Latest news with #MontanaFreePress
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Former GOP Strategist Who Created Fake Grindr Account in Victim's Name Is Convicted of Stalking
A jury convicted a former Republican political strategist on two counts of stalking Friday after prosecutors alleged that Daniel Duffey sent harassing text messages and letters to the victim and his family, the Montana Free Press reported. According to witnesses, Duffey also created a fake Grindr account under the victim's name and asked app users to attend the victim's wedding to have sex with him. Duffey was political director for Greg Gianforte's 2020 gubernatorial campaign until he was fired because he allegedly repeatedly hit a parked car with his car door, causing $1600 in damages. He worked on other Republican campaigns as well as for the GOP-led Montana Legislature in the 2019, 2021, and 2023 sessions. Duffey met the victim at a University of Montana football game in 2023 where the two men talked about rugby. After the game, they began a friendly texting exchange. But when the victim didn't reply to Duffey's invitation to grab a beer, Duffey appeared to get angry. 'I'm not sure what happened man. I thought we clicked,' Duffey said in a text sent in Nov. 2023. 'I thought it would be cool to be friends.' Duffey later texted the victim, 'Seriously man, that sucks. I don't know how you go from [being] all over me and sexually assaulting me to pretending like I don't even exist. If you're embarrassed about what happened you shouldn't be.' The victim responded, 'Been struggling. Not trying to offend you. Also, I do not know what your [sic] talking about with being all over you.' On the witness stand last week, the victim said Duffey's version of events was 'fictitious.' Law enforcement and other witnesses denied knowing about any prior sexual assault allegations against the victim. In another text to the victim, Duffey wrote, '[H]onestly the more you treat me like shit and make me think that this is all in my head and I'm going crazy, the crazier I am going to act. You've made very clear you don't give a f— about me and what happens to me, and now I'm going to return the favor. My only hope is that I put you in as much pain and ruin your life the way you've ruined mine.' Things continued to escalate from there. According to prosecutors, Duffey sent a letter to the victim's mother-in-law where he wrote about working as a Republican political operative, serving in the military in Afghanistan, and volunteering in Ukraine in 2022. Enclosed in the letter were photos of Duffey with well-known Republican leaders, including Vice President Mike Pence, Rudy Giuliani, and Sens. Ted Cruz and Mitch McConnell. In Feb. 2024, around the time of the victim's wedding, Duffey drove near the wedding location to post flyers showing the victim's name and photo and accusing him of sexual assault. According to witness testimony, as reported by the Montana Free Press, Duffey made a fake account on Grindr, an LGBTQ dating app, using the victim's name. He then requested app users attend the victim's wedding to have sex with the victim. Duffey even texted the couple a threatening message on their wedding day: '[I]t should be pretty obvious by now, that this isn't going to end tonight when you get married, this goes on for years until I see [the victim] behind bars or paying me so much money you'll never be able to do anything nice again.' Prior to the wedding, on Jan. 21, 2024, the victim reported Duffey's unhinged behavior to local police. Duffey was later arrested near one of the wedding events, and according to prosecutors, law enforcement found a semiautomatic handgun in his car along with poster board and similar flyers. Duffey pleaded not guilty last year and did not testify in his defense. The jury took less than an hour to reach a unanimous guilty verdict after the four-day trial. 'The evidence in this case convinces the court that, with very little if any provocation, he engaged on a monthslong campaign of assailing the character, the safety of a person he knew for a very short time before engaging in this campaign,' District Court Judge Dan Wilson said in court on Friday. 'There's no rhyme or reason for the conduct. It's so far outside of the realm of sociable or acceptable behavior that it is the court's genuine concern that, now that the conviction has occurred, Mr. Duffey has a tremendous incentive and, in light of the evidence submitted in this case, very little imposition of self-restraint to prevent him from engaging in similar conduct in the immediate future.' Because of Duffey's apparent lack of self-restraint, the judge said the former Republican strategist will be incarcerated ahead of his sentencing scheduled for July 10. More from Rolling Stone Dems Lose Montana Senate Seat as Tester Falls to Sheehy Abortion Won Almost Everywhere. Here's Where It Lost Donald Trump Brings Plenty of Loathing and the 'Cats' Soundtrack to Montana Best of Rolling Stone The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Five charts from the 2025 Montana Legislature
