State GOP chairman Tony Sutton Monday called on DFL candidate for governor Mark Dayton to divulge more information about his 2009 settlement of a lawsuit by a former aide.

The settlement, which occurred a month after Dayton filed to run for governor, ended a 2003 lawsuit by Brad Hanson, who worked for Dayton when he was in the U.S. Senate. Hanson said he was wrongly fired by Dayton after asking him for time off to treat a heart condition.

Dayton denied the allegation and asked federal courts to dismiss the suit on grounds that the Constitution gives members of Congress immunity from employment claims by aides. The courts repeatedly rejected his argument.

Sutton Monday asked Dayton to reveal terms of the confidential settlement and say whether public money was used to pay for his defense and, if so, how much. Senate lawyers had represented Dayton.

Dayton's office said Monday that under terms of the settlement agreement "Mark Dayton is only permitted to say, 'The parties have reached a settlement, the terms of which are confidential. I will reimburse the U.S. Treasury for the full amount of the settlement to relieve taxpayers of any such burden.'" His office did not provide an estimate of the cost of his defense.