Articles in The New York Times in early May revealed that eight senators — including three members of the I.D.C. — had received tens of thousands of dollars for committee chairmanships that they did not hold, payments that were authorized by John J. Flanagan, the Republican leader in the Senate. Those payments were approved in documents sent to the state comptroller by Senate staff falsely listing the senators as chairmen, when each actually served as vice chairman, an amorphous position with little if any defined duties and no pay explicitly enumerated in state law.

The scope of those investigations seemed poised to grow on Tuesday as the leader of the Senate Democrats, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, confirmed that her deputy, Senator Michael Gianaris of Queens, had met with the Albany district attorney’s office last week to discuss the payments, which Mr. Flanagan and Mr. Klein have argued are legal and supported by past precedent and the state constitution. The meeting was reported on Monday evening by The Times Union in Albany.

“They were just trying to get an idea of what was going on,” said Ms. Stewart-Cousins, who represents Westchester County, adding that she could not comment on the nature of the discussions, which included the Democrats’ top lawyer. “They reached out to us.”

Last week, Ms. Stewart-Cousins had called for an investigation into the payments. Hours later, Mr. Klein shot back, according to Ms. Stewart-Cousins, telling a group of lawmakers at a dinner in downtown Albany that he would remain loyal to Mr. Flanagan and keep the Republican leader in power.

“I don’t know why he said that,” Ms. Stewart-Cousins said during the public radio program “The Capitol Pressroom,” noting that voters “continue to send a majority” of Democrats to the Senate. “And somehow, in the chamber, what the people have asked for does not happen,” she said.