Those e-mails? The ones about you? Can't have 'em. But we'll send the to reporters...

When an attorney fired by Gov. Matt Blunt tried to get records from the governor’s office about his termination, he was told those documents were closed for personnel reasons.

The refusal to provide the records came the same day Blunt’s office released hundreds of pages of e-mails and documents to reporters that included intimate personal details about Scott Eckersley, the administration lawyer who was fired Sept. 28.

In a letter to reporters the day the documents were released, administration officials insinuated Eckersley may have liked “group sex” and illegal drugs.

Eckersley, the former deputy chief counsel for Blunt’s office, has said he was fired after challenging the administration’s position that it did not have to save e-mails and could routinely delete them. He said he is now the victim of character assassination in retaliation for speaking out.

At a news conference in Springfield on Tuesday, Blunt denied Eckersley’s claim and said the firing had been “handled appropriately.” He said that Eckersley was fired for working for another company on state time.

More here.