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Jeff Mangan

Craig Holman

Ph.D., Government Affairs Lobbyist, Public Citizen

Founder

A lifelong Montanan, Jeff served as Montana's 12th Commissioner of Political Practices. Dedicated to public service, Mangan has championed transparency and ethical leadership at every level of government.

Rob Jackson

Professor at the New York University School of Law & former commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Marc Racicot

Former Republican governor of Montana and former chairman of the Republican National Committee

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President, End Citizens United

master plan 11 4 24

montana amicus brief said 2 claims demo BS bullock w/ mccain

11-1179-Senators-Whitehouse-and-McCain-Cert-Amicus

sep by other reps

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oct 23 2020

https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/environment/william-perry-pendley-acting-director-blm-ruling/

at what point does the symbolic nature of defying an enemy’s victory begin to compromise the goals you’re actually trying to achieve?

 That’s a question members of the Trump administration must be asking themselves right now,

 because the continued presence of William Perry Pendley at the Bureau of Land Management increasingly looks like it might undo much of their work to benefit the oil and gas industries.

Pendley is the face of those industries’ attempts to steal public land from the American people. He’s also the author of a plethora of racist, homophobic, and xenophobic op-eds. If you don’t think that sounds like the kind of character that could pass a Senate confirmation vote, then you’re not alone. Pendley’s boss, interior secretary David Bernhardt, must agree, as he engaged in a scheme that had Pendley reauthorized as acting director of the BLM over and over, in what a federal court ended up ruling was an illegal attempt to avoid those confirmation hearings. 

The decision, written by federal judge Brian Morris reads:

Pendley has served and continues to serve unlawfully as the Acting BLM Director. His ascent to Acting BLM Director did not follow any of the permissible paths set forth by the U.S. Constitution or the [Federal Vacancies Reform Act]. Pendley has not been nominated by the President and has not been confirmed by the Senate to serve as BLM Director. Pendley is not a member of the permitted category of individuals who can serve in an acting capacity in a [Presidential appointment and Senate confirmation position] under the FVRA. Secretary Bernhardt lacked the authority to appoint Pendleyas an Acting BLM Director under the FVRA. Pendley unlawfully took the temporary position beyond the 210-day maximum allowed by the FVRA. Pendley unlawfully served as Acting BLM Director after the President submitted his permanent appointment to the Senate for confirmation—another violation of the FVRA. And Pendley unlawfully serves as Acting BLM Director today.

That ruling came after Montana’s Democratic governor (and Senate candidate) Steve Bullock brought a suit arguing that Pendley’s authority at the agency was illegal and that land-management decisions created under his leadership were invalid as a result.

That was three weeks ago. Since that time, Pendley has defied the court ruling ordering him to stand down, and that court has again ruled in favor of Bullock’s suit, this time invalidating several BLM actions in Montana. And that decision looks like it has opened the door to further lawsuits, potentially undoing anything the BLM has accomplished since Pendley first ascended to acting director in July 2019.

Confused? Me, too. Let’s unpack this.

“I have not been ousted,” Pendley told Wyoming’s Casper Star-Tribune a week after the federal court ruled that he had “served unlawfully as the Acting BLM director for 424 days.”

“We are going to recognize that authority of the court and will obey it,” Pendley said, seeming to contradict himself.

The BLM is one of 11 agencies managed by the Department of the Interior. The DOI’s leader, the secretary of the interior, is a cabinet-level position within the executive branch and requires confirmation by the Senate, as do the leaders of each of those 11 agencies. Like other federal departments and agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Trump administration has attempted to avoid congressional oversight by using temporary “acting” directors rather than putting those political appointees up for a confirmation vote.

What Pendley and Bernhardt appear to be doing is taking a very narrow interpretation of the court’s ruling that, to most people, seemed to remove him. The decision ordered that Pendley’s authority as acting director be revoked; however, it didn’t state that he couldn’t continue other work at the agency. The order also removed Bernhardt’s authority to appoint anyone else to run the BLM, either in acting or confirmed capacity. Pendley’s actual title is deputy director of policy and programs, so he’s carried on in that role, while Bernhardt (who has passed a Senate confirmation) has simply taken over the duties of acting BLM director. 

