Joe Sinsheimer says Thomas Wright's lawyer is wrong.

In defending Wright of criminal charges, attorney Doug Harris implied Wednesday that Sinsheimer was working on behalf of Senate leadership, who wanted Wright out of office.

The campaign finance activist told the Insider that the charge was ridiculous.

"It's a bald-faced lie. I'm not doing any work for (Senate Majority Leader Tony) Rand or (Senate leader Marc) Basnight," he said.

He noted that his original complaint from May of 2006 alleging that legislators hid connections to payday lenders named 12 senators, including high-ranking Democrats. 

In an e-mail to Dome, Sinsheimer added that he has been outspoken on the issue of term limits for legislative leadership and the inclusion of non-budgetary items in the state budget, positions that have not endeared him to the long-serving Senate leadership.