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Senate launches ethics probe into Ellsworth’s actions • Daily Montanan [1]
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Date: 2025-01-27
The Montana Senate on Monday voted unanimously to open an ethics investigation into the actions of Sen. Jason Ellsworth — with him in support — when he signed a $170,100 contract with a business associate late last year.
On Friday, a report from the Legislative Audit Division concluded that Ellsworth, R-Hamilton, abused his position of power and wasted state resources when the former Senate president submitted a pair of illegal contracts to legislative staff the day after Christmas.
“As a member of the Republican Party, I’m embarrassed by the outlined actions of one senator that was elected as a Republican,” Senate President Matt Regier, a Kalispell Republican, said in a press conference. “We, as the Republican Party as a whole, take (the) public trust very seriously. However, it is our job as a majority party to hold accountable anyone — Democrat, Republican, Independent, department employee or director — that will break that public trust.”
Sen. Tom McGillvray, R-Billings, made the motion on the Senate floor to convene the ethics committee to investigate whether Ellsworth violated the Montana Code of Ethics, the rules of the Legislature and Senate, or “any provision of law, administrative rule or administrative guidelines or procedure.”
The ethics committee will send its conclusion to the full Senate, which will decide whether “good cause is shown to expel or punish” Ellsworth, who lost his bid to serve as Senate president again this session.
“It is a sad day here in the Montana Senate,” Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, said on the floor. “Let’s show the people of Montana that we’re concerned with the integrity of our state government and hold this ethics hearing.”
Senate Minority Leader Pat Flowers of Belgrade threw his caucus’ support behind the investigation because of its core values of “government transparency and integrity,” but warned that the chamber must proceed with caution.
“The allegations of the findings of the audit report are serious. They must be addressed,” Flowers said. “At the same time, we must remember the gravity of what we are embarking on. To discipline one of our own members is a serious responsibility, and one that we must handle carefully, fairly and with due process. I and my caucus are dedicated to making sure this matter is pursued in an unbiased manner and with the utmost integrity.”
Ellsworth voted for his own ethics investigation, telling his colleagues in the Senate that the issue has been a distraction that “needs to be taken care of quickly, efficiently, actively, with no bias. I am in full support of dealing with this.”
Last week, Ellsworth said the audit amounted to a “political witch hunt,” and during the weekend his lawyer called the results “pure speculation and blatant conjecture, without meaningful due process.” He also took steps to terminate the contract, which hasn’t been paid, but declined to participate in an interview with auditors or answer their written questions.
The contracts Ellsworth signed were for a former employee, Bryce Eggleston of Agile Analytics, to track and analyze 27 judicial reform bills that came from an interim committee Ellsworth led. Eggleston, a former employee of Ellsworth’s whose background is in the entertainment industry, has not responded to requests for comment from the Daily Montanan.
Ellsworth procured the contracts, using committee funds, despite members of the committee telling him they did not want to spend money hiring outside support on even a part-time basis.
The then-Senate President tried to push the contracts through in the final days of his presidency in an illegal manner by splitting them into two identical contracts, both to be paid up front, to avoid triggering a Department of Administration public procurement process, according to the audit report. The DOA flagged the two contracts as problematic, but worked to combine them to a single contract for the full amount in a process the audit said resulted in a waste of state resources.
Ellsworth did not disclose the deal to current leadership.
During his press conference, Regier said that there were further questions Ellsworth needed to answer, as well as questions the Department of Administration needed to answer after the agency improperly approved the contract, according to the audit report. He added that the Legislative Audit Division is continuing its investigation, looking at Ellsworth’s intent, and whether any of his actions crossed over into criminal actions.
A DOA spokesperson said the department “takes its responsibility of stewarding taxpayer dollars seriously.”
Regier said he hopes the ethics investigation will bring a swift resolution within weeks, but the Senate is still seeking some clarity on proper procedure due the infrequency of convening an ethics committee.
“This is new ground that we’re plowing here, unfortunately,” Regier said. “Even laying out the procedure for the ethics hearing and how it plays out, we’ve dug into a lot of different states and how they do it because it’s not as familiar here in Montana.”
The committee is looking at bringing on outside counsel, according to Regier, and as a legislative committee will have subpoena power over documents and individuals.
“I don’t see anything being off limits,” Regier said.
The four-person bipartisan committee — the only evenly split committee in the Senate — will meet on Wednesday for an organizational meeting before removing onto hearings.
Republicans also announced a vote for Tuesday to remove ethics committee chairwoman Sen. Sue Vinton, R-Billings, from her position, substituting Sen. Forrest Mandeville, R-Columbus.
Vinton last week wrote an opinion piece in state newspapers claiming that the Democratic minority was “propping up” Ellsworth’s alleged corruption.
A dispute about committee control the first week of the session pit Ellsworth and eight other Republicans with Democrats against a plan backed by Regier and Republican leadership.
Flowers said the piece was “just more politics.”
Regier denied that the opinion piece was the reason for the substitution, saying the caucus was moving forward with the best people on board the committee, and that “a lot of people could do that.”
Asked separately, Vinton said she’d learned that Senate Democrats and “the eight followers” of Ellsworth planned to remove her from her role, and Regier opted to avoid the spectacle.
“I reluctantly agreed,” Vinton said, adding that she has the most experience within her caucus with legal proceedings.
She defended her opinion piece as necessary because it got the attention of the Democrats and “moved the needle,” which she said would ultimately benefit the Senate as a whole.
George Wolcott, the Senate minority chief of staff, confirmed that Democratic lawmakers were ready to make a motion to substitute Vinton if she did not recuse herself, saying that her accusation of Flowers and his caucus of being complicit was inappropriate for the chairwoman of the ethics committee.
The Senate Ethics Committee comprises Sen. Laura Smith, D-Helena; McGillvray; Sen. Christopher Pope, D-Bozeman, and after Vinton’s substitution, Mandeville.
The Senate will also take up a vote Tuesday to remove Ellsworth from his position as chairman of the bicameral Legislative Audit Committee.
Meanwhile, Ellsworth still serves as chairman of the Executive Review Committee, which oversees appointments made by Gov. Greg Gianforte.
Regier quoted from the still-active website from Ellsworth’s failed primary campaign for Clerk of the Supreme Court last year which states: “Too often we see politicians representing special interests, their own interests, their friends’ interests and the interests of their associates are put ahead of the interests of the community they represent. They need accountability in government.”
“I find this quote to be truly ironic,” Regier said.
Late Monday morning, Montana GOP chairman Don “K” Kaltschmidt released a statement saying he was “deeply concerned” by the audit report’s findings .
“The report raises significant issues related to the abuse of power and mismanagement of state resources, and we believe that accountability is an essential standard that needs to be in place for all elected officials. No one is above the law. While we also recognize the principle of due process and affirm that individuals are innocent until proven guilty, The Montana Republican Party fully supports the ongoing investigatory process in the Senate and encourages continued investigation to provide transparency to Montanans.”
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