Topeka ? A former Kansas legislator says he was interviewed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation earlier this year about state government under Republican Gov. Sam Brownback.

Ex-Republican state Sen. Dick Kelsey confirmed Thursday that he had multiple conversations with the FBI, ending in July. During a news conference, he and Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley called on Brownback to cut any ties with former chief of staff David Kensinger.

Brownback’s campaign called their comments “false smears.”

Kensinger left as Brownback’s chief of staff in April 2012 to form a lobbying firm. He remains an unpaid adviser to Brownback’s re-election campaign.

Kelsey said the FBI identified Kensinger as a subject of its inquiry. Kensinger did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment.

Federal authorities would not confirm or deny an investigation.