OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - An attorney for state Rep. Jim Dunn says an inappropriate remark Dunn made to a female legislative staffer at a bar last month was not sexual harassment, and is constitutionally protected free speech.

In a letter sent Wednesday to House attorney Timothy Sekerak, lawyer Shawn Newman also argues that the Vancouver Republican was discriminated against by fellow Republicans, in part, because of age and ethnicity.

"Let me be perfectly clear. My client, who is both a Native American and over 40, has been the victim of disparate treatment based on what you confirm as a 'single situation' while other House members who have engaged in illegal and/or unprofessional conduct have not been similarly treated," Newman wrote.

Dunn, 65, said he is a member of the Cook Inlet Region Incorporated Tribe out of Anchorage.

When asked what other actions have been taken against him based on his age or tribal membership, Dunn said that Republicans have run against him in previous primaries and that his punishment in this situation was excessive.

Earlier this month, Dunn was stripped of all committee assignments. He had been the ranking Republican on the Housing Committee, and sat on the powerful House spending committee.

The House's chief clerk also decided to restrict Dunn's reimbursements for travel and expenses, a decision supported by House Minority Leader Richard DeBolt, R-Chehalis.

"For making a sarcastic remark in a bar after a couple of drinks in that setting, and having apologized for it, don't you think the punishment is a little extreme?" Dunn asked.

DeBolt denied the allegations of discrimination.

"He did something that was inappropriate and we took a disciplinary action and we stand by that," he said.

But Newman said "the punishment didn't fit the alleged crime."

"An isolated, trivial casual comment does not amount to sexual harassment," he said in an interview Wednesday night. "It may be offensive to some people, but it's not illegal, it's not sexual harassment and he's being punished for that."

In the letter to Sekerak, Newman noted that "the isolated comment was not made in a 'workplace' but in a bar after dinner to someone who does not report to or work for my client."

"Despite inferences to the contrary, there was nothing illegal about his sarcastic comment," Newman wrote. "What is illegal is the retaliation against my client for exercising his free speech rights."

Newman is appealing Dunn's punishment to the House Executive Rules Committee and has asked for a hearing within 10 days. The five-member committee, which includes leadership from both parties, does not have to grant the hearing.

Dunn said he already has apologized to the woman who was the target of his remark, which came at a gathering after a House Appropriations subcommittee meeting in the Tri-Cities. Dunn refused to repeat what he said to the woman.