The First Minister has announced he will not support a parliamentary committee's recommendation of a 27-day ban for Michael Matheson.
The Holyrood ban, as well as 54-days of no pay, was recommended by the Holyrood standards committee, with the proposals to be voted on by parliament.
However, during a feisty FMQs on Thursday, John Swinney said he would not support what would be the toughest ever ban in the Scottish Parliament, claiming the process had been "prejudiced".
Mr Swinney said Scottish Conservative MSP Annie Wells should have removed herself from the committee due to previous comments she made about Mr Matheson's conduct.
The FM also cited Tory Stephen Kerr, who excused himself from the committee after making comments about the ordeal.
Mr Matheson, who resigned as health secretary in February, had been found to have breached the MSPs code of conduct over an £11,000 iPad bill racked up by watching a football game on a family trip to Morocco in December 2022.
He'd originally told parliament the device was used solely for parliamentary work, but later admitted he used it as a hot spot for his sons to watch football.
SNP standards committee members Jackie Dunbar and Alasdair Allan disagreed with the ban, while Ms Wells and Oliver Mundell, who stood in for Mr Kerr, voted for it.
Labour MSP and committee convener Martin Whitfield was left with the deciding vote.
He said: "I did not cast my personal view in favour of the option but, in my capacity as convener, recognising that the committee would otherwise not have been in a position to make a recommendation, I supported the proposal for exclusion of a period of 27 sitting days."