Today, a top assistant attorney general in Tom Miller’s office sent this tweet, that has since been deleted:

Every Republican is garbage, I won’t shut up about this, there is absolutely no moral equivalency between the parties and every single Republican needs to lose their job and be ostracized from polite society. https://t.co/hZERIxYL1v

— Louie Sloven (@LouieSloven) June 24, 2020

Sloven, who is in the criminal appeals division of Miller’s office, works with county attorneys across the state, many of whom are Republicans. Those county attorneys, who are, according to Sloven, “garbage” and need to “lose their job and be ostracized from polite society,” rely on Sloven to handle their cases in the Iowa Supreme Court and Iowa Court of Appeals.

Sloven is also an adjunct professor at Drake Law School, where presumably some of his students are Republicans. Drake Law School has produced many graduates who are registered Republicans, and some, including Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg, Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver, and numerous county attorneys, who hold elected office. 

Lynn Hicks, communications director for AG Miller’s office provided this statement:

Sloven’s tweet was on his personal account and in response to a statement made by a member of Congress, and it was not directed at Republican county attorneys. Regardless, his statement does not reflect the opinion of Attorney General Miller or this office. AG Miller respects members of all political parties.

Our office has a longstanding, unique relationship with county attorneys of all parties. Iowa’s county attorneys, including Republicans, couldn’t have a better advocate in the appellate courts than Louis Sloven.

Update: After deleting several tweets, including the one that sparked this article, Sloven apologized, and removed his Twitter account from public view.