A representative votes 'Yes' during a session of the Montana House of Representatives, Wednesday, February 12, 2025. There are hundreds of storylines that came from the 2025 Montana Legislature (The Daily Montanan wrote more than 236 stories covering the session since the start of the year), which can make it hard to see some bigger picture views of what went on in Helena. The Daily Montanan made a few visualizations of some stats from the session — using data derived from the Legislative Services Division and the Montana Free Press, which does a great job of crafting a database of LSD data. Lawmakers come to Helena with more ideas for legislation than would ever be heard, much less end up on the Gov. Greg Gianforte's desk. The last two sessions saw a big jump in the number of bill drafts requested by legislators — around 4,500 — up more than 1,000 from the 2021 and 2019 sessions. That has translated into back-to-back record numbers of bills actually introduced into the body — discounting the 1973-1974 sessions, the first following the adoption of the new Montana Constitution — with 39.1% of drafts receiving an official introduction this year. The 2025 session saw 1,759 bills, resolutions and initiatives make it to at least one committee vote. In the 85 days lawmakers were in Helena, 884 bills passed both chambers. As of May 12, 570 bills have become law so far, with more than 200 awaiting action, while Gov. Greg Gianforte has already vetoed a handful. The Montana Legislative Services Division keeps track of the passage of bills throughout the legislative process and produces visualizations to show the winnowing down of potential laws. The below chart, taken from the LSD's interactive 'Billboard,' shows that most bills that don't make it out of the Legislature, die in their original chambers. After that, it's more likely the second chamber will approve a bill and it will end up heading to Gianforte's desk. In 2025, just more than half of all bills introduced made it all the way through the process, not counting single-chamber resolutions. In 2023, the total number of bill passed, including single-chamber resolutions, was 907. In 2025, that number jumped to 996. Lawmakers in both chamber pressed their green or red buttons a lot of times this year — there were 2,659 votes taken in the Senate, and 2,706 in the House, according to the bill tracking data compiled by the Montana Free Press. Of those votes, a vast majority of them were bipartisan votes, and many near-unanimous ones, which might seem odd, given that it is often highly partisan rhetoric stemming from politicians pointing fingers back and forth on myriad issues that breaks through the Capitol to the outside world. But it's possible to visualize the bipartisan nature of most votes, by looking at how often each lawmaker's vote aligned with the majority of a chamber. Take the Senate for example. The following chart shows how often each senator was on the winning side of an issue. The lowest percentages were 66% for Democratic Sen. Andrea Olsen of Missoula and 68% for Republican Sen. Daniel Emrich of Great Falls, while 10 lawmakers were in the winning coalition more than 90% of the time. The average Republican was in the majority 84% of the time, while the average Democrat was 78% of the time, which makes sense because the GOP held the majority in the chamber and could theoretically pass any law without any Democrat support. Of course, that wasn't the case, as anyone following the session closely might be aware. A major storyline from the Legislature was that the Senate chamber was effectively run by a working majority coalition of nine Republicans and all Democrats — 27 lawmakers that could pass laws on a bipartisan basis. By plotting how often a lawmaker voted with the majority of each party, the breakout of the nine Republicans who joined Democrats in many votes is clearly visible. Note that the axes start around 50% in order to illustrate the differences between lawmakers better. The Nine are highlighted, and are shown clearly apart from the majority of their caucus, and dragging the 'average Republican' statistic over. It's also clear that two more Republican senators, Mike Yakawich of Billings and Mike Cuffe of Eureka, were also more likely to align with Democrats than most of their GOP members. This chart also shows that Sen. Dave Fern, D-Whitefish, was more bipartisan that the rest of the Democrat caucus. Another interesting statistic — Sen. Emrich, shown at the far left side of the chart, voted against Democrats more than anyone else in the Senate, but also voted against his own party more often than anyone except Sen. Russ Tempel, one of The Nine. Of course, a reminder that these charts show general statistics, so individual votes or subject area votes can't be inferred. The House had a much more clear partisan divide. The following chart is a little different, plotting how often a lawmaker voted with the majority party Republicans, and how often they voted on the winning side of an issue. The trend among Democrats — the more often a lawmaker voted with Republicans, the more likely they were to be on the winning side of an issue — is an obvious one given the Republicans' 58-42 control of the chamber. Among Republicans, however, the correlation between how often a representative votes with their party (96% of the time for Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crowe) and how often they voted on the winning side (97% for Rep. Valerie Moore) is much less clear. The biggest outlier in the chamber is freshman lawmaker Rep. Lukas Schubert of Kalispell, who voted with his own party 4% less often than the next lawmakers, and voted on the losing side of an issue more than any Republican other than Reps. Caleb Hinkle of Belgrade and Kathy Love of Hamilton.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Montana Legislature passes bill to allow tribes to enter into cannabis compacts