It gets more complicated: in an October 13 press release issued by the BLM, Pendley argues he’s “never been acting director [of the BLM]. I have been Deputy Director of Policy and Programs.”

The press release continues: “Pendley said that the Secretary of the Interior had given him the authority to exercise the delegable, non-exclusive duties and functions of the Director.”

But in a press release from June 26, the DOI contradicts that claim, stating, “Mr. Pendley currently serves as the Bureau of Land Management’s Deputy Director for Policy and Programs, exercising the authority of the director.”

Now, following the ruling, it appears as if Bernhardt and Pendley are attempting to continue their arrangement, with Bernhardt signing anything that requires director-level authorization and delegating any other authority at the BLM to Pendley.

“I’m still Deputy Director for Policy and Programs doing what the Deputy Director for Policy and Programs does,” said Pendley in the October press release. “And that’s: provide leadership in managing the Bureau of Land Management, consistent with the directives I get from the Secretary. But… if there’s something that needs action by the director of the Bureau of Land Management, I won’t be doing that. The judge said I can’t do that. And so, I won’t be doing that.”

The BLM and DOI have not responded to multiple requests for comment from Outside.

Meanwhile, the federal court in Montana reconvened last week and ruled that the BLM’s three management actions in Montana (one of which would have opened up 650,000 acres in the state to drilling with virtually no regulation) were, as Governor Bullock argued, illegal since they’d been created under Pendley’s leadership. As part of that hearing, the judge ordered the BLM to provide a nationwide list of actions taken during Pendley’s tenure, but the agency refused to comply.

“Despite Federal Defendants’ disagreement with the exercise and apparent refusal to engage in such a search in good faith, it remains probable that [there are] additional actions taken by Pendley that should be set aside as unlawful,” Judge Morris wrote in the decision.

His decision could open the door for further challenges to BLM actions taken since last July. Sixty conservation organizations already sent an open letter to Bernhardt on October 6 detailing 30 projects they intend to fight; these include everything from management plans for lands formerly contained within Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument to ongoing attempts to open up the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. The letter reads like a list of virtually every attempt the Trump administration has made to benefit of the oil and gas industries over the past 15 months. It also challenges the BLM’s controversial relocation of its headquarters from Washington, D.C., to an office building shared with oil companies in Grand Junction, Colorado. And by keeping Pendley in his role, Bernhardt will likely open the door for those organizations to challenge any actions the agency may take in the future, too.

Both the DOI and BLM plan to appeal Judge Morris’s rulings, but no date has been set for that hearing. It’s unlikely the appeal will reach court before the new year. The ruling on the appeal will undoubtedly provide clarification on whether the BLM’s actions under Pendley will need to be challenged all at once or individually. So, until then, this whole thing is in a holding pattern. The results of the upcoming election will determine if Pendley and Bernhardt get to continue their scheme past January 20.

Despite the delay, public-lands advocates remain extremely optimistic about the outcome of these challenges. That includes the chairperson of the House Natural Resources Committee, Raúl Grijalva. While he plans to wait for the appeal hearing before bringing the matter before Congress, he also believes that Judge Morris’s ruling is clear. 

“Our understanding of the ruling is that nobody needs to pick and choose which actions should be reversed, because none of his actions were legitimate in the first place,” Grijalva told Outside. “The administration needs to drop its delaying tactics in court, escort William Pendley out of the building, and start the long process of restoring public faith in BLM’s legitimacy.”

Update: October 23, 3 P.M.: Today, Grijalva's office sent the following letter to Secretary Bernhardt.

20-10-23 RG to Bernhardt Re… by Wes Siler

Filed to: 

huh?

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/520889-booted-from-top-blm-role-pendley-says-he-will-respect-court-order

embattled Bureau of Land Management official William Perry Pendley told a Wyoming public radio station he has not been “ousted” from his job at the agency despite a court ruling saying he illegally served as its acting director.

The Friday interview was distributed by BLM’s press office Tuesday evening, couched as a way to “correct the record” after Pendley garnered attention in:{an interview with another outlet:(style="box-sizing:border-box"):}: saying the court ruling “has no impact, no impact whatsoever” on his role within the department.

“If there's something that needs action by the director of the Bureau of Land Management, I won't be doing that,” Pendley said in an interview he requested with :{Wyoming Public Media:(style="box-sizing:border-box"):}: the next day. 

“The judge said I can't do that. And so, I won't be doing that.”

A Montana-based U.S. District Court judge ruled last month that Pendley "served unlawfully ... for 424 days," giving the Department of the Interior 10 days to justify why it shouldn’t throw out many of the decisions Pendley has made during his tenure.

Pendley, who had served as the de-facto head of BLM for over a year, was only nominated to the position this summer, but the nomination was withdrawn shortly thereafter. Pendley has a long history of opposing federal ownership of public lands, and the entire Democratic caucus planned to oppose him — putting the spotlight on vulnerable Republicans up for reelection.

Pendley served as the acting director through a series of temporary orders that were challenged in court by Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D). His role is now limited to his official title of deputy director for policy and programs.

“I see these headlines in these newspaper stories saying I've been ousted; I have not been ousted. I'm still at my desk, I have the confidence of the President of the United States, I have the confidence of the Secretary. And my task is to fulfill the President's commitment to the American people to have jobs, to have conservation, and to increase recreation on our public lands,”Pendley said in the latest interview.

He went on to say the Department of the Interior, which oversees BLM, will appeal the ruling.

Pendley’s comments are a bit of a departure from his :{prior interview:(style="box-sizing:border-box"):}: with the :{Powell Tribune:(style="box-sizing:border-box"):}:.

“I’m still here, I’m still running the bureau,” Pendley told the outlet. “I have always been, from day one.”

:{

}:

https://www.alternet.org/2020/10/montana-gop-senator-got-influx-of-cash-after-vote-to-extend-investor-visa-program-rampant-with-fraud/

igor salon

the republicans have attacked Montana Gov. Steve Bullock for encouraging Chinese investment in his state even though Sen. Steve Daines, a GOP incumbent, voted to reauthorize a visa program that had been criticized for "rampant" fraud.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee recently released an ad alleging that Bullock, who is challenging Daines in a neck-and-neck race that could decide control of the Senate, has a "dangerous relationship" with China because he urged investment in Montana under the EB-5 visa program, which provides visas to immigrants who invest at least $500,000 in the United States.[vid?]

video in the ad was first reported by National Review, which noted that Bullock has called for reforms to the program. The report also noted that the top beneficiary of the fraud-plagued program in Montana has been the Yellowstone Club, a resort in Big Sky, Montana, whose owner has donated to Bullock and where the governor has hosted fundraisers.

The article added that the top executive at CrossHarbor Capital Partners, which owns the club, also donated to Daines, who "has not co-sponsored legislation" that would implement reforms to the program. Investor Brian Su, who advocates for EB-5 visas, donated tens of thousands to Daines and other Republicans after Daines voted to extend the program without any reforms to address potential fraud.

Daines reportedly met with Su, a major Republican donor, at the Yellowstone Club at the invitation of CrossHarbor Capital Partners before voting for the extension. He received an influx of donations from the company's executives two days after the vote.

Daines, who has extensive ties to China, and then-Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., who later served as President Trump's Interior secretary, met with Su at the Yellowstone Club in 2016 to court Chinese investment in Montana.They promised to provide investors with maximum support and assistance, according to a translation of an article published in the Chinese media outlet Chuansongme.

Su is the founder of the Artisan Business Group, which helps Chinese investors establish relationships in the U.S., and is a "leading authority on EB-5 marketing and promotion." Su visited the Yellowstone Club at the invitation of CrossHarbor Capital Partners, according to Chuansongme.

Su donated $3,000 to Daines' Big Sky Committee around the time of the meeting, the only individual contribution on the committee's September 2016 Federal Election Commission report. Su has donated $6,500 to Daines' campaign, leadership PAC and super PAC since 2016. He has also donated $10,000 to the Montana Republican Party and more than $59,000 to the NRSC and Republican candidates and political committee

https://www.alternet.org/2020/09/montana-gop-lawmakers-made-fortunes-at-tech-giant-oracle-and-became-its-best-friends-in-dc

salon

montana Republicans Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Greg Gianforte share a tight financial and legislative history with each other and with the tech giant Oracle that goes back years. That relationship has netted each of them several million dollars and made Gianforte one of the wealthiest members of Congress.

