Lawyers acting for the former Liberal staffer involved in a 'toxic' extra-marital affair with the federal education minister have blasted his remarks as 'pathetic' and a 'shameless' abuse of power. The $40,000 taxpayer-funded investigation into the affair between Alan Tudge and former staffer Rachelle Miller in 2017 - to which she did not provide evidence - cleared him on Tuesday. Mr Tudge, who previously publicly apologised for the affair, said in a statement the official Sparke Helmore report into the matter contained 'no adverse findings' against him. Ms Miller was Mr Tudge's media adviser when the pair - both married at the time - conducted a secret affair. Lawyers acting for Rachelle Miller slammed the education minister, who was involved in an affair with her while they were both married, after he stated an official report cleared him of wrongdoing. She opted not to give evidence to the investigation on legal advice. Mr Tudge and Ms Miller are pictured above in 2017 Mr Tudge admitted in a Facebook post that the affair with his media adviser had caused separation from his wife, Terri (pictured above right). He also expressed remorse and apologised But Ms Miller's lawyer, Peter Gordon, said Mr Tudge's remarks were 'pathetic' and 'misleading', news.com.au reported. '[It's] about as credible as skiting about winning the Archibald Prize, when the only judge was your mum,' Mr Gordon said. 'The investigation could not reach a considered conclusion because Rachelle declined to participate, declaring back in February 2021 that the process was neither independent nor fair and noting also that the government had refused to undertake to provide the resulting report to her. And so it has turned out.' Mr Gordon said Mr Tudge's claim of 'legal privilege' over the report - which was not publicly released - was 'a shameless exploitation of a trapping of power'. Ms Miller revealed their secret affair, which happened when he was Minister for Human Services in 2017, in a Four Corners documentary last year. Ms Miller told a documentary she has lived 'to bitterly regret' the alleged affair with Mr Tudge She alleged he 'bullied' her and would relentlessly call her if she failed to pick up her phone. In a Facebook post Mr Tudge said 'My mistake was an affair with a married woman with children,' admitting it caused him to separate from his wife. 'In this situation, the error was mine and I take responsibility.' Ms Miller complained about a 'highly sexualised environment' in Canberra, although she did not make a sexual harassment complaint. 'While respecting the confidentiality of the process, I can confirm that the independent assessment by law firm Sparke Helmore and the Department of Finance was completed in early June 2021 and there were no adverse findings against Mr Tudge,' a spokesperson for the minister said. Mr Gordon said Mr Tudge's official response amounted to 're-imagining the facts' for the sake of his reputation. Ms Miller, who no longer works in politics and has lived 'to bitterly regret' the affair did not participate in the Sparke Helmore report on legal advice. 'I lost a lot of self-confidence because I didn't feel I had any power at all to be able to stand up for myself,' she previously said of the affair. She accused Senator Michaela Cash of months of poor treatment during the first half of 2018. In June 2018, Ms Miller was told the office was being restructured and her role would be made redundant. Rachelle Miller accused federal Employment Minister Michaelia Cash of forcing her out of her office through a 'fake redundancy' process Ms Miller was told she could apply for a more junior role. 'It was very clear that this was a fake redundancy process put in place to get rid of me from the office,' she wrote in a complaint to the Department of Finance. 'There were no grounds for this, there had been no performance management process put in place, nor had I received formal warnings.' She is seeking compensation from the Commonwealth with Gordon Legal representing her. All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility