$46,150 Legal Tab in Senate Scandal

ST. PAUL  (AP) - The legal tab for the Minnesota Senate over the firing of a high-ranking staffer is $46,150 and counting.

The Associated Press obtained an invoice Friday for work by an outside attorney retained to defend the Senate over the firing of Michael Brodkorb. Attorney Gayle Nolan's invoice covered work from January through March at $330 an hour.

It's the first firm accounting of costs so far from Brodkorb's termination. He was dismissed shortly after his boss, Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch, resigned her leadership position. It was later revealed the two were having an affair.

Brodkorb is preparing a potential lawsuit against several senators and Senate officials, arguing that he was treated differently from other employees involved in workplace affairs. Those officials could be entitled to state-paid legal expenses.

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