Both have also used their offices to support legislation and other initiatives for which Oracle spent significant time and money lobbying, and from which the company stood to gain financially — including through defense contracts.

Additionally, both are up for election this year: Daines is running for re-election to the Senate, in a tight race with current Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, while Gianforte is trying to move from the House — where he serves as the state’s lone representative — to the governor’s mansion.

Gianforte made his fortune from RightNow Technologies, a Bozeman-based tech company he co-founded with his wife in 1997, where Daines served as an executive for 12 years. In 2011, Gianforte sold the company to Oracle for $1.5 billion, at the time holding between 20% and 25% of the company’s stock, which was valued at between $300 million and $400 million, according to statements he made to the Billings Gazette.

that sale sent 100 jobs to Texas, according to a report in the Missoulan, but Gianforte stayed, working in a consulting capacity until March 2013, per his LinkedIn page.

The sale went a long way toward making Gianforte the wealthiest member of Congress, a title he held until last year when he was displaced by appointed Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., whose husband is CEO of the New York Stock Exchange

The Gianforte Family Trust holds more than $190 million in assets, as of its 2018 tax filing, and supports a number of ultra-conservative organizations and efforts, including helping to build a creationist museum in Glendive, Montana, that depicts humans coexisting with dinosaurs.

Daines reported that between 2011 and 2012, when he stepped away from the company to run for Senate, RightNow and Oracle paid him a combined $550,882 in salary. He also reported earning between $2 million and $10 million over those two years, according to disclosures.

Since 1998, Daines and Gianforte, through their company Genesis Partners, have shared a stake in a Bozeman office complex called Genesis Business Park, which rented space to RightNow and subsequently Oracle. The complex currently hosts an Oracle campus, which Gianforte told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle in 2015 had a 10-year lease, which is apparently set to expire next March.

Between 2015 dna 2018, Daines pulled in between $485,000 and $5.1 million per year in rent from the office park, and 2012 through 2014 earned between $100,001 and $1 million, according to his federal disclosure forms.

Gianforte reported earning between $50,000 and $100,000 from rent and capital gains through Genesis Partners, per his disclosures.

In fact, Daines officially filed his candidacy for Senate from the Oracle offices in Bozeman, which he had leased to the company. From the Missoula Independent:

Critics have since speculated that [Daines’] years at the company and the money netted by executives through the Oracle purchase were the springboard from which Daines launched his political career. In fact, according to a February 2014 article in the Billings Gazette, Daines officially filed his candidacy for the U.S. Senate from his iPhone while at the Bozeman offices of Oracle.

While in congress, Daines and Gianforte have pushed legislation that would benefit Oracle, including bills lobbied on by Oracle, federal reports show.

Daines introduced an amendment to a 2017 spending bill (SB 2943) that included spending to “ensure higher quality cybersecurity” for Department of Energy and Pentagon nuclear command and communication systems. Oracle had previously been awarded DOE contracts to do software work for the National Nuclear Security Administration, as well as DOD contracts for electronics and communications equipment.

Oracle reported that it lobbied on that bill for those specific issues, expending nearly $2 million on lobbying that quarter alone, government disclosures show.

The Montana legislative duo also supported billions of dollars in federal government procurement on which Oracle had lobbied.

Daines also voted to allocate billions of dollars for procurement as part of the fiscal 2016 and fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAAs), Gianforte effectively voted in favor of the 2017 and 2020 NDAAs, both of which Oracle lobbied on.

Specifically, Oracle lobbied on issues related to IT, cloud and cybersecurity procurement policies, spending nearly $2 million lobbying on both, according to disclosures.

Furthermore, Daines used committee markups in 2015 and 2016 to increase funding for cybersecurity measures by nearly $2 billion, while Oracle touted its cybersecurity work with the federal government — specifically the Pentagon.

Daines also worked to boost cybersecurity innovation in the private sector, introducing legislation to get cybersecurity interests a seat at the table of a Workforce Advisory Board.

Oracle, whose complete cloud services division took in about $27.4 billion per year, lobbied on “cloud computing issues” throughout Daines’ time in Congress.

Daines similarly supported millions of dollars in funding for artificial intelligence (AI) programs, which Oracle stood to benefit from substantially, as the company offered an array of products incorporating AI and machine learning.

Daines has routinely advocated for private sector advantages on those issues, while Oracle promoted its government collaborations and spent millions lobbying for spending increases, including nearly $2 million for AI.

Daines and Gianforte both supported rolling back net neutrality,which Oracle publicly supported — and though many tech companies share the same interests, Daines and Gianforte used their offices to oppose policies supported by Oracle competitors, most specifically Google.

One such measure was the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, which held website operators liable for third-party content that promotes sex trafficking. According to the Verge, Oracle publicly supported that bill in an effort to harm their competitors, specifically Google:

Why Oracle would come out so publicly in favor of the bill is less obvious, since the law lacks even a tenuous connection to their business model. However the company’s animosity towards Google is well-documented, from its $9 billion lawsuit over Android, to Oracle’s funding of the Google Transparency Project, which put out a report earlier this year claiming that Google had bought academic influence through grants. In a bizarre way, Google has become the favorite target of those who support SESTA.

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported in 2015 that Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock had met with Oracle competitors Google and Facebook ahead of his 2016 re-election bid, apparently in an effort to lure more tech competitors to Montana’s Northern Rocky tech apparatus. Bullock defeated Gianforte in that election, and is now running against Daines in one of the nation’s most closely-watched Senate races.

Daines once sent a letter to Google voicing concerns about their personal health information protection mechanisms, requesting the company provide information on the subject. Coincidentally, Oracle also criticized its chief rival’s data collection, and played a key role in launching an Australian government probe into Google over its collection practices.

In 2017, Daines called on Oracle CEO Safra Catz to join a tech jobs summit that he hosted.

Gianforte co-sponsored and voted in favor of an Oracle-backed immigration bill, the Fairness For High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019, on which Oracle lobbied, according to federal disclosures.

Gianforte also supported intelligence authorization legislation that Oracle lobbied on, voting in favor of an intelligence authorization act in 2018, 2019 and 2020, per Senate records.

In addition to the millions of dollars that Daines and Gianforte made from their business relationships with Oracle, including ongoing rent, the company has contributed financially to the two lawmakers’ election campaigns.

Daines for his part has taken over $56,000 in campaign contributions from Oracle over his career, making the company one of his top 10 contributors, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Oracle employees have contributed $10,700 to Gianforte over the course of his two congressional bids.

Daines currently appears to hold a lead over Bullock in this year’s Senate race, and President Trump is expected to easily carry Montana. But the state has a history of being politically unpredictable, and Democratic Sen. Jon Tester successfully held his seat in 2018.

Gianforte faces a tougher challenge against Democratic Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney, in a race currently rated as a “toss-up” in the RealClearPolitics average of polls.

Gianforte first won his House seat in a tight 2017 special election, after former Rep. Ryan Zinke joined Trump’s cabinet for his spectacularly scandal-studded stint as secretary of the Interior. On the eve of Gianforte’s election he made worldwide headlines for body-slamming Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs, and was convicted of assault in Montana state court the next month (after winning the election). The judge handed down a fine and sentenced the representative-elect to community service and anger management therapy.

As a result of the terms of the settlement, Gianforte gave the Committee to Protect Journalists $50,000, about 1/4,000 of his total estimated net worth.

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https://www.cbsnews.com/news/steve-bullock-makes-second-dnc-debate-after-not-qualifying-for-the-first/?intcid=CNI-00-10aaa3a

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https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2018/07/montana-pols-launch-fight-against-nonprofit

Two Montana politicians on Tuesday launched separate fights against the Trump administration’s decision to relax disclosure requirements on certain politically active nonprofit groups.

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) introduced legislation that would overturn the decision and increase nonprofit transparency requirements. Gov. Steve Bullock (D-Mont.) filed a lawsuit in a Montana Federal District Court that would prevent the administration from implementing the new rules.