Kaiden Forman-Webster ICT + Montana Free Press Though House Bill 952 is only two pages long, it has the potential to have major impacts on Montana tribes, according to those who advocated for its passage. Sponsored by Rep. Frank Smith, D-Poplar, Sioux, the bill was requested by the State-Tribal Relations Interim Committee to help tribes navigate barriers in entering and engaging in the cannabis industry. It cleared the Legislature earlier this month, getting support from most Democratic legislators and enough majority Republicans to pass. This is Smith's last year as a legislator before retirement. He was first elected in 1999 and is one of the longest-serving current members. During a recent Montana American Indian Caucus meeting, Smith was wished a happy retirement and congratulated for ending with what members called such an impactful bill. Many of the challenges tribes face in growing and selling marijuana stem from past legislation. House Bill 701, a 153-page bill that became law in 2021, established laws to regulate newly legalized recreational cannabis. The bill placed major constrictions on tribes in regards to cannabis regulations. HB 701 created three major hurdles for tribes when it was enacted. First, it only allowed for one combined-use marijuana licence per tribe, meaning each tribe could only have one location for growing, packaging, distributing and selling cannabis. Second, it restricted tribes to a single-tier canopy licence, meaning a tribe's dispensary and the growing operation must consist in a maximum of a single 1,000-square-foot building. Third, it required tribes to build dispensaries at least 150 miles outside of reservation boundaries and in a 'green county' that allows the sale of cannabis, essentially restricting tribes to operate in highly saturated markets, an issue raised by Patrick Yawakie, co-founder of Red Medicine, LLC, an organization that provides professional civic engagement and lobbying services to tribes. Yawakie said this year's HB 952 will address many of those barriers. He helped draft the bill and said its language was mainly pulled from the Washington state-tribal cannabis compact, which allows Washington tribes and the state enter into agreements to regulate and define cannabis operations within their reservations. Twenty-two out of the 29 federally recognized tribes in Washington have compacts with the state and more are in the process. HB 952 will allow for Montana tribes and the governor's office to create and enter into compacts to regulate cannabis on individual reservations. Each compact would be tailored to the tribes' unique needs. In the agreements, tribes and the governor's office can negotiate things like tax revenue deals for the state and tribes, whether a dispensary can operate on a reservation and how much cannabis tribes can grow and sell, among other things. None of the many regulatory guidelines outlined in the bill would be required. Instead, Yawakie said that the guidelines and the bill itself offer a roadmap for tribes to use as sovereign governments navigating the cannabis industry. 'House Bill 952 is a proactive way to address tribal operations and other topics in partnership through intergovernmental relations,' Yawakie said while testifying as a proponent of the bill when it was heard in an April 4 meeting of the House Energy, Technology and Federal Relations Committee. He elaborated that these cannabis compacts are similar to tribal gaming compacts in language and organization. The compacts, he said, create a strong and well-structured system, unique to each tribe and their needs. Proponents of the bill have echoed Yawakie's sentiment, saying some tribes may decide to stay out of the industry and enter a compact to mitigate cannabis use on reservations and address jurisdictional issues. Other tribes may use the opportunity as a way to promote economic growth and independence, they said. Sen. Gayle Lammers, R-Hardin, who carried the bill on the Senate floor, called it a 'cleanup bill,' stating that tribes were not involved in the legislative process four years ago. 'Not all tribes have recognized legalization but they are noticing that oversaturation of non-tribal-owned dispensaries located in and near of their borders. This has led to products getting into the hands of youths, promoting black markets that could be stopped through the agreements included in HB 952,' Lammers told the Senate on April 17. 'It is pro-business, pro-revenue, pro-collaboration, pro-law enforcement legislation.' Multiple senators stood to speak in opposition of the bill, notably Sen. Barry Usher, R-Laurel, and Senate Majority Leader Tom McGillvray, R-Billings. Usher disputed Lammers' characterization of the bill. 