On the eve of a meeting to approve a $46,150 legal bill, the Minnesota Senate released a second $38,533 bill to pay for legal services regarding ex-employee Michael Brodkorb's firing.
The now $84,683 bill only deals with charges through mid-May and Brodkorb has yet to file a lawsuit regarding his December termination.
Brodkorb, who had been the Senate's communications director, was fired the day after former Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch resigned in the wake of a confrontation over the affair she and Brodkorb were having. Koch resigned from leadership and, senate officials said, that made Brodkorb's services no longer needed.
But Brodkorb, long a Republican staffer, said he was treated differently than female legislative employees who had affairs with lawmakers. He has threatened to sue over his firing, claiming sexual discrimination, and has said he was defamed in the wake of his firing.
On Wednesday, the Senate Rules committee plans to meet to approve payment of the $46,150 bill, which will start to garner interested if left unpaid by Thursday. That meeting may also deal with approval of the additional $38,533 in charges.
The cost of the legal fees has already surpassed what Brodkorb would have been paid through this point in the year had he been kept on staff.
The Star Tribune obtained a copy of the latest bill after its existence was first reported by the Associated Press.
The latest invoice includes repeated consultations between Senate staffers and two $330 an hour private attorneys, Dayle Nolan and Christopher Harristhal.
