Article Author:
Associated Press
Denise Lavoie
RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) — Virginia's former deputy attorney general cites a social media post praising the Capitol mob. He said he was fired. He is suing the Attorney General's Office for defamation, saying he is a "patriot" and falsely claims that Donald Trump won the 2020 election.
Monique Miles said in a lawsuit that Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares and a member of his staff accused a spokesman of resigning from her job and lacking transparency when she first took office. She claims it damaged her professional reputation and credibility when she spoke to the media. job interview.
Miles was preparing to publish an article in Washington where her post would include screenshots of her Facebook posts that she wrote as an individual, so she He said he was forced out of his job. She began working as Deputy Attorney General for the Department of Government Affairs and Transactions, which oversees work on issues related to electoral integrity.
"Breaking news: Patriots have stormed the Capitol," Miles wrote. "No surprise, the Deep State has awakened the sleeping giants. Patriots are not lying down on this. We are awake, ready, and by any means necessary to I will fight for my rights.”
The lawsuit seeks $1 million in damages.
In the complaint, Miles said he was actively recruited to apply for the position of Deputy Attorney General shortly after Miyares won his 2021 election. She said she's known Miyares' chief of staff, Darrell Jordan, for about four years, and that she and Jordan are "friends" on her Facebook, and that he maintains the "privacy" of her posts.
Miles said no one in the attorney general's office, including Miyares, asked her about her political views during her job interview.
About a week after Miles started her job in January, a friend told her the Post asked her to comment on an article about Miles. She immediately spoke to other officials in Jordan's and Miyares' offices. and later edited some of them as follows: She "became more informed as it emerged from the news, post-election lawsuits, legislative hearings, and election audits."
In a text exchange with Jordan, she wrote, "I do not condone her Jan. 6 riots and lawlessness," according to the lawsuit.
Miles said she was told by the attorney general's office that she would "give her an opportunity to resign", but she did not.
Miles sent messages to multiple officials, including Myares, who told them, "I did nothing wrong," she said.
According to the complaint, Miyares' public relations director, Victoria Lacivita, issued a statement that Miles had resigned. Miles said the press was inundated with requests for comment, but did not initially respond, believing that Miyares' office would amend their statement. She was contacted and said she had been asked to resign because of statements she made about the election and the events of January 6.
As a defendant in a lawsuit named LaCivita, the attorney general's office said Friday In a statement to 52}
According to the lawsuit, according to a statement issued by LaCivita, the Attorney General's Office and Miles "partied goodbye" because she had "discussed the lack of transparency in the first interview."
Miles said the statement challenged her reputation for integrity and integrity. These qualities are of particular importance as a lawyer in a profession where character and aptitude are required to maintain a license to practice law.
"This is all about clearing my name." Miles said in a telephone interview on Friday.
Courthouse News first published a story about a case filed in Richmond Circuit Court on Wednesday..