'This is nowhere near a cleanup bill, a cleanup bill is not this extensive,' Usher said, adding that there are already cannabis dispensaries on reservations owned by non-Natives and that there is already 'plenty of marijuana' on reservations. He said that if the issue was only regarding tax revenue agreements, the Senate should leave the law as is. Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, Chippewa Cree, took issue with Usher's comments. He said while there are non-Indian dispensaries on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, the tribes have no means to regulate them. 'There is no agreement and there has been some hiccups as far as the tribe not being able to hold these dispensaries accountable,' Windy Boy said. 'And [non-Indian dispensaries] say, 'Get out of here, mind your own business.'' McGillvray argued that revenue collected from cannabis sales is outweighed by the societal costs of marijuana use. McGillvray then took issue with reservations legalizing cannabis, saying marijuana use would propel Native youth to illegal drug use. Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, who lives on the Flathead Reservation, addressed issues raised by his side of the aisle. 'If you live on a reservation, state cannot legally charge taxes there [on tribal members],' Hertz said. 'That is why we have entered into compacts between the state and the tribes so we do not have unfair competition.' Hertz continued, saying he felt that compacts between tribes and the state would help ensure state and federal laws are followed. In an interview with Montana Free Press and ICT, Yawakie said compacts are needed 'not just to combat access to cannabis within reservations that want to set some limits. But also, there's tribes in the state that are wanting to move forward with manufacturing or processing, testing, distribution, so that there's an opportunity for them or clarity whenever they come to the table with the state to maintain compliance with state regulations.' This story is co-published by Montana Free Press and ICT, a news partnership that covers the Montana American Indian Caucus during the state's 2025 legislative session
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Montana lawmakers urge state health department to reinstate tribal relations position
Kaiden Forman-WebsterMTFP + ICT Those who have fought to restore the tribal relations manager position in the state health department saw a positive step last week when the committee tasked with helping craft the state budget introduced an amendment indicating support for reestablishing the role. The state health department eliminated the position in late 2023 when longtime employee Lesa Evers retired. As tribal relations manager, Evers traveled to tribal communities across Montana to communicate changes in state health policy and served as the point of contact for tribal leaders with questions or concerns. When the job was cut and in legislative hearings this year, tribal leaders, health officials, community members and others urged the state health department to reinstate the role, saying it's critical in improving health outcomes in Indian Country. The state health department, meanwhile, has said that the duties and responsibilities of the tribal relations manager have been absorbed by the American Indian health director in the department. Tribal advocates, however, say the work is too much to be done by one person. Rep. Mike Fox, D-Hays, Gros Ventre and Assiniboine, sponsored the amendment. He said the legislative intent of the change is to establish the tribal relations manager position once again and make clear 'it will be held by some person that will have the same level of communication [as the previous person in the tribal relations manager position], stationed in Helena, and prioritize tribal consultation above all else.' The amendment does not include funding for the role. Rep. Donavon Hawk, D-Butte, Crow, Crow Creek Sioux introduced the amendment on behalf of Fox to the House Appropriations Committee and told lawmakers that it's meant to prod the department. 'This is not binding. The governor's office and the health department should be taking the tribal relations position more seriously,' Hawk said. Though there's not money tied to the amendment, Rep. Mary Caferro, D-Helena, said the wording is strong. 'Here is what I know, you can even use it [legislative intent] in court,' Caferro said in a late-March interview with Montana Free Press and ICT. Rep. Bill Mercer, R-Billings, was one of the two no votes on the amendment. Mercer said he opposed it because Charlie Brereton, the director of the Department of Public Health and Human Services, told Mercer and others that he does not believe tribal consultation has been diminished. The amendment passed 21-2. The state health department has argued that the tribal relations position was often duplicative with the American Indian health director. In an email sent March 25, a spokesperson for the department said it 'reorganized to improve coordination, continuity and consistency with how the Department serves tribal and urban leaders.' Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock in 2015 established the Office of American Indian Health, within the state health department, after a report revealed that Native Americans died 20 years earlier than their white counterparts in Montana. The office was established to address those health disparities. The office would also advance the work of the state health department's tribal relations manager. Evers, the tribal relations manager at the time, reported to the director of the state health department and upheld government-to-government consultation between tribal governments, the state and the federal government. The tribal relations manager was an independent position within the state health department. The Office of American Indian Health, run by the American Indian health director, is also its own entity within the department. In a March 25 statement, a spokesperson for the department said 'this arrangement was inefficient and redundant.' In an interview in January with Ted Russette III, vice chairman of the Chippewa Cree Tribal Business Committee, Russette reflected on how Evers operated to ensure tribes were kept updated on state and federal health policy. 'She would have went to every one of our reservations. That's what she used to do. Since she left, nothing. It is a big drop off,' Russette said of Evers, echoing comments by other tribal leaders and tribal health department employees. Evers in a recent interview reflected on her time at DPHHS, saying that she would take trips to every tribe in Montana twice a year and sometimes more than that, often bringing department leaders with her to introduce them to tribal leaders across the state to build relationships. A 2016 Montana Healthcare Foundation report detailed that 'Many people specifically noted that Lesa Evers (DPHHS tribal relations manager) is doing a great job and has helped tribes tremendously in their work with DPHHS, and noted that the Office of American Indian Health should not subsume or replace her or her position.' However, when the health department quietly eliminated the tribal relations position, it moved those duties to the American Indian health director. 'The removal of the position was done without their consultation,' Evers said, referencing tribal leaders. In a Jan. 21 letter to health department Director Brereton, state Sen. Susan Webber, D-Browning, Blackfeet, wrote that the Legislature's interim State-Tribal Relations Committee traveled to all seven reservations in Montana in 2024 and heard frustrations from around the state about the loss of the position. 'It became apparent that the tribal leaders were concerned about the DPHHS ignoring their voices since the retirement of the tribal health manager position this past year,' Webber wrote. 'This position built trust between them and the department.' This elimination of the position became a point of contention after a budget subcommittee hearing earlier this session when tribal leaders from around the state called for the Legislature and the department to reinstate the position. On Feb. 26, Webber brought a bill that would have created a tribal relations management team in the department, effectively reviving the tribal relations manager position. But at a hearing for the bill, Webber immediately asked the Senate Public Health, Welfare, and Safety Committee to table the legislation, effectively killing it. Webber said that was because the bill had served its purpose by establishing communication with the health department regarding the issue. 'Now that I got the bill and now that it's being heard, they [DPHHS] finally speak up about the progress they are going to make,' Webber said during her bill hearing. 'I hope this keeps their feet to the fire.' Even though Webber made it clear that she wanted her bill tabled, Sen. Dennis Lenz, R-Billings and chair of the committee, gave people that attended the hearing time to testify. American Indian Health Director Stephanie Iron Shooter spoke on behalf of the state health department. Iron Shooter told lawmakers and other attendees that her office, along with the new structure created after the removal of the tribal relations manager position, is maintaining and working to strengthen tribal relations. It's unclear if DPHHS would have supported Webber's bill; the department did not comment when asked. 'The Office of American Indian Health team within the department works very hard to oversee all aspects of tribal relations,' Iron Shooter said. 'Our new structure is working and we wish to maintain and continue strengthening it.' Kelsen Young, representing the Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, testified that she was disappointed with the tabling of the bill. 'We were able to witness firsthand how important that was, as we [the Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence] served on various task force councils, etc., within DPHHS,' Young said. 'I guess what I was most excited about for this bill is the fact that it would be enshrined in code so that it would be an ongoing, committed position, regardless of the whims of the director or the governor.' During the weekly Montana American Indian Caucus meeting March 19, Iron Shooter, speaking on behalf of DPHHS, told lawmakers that her office covers a vast spectrum of responsibilities including tribal consultation. 