clients, Cannon has also received thousands of dollars from Abramoff, Safavian and other lobbying associates.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, lobbyists contributed more than any other industry to Cannon in the last two campaign cycles — $22,287 of the $352,009 he received in 2002 and $33,250 of the $640,259 he raised in 2004.

In response to questions from the Associated Press, Cannon said people donate to his campaign because they like his position on issues, not the reverse.

Cannon said he considers Safavian and Abramoff friends, but his votes were never influenced by them.

"My votes regarding gambling are consistent," he said. "I am also active on other tribal issues, especially tribal sovereignty."