The Treasury Department announced last week that it would no longer require certain nonprofit organizations, such as 501(c)(4) groups, to disclose identifying information about their donors to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The move, which the department said will save resources and prevent the accidental release of confidential information, could allow groups like the National Rifle Association and Planned Parenthood to pour “dark money” into nationwide elections with less government oversight than before.

Tester’s legislation, dubbed the Spotlight Act, would effectively reverse the department’s new rules. The Spotlight Act would also require 501(c)(4), 501(c)(5) and 501(c)(6) groups to disclose to the IRS and the public the names of donors who contribute more than $5,000. Those groups do not have to release the names of any donors under current laws, which is why many politically active nonprofits are called “dark money” groups.

Bullock’s lawsuit, first reported by The New York Times, claims the IRS and Treasury Department unlawfully interfered with Montana’s ability to gather the data it needs to manage its tax laws. The suit also claims the Trump administration did not follow the Administrative Procedure Act, which requires agencies such as the Treasury Department to provide opportunities for public comment before changing policies.

Bullock’s litigation is seeking to nullify the new IRS rules, according to court documents.

Tester and Bullock have both been champions of campaign finance reform that increases election transparency. Tester has introduced multiple campaign finance reform plans, including a proposed constitutional amendment declaring that corporations are not people and a bill that would require senators to file campaign finance disclosures electronically.

Bullock helped push legislation in Montana that requires independent groups to disclose their donors if they spend money in state elections, regardless of the group’s tax status. He also signed an executive order requiring recipients of government contracts to disclose dark money spending in Montana elections.

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appt judge http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/politics/judge-in-political-corruption-lawsuit-is-married-to-newly-appointed

U.S. District Judge Charles Lovell also ruled that the state’s campaign contribution limits are unconstitutional, a decision that may have influenced the outcome of the 2012 governor’s election. In the six-day window between Lovell’s decision and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstating those limits, Republican candidate Rick Hill accepted a $500,000 donation from the state GOP.

That donation became a major focal point in the final weeks of the campaign, ending with Democratic Attorney General Steve Bullock winning by a slim margin.

This year, American Tradition Partnership is as active as ever. It’s suing to try to overturn contribution limits in Montana, so far unsuccessfully. The group sent out mailers attacking candidates before the June primary in Montana, reporting none of them to the state as political expenditures. It later put out a press release saying that 12 of the 14 candidates it backed had won.

For the general election, the group appears to be targeting Montana’s attorney general, Steve Bullock, the Democratic candidate for governor. As attorney general, Bullock fought the partnership’s lawsuits against the state, including the one that ended up in the Supreme Court.

The first issue of the partnership’s Montana Statesman newspaper, dated Oct. 7, which a group press release said was sent to 180,000 voters, featured four photographs on the front page: Three of registered sex offenders, and one of Bullock, accusing him of allowing one in four sex offenders to go unregistered. “Bullock admits failure,” the headline announced. A full-page ad accused Bullock of taking illegal corporate contributions and of “criminal hypocrisy.”

The Statesman’s editor and publisher is none other than Ferguson, the partnership’s executive director, described as an “award-winning newspaper veteran” who has been “commended by other newspapers for his ‘honest, intelligent and issue-oriented’ approach.”

Ferguson didn’t respond to a question about his journalism credentials.

“Conservative group American Tradition Partnership now one of nation’s biggest media outlets,” said a press release on the group’s website, adding that the newspaper would publish “several” editions through Election Day and into 2013.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/government-elections-politics/big-sky-big-money/mysterious-docs-found-in-meth-house-reveal-inner-workings-of-dark-money-group/

wiki

Steve Bullock (born April 11, 1966) is the 24th Governor of Montana, in office since January 2013. An attorney by profession, and a Democrat, Bullock previously served as the 23rd Attorney General of Montana from 2009 to 2013.

