The Secretary of the Minnesota Senate said Wednesday that ex-employee Michael Brodkorb has provided no "factual basis" to challenge his firing late last year and "his claims are without any merit whatsoever."

"Despite Mr. Brodkorb's efforts to disrupt the work of the Senate in the current legislative session, to distract members of the Senate, to extort a payment from the Senate and to try his so-called claims in the media, the Senate will not allow that to succeed," Cal Ludeman, the secretary of the Senate, said in a statement.

Brodkorb, a long-time GOP insider, was fired late last year in the wake of Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch's resignation from leadership after she was accused of having an affair with a staffer.

In January, his attorney said Brodkorb will seek monetary damages for wrongful dismissal. The lawyer said he target the Senators who were involved in his dismissal but not Koch.

Since then Brodkorb has not filed suit and the Senate has hired its own private attorney to deal with the charges.

On Wednesday, Ludeman sad, "the Senate handled Mr. Brodkorb's termination properly....When leadership changes occur in the Senate, changes in supporting staff are routine."

Brodkorb was the only employee who was let go after Koch stepped down.

Here is Ludeman's full statement:

Media Release