By AP/KWMU
Jefferson City, Mo. – The state of Missouri has agreed to pay $500,000 to a former governor's office attorney to settle claims he was wrongfully terminated and defamed by Gov. Matt Blunt after questioning the office's e-mail deletion practices.
The settlement was announced Friday by Attorney General Chris
Koster.
Former governor's office lawyer Scott Eckersley sued Blunt and other administration officials in January 2008, alleging they retaliated against him after he raised concerns that the office may have violated public records laws in its handling of e-mails.
Blunt has maintained that Eckersley was fired in September 2007 for justifiable reasons, including doing excessive amounts of private legal work from his state office.