John Walsh, Bullock's running mate, is the former Adjutant General of the Montana National Guard.[30] Bullock won the election, held on November 6, 2012, defeating Republican ex-US Representative Rick Hill.[31] Bullock came out on top by 7,571 votes, or 48.9%, to Hill's 47.3%. Libertarian candidate Ron Vandevender pulled 3.8% of the vote.[32]

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Early life, education, and law career:{:(style="margin-left:-0.25em;margin-right:0.25em"):}:[edit source | edit:{beta:(style="vertical-align:top;padding-left:0.5em;background-image:none !important;display:inline !important"):}::{]}:

Bullock was born in Missoula, Montana and raised in Helena, the state capital, where he graduated from Helena High School in 1984.[1] He received his undergraduate degree fromClaremont McKenna College and his law degree with honors from Columbia Law School in New York.[2]

Bullock served as chief legal counsel to Montana Secretary of State Mike Cooney. He went on to work for four years with the Montana Department of Justice under Attorney General Joe Mazurek, first as executive assistant attorney general, and later as acting chief deputy (1997–2001).[3] During this time, he also served as legislative director, coordinating the Attorney General's legislative efforts. As an Assistant Attorney General, Bullock wrote the landmark opinion thatguaranteed public access to streams and rivers.

He was unsuccessful in his first race for Montana Attorney General, losing in the 2000 Democratic primary to Mike McGrath, who went on to be elected Attorney General that year and currently serves as Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court.[4] From 2001 to 2004, Bullock practiced law with the Washington, D.C. firm of Steptoe & Johnson. While there, he also served as an adjunct professor atGeorge Washington University Law School. Bullock returned to Montana in 2004, working in private practice in Helena where he represented individuals, consumer organizations, labor unions, peace officers, associations of political subdivisions, and small and large businesses.[5] He ran successfully for Attorney General in 2008.[6]

Attorney General:{:(style="margin-left:-0.25em;margin-right:0.25em"):}:[edit source | edit:{beta:(style="vertical-align:top;padding-left:0.5em;background-image:none !important;display:inline !important"):}::{]}:

Bullock was the Democratic nominee for Attorney General in 2008, defeating two other candidates in the primary election in June. Bullock then went on to win the contested general election race with 52.64% of the vote against Republican Tim Fox. Bullock received 245,669 votes, more than either presidential candidate.[7] As Attorney General, Bullock was the state's chief lawyer and law enforcement officer. He led the Montana Department of Justice, which encompasses the Forensic Science Laboratory, the Montana Highway Patrol, the Motor Vehicle Division, Gambling Control, Legal Services and the Division of Criminal Investigation.[citation needed]

During his tenure as Attorney General, Bullock’s office increased the number of police officers on the street and prosecutors in the courtroom, investigating, arresting and convicting child sex predators. Bullock also pushed for tougher drunken driving laws and a crackdown on prescription drug abuse.[8] He introduced the 24/7 Sobriety Program for repeat DUI offenders statewide.[9] This program requires repeat drunk drivers to take breath tests twice a day. The program is aimed at keeping highways and communities free of drunk drivers, and keeping non-violent offenders out of jail and off the public rolls. The program has had success in dropping DUI offenses.[10]

The Attorney General’s office also pursued the railroad industry for monopolistic business practices,[11][12] and led the way in stopping an anti-competitive merger between two the largest meat packers in the country.[13] Bullock focused on the misclassification of employees as independent contractors and allowing FedEx to avoid paying millions in state taxes and fees. Bullock's efforts resulted in changes by FedEx to comply with federal and state laws.[14]

Bullock attracted national attention by challenging the Citizens United decision through his defense of Montana’s 100-year old ban on corporate campaign expenditures.[15] After winning in the Montana Supreme Court, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the State of Montana in a narrow 5-4 decision.[16][17]

Bullock, who authored the state’s opinion guaranteeing access to rivers, streams, and public lands, worked with the legislature and Governor Brian Schweitzer to codify the access opinion into law.[18]

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Bullock at a campaign event in Glasgow, Montana, October 31, 2012.

