JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. AP – A former attorney for Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt sued the governor Wednesday, claiming he was fired and defamed in retaliation for challenging the administration’s policy of deleting office e-mails.

Scott Eckersley’s lawsuit alleges that Blunt’s top aides ordered staff in August 2007 to delete e-mails and destroy backup computer files to avoid having to provide information to the media and public under Missouri’s open-records laws.