'We're also here to provide a platform for tribal governments and tribal members, and we're talking about the constituents as well, to provide us with candid insights into the divisions and offices and programs [and] facilities and feeding those needs into our system at the department,' Iron Shooter said. Iron Shooter told the caucus that an internal assessment in DPHHS after she was hired in 2022 showed her position and the tribal relations manager were 'duplicative government-to-government efforts.' 'For the future, what we wanted to really come to an agreement with after the retirement of the tribal relations manager, was to really provide for a real, single point of contact,' Iron Shooter said. 'Streamline communication and relationships for American Indian leaders, tribal governments, urban Indian organizations, between them and the department, divisions and staff … across the board, with the department [providing] more resources for implementation without increasing funding.' As director of the office, Iron Shooter said her responsibilities include research and development, incorporating Indian health equity into policies and programs, tribal relations and providing technical assistance. In recent months the Office of American Indian Health has seen expansion with the hiring of two new employees, including an American Indian health program officer and an American Indian child and family program specialist. Iron Shooter said her office is working to build relationships with tribes statewide. 'Now, we are not there yet. We are slowly building on providing the information,' Iron Shooter said. 'It's going to take some time to build these processes, and it's not going to happen overnight. And I feel like the department is being super patient and kind with our process that we've developed.' In her remarks to the caucus, Iron Shooter emphasised the office's focus on consultation. 'We are tribal members. We grew up here in Montana,' Iron Shooter said. 'And while I don't report directly to the department director, I am in the director's office, and there is always an open-door policy with the director and myself to communicate. And I do report to him once a month, and it's on demand.' Iron Shooter is a citizen of the Sicangu Oyate from the Rosebud Sioux of South Dakota and of the Aaniih Anin from the Fort Belknap Indian Community of Montana. Several American Indian Caucus members have alleged that Iron Shooter works remotely rather than in Helena at the DPHHS office. The state database that tracks employee pay shows Iron Shooter as located in Billings as of 2024. When asked if Iron Shooter is a remote worker, the health department replied that the question would have to go through a public information request portal. That yielded a direction to use the state's pay transparency website. The department responded similarly when MTFP requested a tour of the Helena office; that was denied. Fox told MTFP and ICT that Iron Shooter is not stationed in Helena. 'She told me herself, she works from an office in Billings,' Fox said. Evers, who worked out of the DPHHS office in Helena, said being located in the capital city was crucial to her role. 'I was a part of leadership and reported directly to the director [of DPHHS]. This built the relationship internally with all staff,' Evers said. Iron Shooter is a level below Evers' former post and reports to the Public Health and Community Affairs Executive Director Dave Gerard, according to organizational charts. By being located in Helena, Evers said she was involved in impromptu meetings and she believes that department leaders thought to involve her in discussions that could potentially affect Indian Country because they saw her in the building every day. 'I understand that the department wants to be effective, but there has been ample time now to see that the newer process is not working, which was expressed by legislators and tribal leaders," Evers said Webber said if the position is not reinstated by this Legislature, 'we will bring this bill back next session.' Webber also suggested that during the interim before the 2027 legislative session, the interim State-Tribal Relations Committee could consider recommending the creation of a new state department, what she called 'the Department of Legislative Tribal Consultation.' Fox said he thinks there's a '50-50 chance' the amendment made in the budget committee last week has the desired effect, adding if it doesn't happen this session it will continue to be a priority going forward. This story is co-published by Montana Free Press and ICT, a news partnership that covers the Montana American Indian Caucus during the state's 2025 legislative session
Associated Press
30-01-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Private contractor says he's the one who split controversial contract, not former Senate president
