Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy speaks at the Petroleum Club in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S. January 15, 2020. REUTERS/Yereth Rosen
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(Reuters) - Alaska Governor Michael Dunleavy, a Republican, and his chief of staff unlawfully fired an accomplished state lawyer after she harshly criticized former Republican President Donald Trump on her personal blog, a federal judge has ruled.
U.S. District Judge John Sedwick in Anchorage on Thursday said Elizabeth Bakalar's firing violated her free-speech rights and the state had not shown that her posts, such as one calling Trump a "treasonous, semi-literate, lecherous oligarch," ever affected her work as an assistant attorney general.
Bakalar's lawyer, Mark Choate, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.
The Alaska Department of Law in a statement said it was disappointed with Sedwick's ruling, which "would strictly limit the ability of future Governors to hold employees in sensitive positions accountable for actions that ultimately affect their work for the people of Alaska."
Dunleavy took office in 2018 and required many at-will state employees to officially submit resignations while explaining why they should be able keep their jobs. Bakalar, who...
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