WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Tom Coburn says an account by the Senate ethics panel of his role in negotiations involving disgraced colleague Sen. John Ensign is totally inaccurate.

The discussions involved payments to the husband of the woman with whom Ensign was having an affair.

Coburn said Thursday that an account by another key witness — who said Coburn took an active role in negotiations between Ensign and former aide Doug Hampton over relocating Hampton and a potential payout — "is not an accurate reflection of what happened."

In an interview taped for C-SPAN's Newsmakers, Coburn said he was proud of the role he played in helping break off the affair between Ensign and Hampton's wife Cynthia. He says "there's nothing unethical in what we did."