A private contractor at the center of a Montana Senate ethics probe is pushing back against allegations of waste and abuse directed at the chamber's former president, Republican Jason Ellsworth. Stevensville resident Bryce Eggleston, in a deposition obtained by Montana Free Press, testified that it wasn't Ellsworth's call to divide into two contracts a $170,100 work agreement awarded to Eggleston. Eggleston under oath said it was him and not Ellsworth who wrote the contracts and estimated the cost of his services, details intended to discredit a Legislative Auditor's conclusion last week that Ellsworth deliberately split the work into two contracts to avoid Montana's competitive bidding laws for government work of more than $100,000. The auditor deemed that splitting of the contract an 'abuse of (Ellsworth's) government position.' 'The original proposals were drafted by me,' Eggleston said the deposition. 'In my mind, if you potentially are going to subcontract the work, that you might have to have a separate agreement in order to do so, to subcontract the entire contract, except for a portion thereof,' Eggleston offered as an explanation for the division. Eggleston described the work to be done as post-legislative analysis of the state's rollout of up to 27 bills to reform Montana courts, once the bills became law. Eggleston said that he expected the work to involve many hours monitoring the Montana judiciary to see how courts put the new laws into practice, during which he would prepare an analysis of elements of the new laws that needed to be changed. He estimated the cost of the work at $6,300 per bill and separated the work so he could farm it out if the job proved too large for his business, Agile Analytics, of which Eggleston is the only employee. Agile Analytics was incorporated within weeks of the contracts being submitted. The contractor disputed several of the Legislative Audit Division's claims about the contract and said he had never been contacted by investigators working on the report. He said in the deposition that he received several calls from the press, to which he didn't respond. Eggleston's deposition was attached to a request for a correction to the Legislative Auditor's report. Ellsworth's attorney, Joan Mell, authored the correction letter to Auditor Angus Maciver and conducted the 120-page deposition of Eggleston. The Legislative Auditor's report didn't include testimony from Ellsworth, who requested his attorney be present for discussions with the auditor. Ellsworth told Montana Free Press that Maciver indicated a willingness to allow the senator to have a lawyer present for questioning but then allowed the senator less than two days to find one. Wednesday marked the first meeting of the Senate Ethics Committee. Evenly divided by political party, the four-member committee met to discuss rules for proceeding with an investigation into the contract, which was awarded in December in the final days of Ellsworth's two-year term as Senate president. Tuesday, current Senate President Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, announced that he had hired Matt Monforton, a conservative firebrand, to represent the Senate in ethics committee proceedings. Monforton, a former legislator, has made several social media posts critical of Ellsworth since the 2025 Legislature convened. Regier emailed the press Wednesday, clarifying that Monforton was his personal attorney in the matter, after questions arose over whether the Senate had hired Monforton without considering other attorneys. The ethics committee Wednesday quickly divided over whether Monforton could be impartial. Sen. Laura Smith, a former federal prosecutor and Helena Democrat, said Monforton's comments about Ellsworth on social media should be disqualifying. Smith and Sen. Chris Pope, D-Bozeman, suggested they work with Republican members Sen. Forrest Mandeville, of Columbus, and Sen. Tom McGillvray, of Billings, to select an impartial attorney. 'This is a committee decision about what kind of (attorney) should be shepherding us through what must be a fair and impartial process,' Smith told committee members. However, McGillvray and Mandeville said legislative committees as a rule don't pick their staff. The choice was Senate President Regier's, they said. The ethics investigation is the latest in a series of antagonistic exchanges between Senate Republican leadership and the chamber's former leader. Ellsworth, of Hamilton, joined with Democrats on the first day of the session to stage a surprise amendment to the Senate Rules, which resulted in several members of an undesirable Senate committee receiving better assignments. Ellsworth later described the committee as a means for Senate Republican leaders to sideline several lawmakers — Ellsworth, four other Republicans and three Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Pat Flowers, D-Belgrade. Senate leadership shut down committee bill hearings for a week after the uprising. An attempt by leadership to regain control of Senate Rules failed. Then, on Jan. 17, news of the $170,100 contract with Eggleston broke. By Jan. 24, the Legislative Auditor produced a report based on interviews with legislative staff and the Department of Administration that suggested Ellsworth handcrafted two contracts to get around state competitive bidding laws and, in the process, awarded work to Eggleston, a former Ellsworth employee. ___
