Now, for the first time, someone with inside knowledge of the gatherings is speaking out, in an exclusive interview with CBS4.Former Republican AG Cynthia Coffman, who endorsed Weiser's re-election bid, says events like this are about problem-solving not influence-peddling.Coffman and Weiser say they paid for everything but food and drink when they attended the annual conference in Hawaii."The whole idea of paying for access and paying for what they perceive to be influence is what makes the average person look at these things and say this is part of a rigged system.Especially, he says, when you're the people's attorney and the people you represent are excluded from the gatherings: "If you're an advocate for survivors of opioids or an organization that wants to keep companies from polluting rivers, you used to be able to get in the meeting by paying the same fee as everyone else but now essentially you're locked out.""