Cuccinelli accepts the Virginia Republican Party’s gubernatorial nomination. (AP Photo)

Ken “The Cooch” Cuccinelli, Virginia’s attorney general and Republican gubernatorial candidate, has been sued by a former assistant attorney general who clams she was fired after being accused of leaving comments about the Cooch on The Washington Post’s website.

As the Associated Press reported, Samantha Vanterpool filed a lawsuit seeking her job back, back pay and $500,000 in damages against Cuccinelli and his former chief deputy, Charles James Jr., Friday:

The anonymous reader, posted by someone using the handle “bz_bzsammy,” called Cuccinelli an “egomaniac” and said “he is NEVER in the AG’s office and solely uses the position for self promotion.” Vanterpool says a staffer in the office erroneously concluded the handle was connected to her and reported that information to James, who told her she had violated the office’s standards of conduct policy as well as a media policy that prohibits employees from giving interviews to reporters without approval.

Vanterpool says she was not told specifically how she violated the conduct policy, and that online comments are not the same as answering a reporter’s questions. She claims the online comments “qualify as matters of public concern by a private citizen” and that the firing was retaliation in violation of her First Amendment rights.

The comment was left on a May 2012 blog post about a sarcastic statement Virginia Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling released when Cuccinelli went to Iowa for a weekend. Here’s the full comment, via WAMU:

Let the egomaniac take the BS out of state. While Bolling is helping the GOP, Cuccinelli is promoting Cuccinelli. For example, he is NEVER in the AG’s office and solely uses the position for self promotion. He has issue a policy that NO AG employee can talk to the media about anything at anytime.

Cuccinelli and James both denied violating Vanterpool’s First Amendment rights in separate statements, with the Cooch’s spokesman calling Vanterpool “disgruntled.”