DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A former aide to Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann has filed an ethics complaint with the Iowa Senate, alleging that a state senator accepted improper payments from her presidential campaign.

Peter Waldron says in the complaint filed Jan. 28 that Bachmann for President tried to conceal paying Republican state Sen. Kent Sorenson $7,500 a month by running the money through a political action committee with ties to the congresswoman.

If true, the payments could violate a Senate ethics ban on paid employment with political campaigns. The ethics committee could ultimately recommend expulsion from the Senate.

In a statement released Monday, Sorenson called the claims “baseless.”

Waldron has complained to the Federal Election Commission about Bachmann’s alleged campaign finance problems. An attorney for Bachmann has previously denied the claims.

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