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Main article: Montana gubernatorial election, 2012

Bullock announced on September 7, 2011 that he would be a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Montana in 2012.[19] In the Democratic primary, Bullock faced off against Helena resident Heather Margolis. Bullock won with 87% of the vote.[20]

He and his running mate, General John Walsh, proposed a jobs plan that focuses on small and medium sized Montana businesses as the engines of job creation. Bullock and Gen. Walsh call for:[21]

Bullock proposed a $400 property tax rebate for homeowners in Montana to spur job creation and refund a portion of the state’s $400 million budget surplus.[22]

General John Walsh, Bullock’s running mate, is the former Adjutant General of the Montana National Guard.[23] Bullock won the election, held on November 6, 2012, defeating Republican ex-US Representative Rick Hill.[24]

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Governor Bullock and his Lieutenant Governor, John Walsh, were sworn in on January 7, 2013.[25]

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  1. ^ "Attorney General Steve Bullock". Montana Department of Justice.
  2. ^ "Attorney General Steve Bullock profile". Montana Department of Justice.
  3. ^ "Attorney General Steve Bullock". Montana Department of Justice.
  4. ^ "2000 Statewide General Canvass". Montana Secretary of State.
  5. ^ "Attorney General Steve Bullock". Montana Department of Justice.
  6. ^ "2008 Statewide General Canvass". Montana Secretary of State.
  7. ^ "2008 Statewide General Canvass". Montana Secretary of State.
  8. ^ "Prescription Drug Abuse: What We’re Doing". Montana Department of Justice.
  9. ^ "MT Senate Committee passes 24/7 Sobriety Program.". KPAX.
  10. ^ "Daily Testing keeps most DUI suspects sober.". The Billings Gazette.
  11. ^ "Montana AG sues Burlington Northern to cover some rail costs". Missoulian.
  12. ^ "Bullock: State must protect agricultural producers". Missoulian.
  13. ^ "Montana leads 16-state effort to save small farms and ranches". Missoulian.
  14. ^ "FedEx settles with Montana over classification of delivery drivers". The Missoulian.
  15. ^ "Montana—Big Sky, Clean Politics". LA Times.
  16. ^ "Clean and Fair Elections". Montana Department of Justice.
  17. ^ "Court Declines to Revisit its Citizens United Decision". New York Times.
  18. ^ "Bridge Access Bill Now Law". Public Land and Water Access Association, Inc.
  19. ^ "Bullock announces Democratic run for governor via internet, Billings event". Missoulian.
  20. ^ "Bullock, Hill win governor primaries". Billings Gazette.
  21. ^ "A Jobs Plan for Montana: Part 1: Creating Opportunities for Small Business". stevebullock.com.
  22. ^ "Bullock Proposes $400 tax rebates for Montana homeowners". The Missoulian.
  23. ^ "Democrat Bullock taps former Montana adjutant general for lieutenant governor". The Missoulian.
  24. ^ Networks Declare Bullock Winner in Tight Race for Governor, The Billings Gazette by Charles S. Johnson, Gazette State Bureau. November 6, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  25. ^ Newly-elected Governor Bullock and Lieutenant Governor John Walsh sworn into office

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Steve Bullock (Montana politician)

not sure i get this; it's accusing bullock of hyporcrisy?  direct coordination between campaign and indep gp?  fefense of ATP? everyone does it?

http://freebeacon.com/the-left-wing-conspiracy-comes-to-montana/

dark $ article posted by lefer!

BY: Lachlan Markay 

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Shadowy liberal groups helped propel to victory a gubernatorial candidate who has led the fight against undisclosed “dark money” and championed transparency in political spending.

Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock led Montana’s efforts during his tenure as the state’s attorney general to undermine legal protections for private corporations and nonprofits that speak publicly about political issues.

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Montana law in June championed by Bullock that prohibited independent political communications by corporations.

Bullock has continued his crusade since winning the governorship in November.

“We have seen the rise of so-called ‘dark money’ groups that target candidates, yet refuse to tell the voting public who they really are and what they really represent,” he said in his Jan. 30 State of the State address. “They hide behind made-up names and made-up newspapers. They operate out of P.O. boxes or Washington, D.C. office buildings. They falsely proclaim themselves the guardians of Montana’s traditions.”

The headquarters of the Democratic consulting firm Hilltop Public Solutions appears to be one such Washington, D.C. office building: It serves as the mailing address for a number of pro-Bullock independent expenditure groups that were active during his election campaign.

Meanwhile, Hilltop was receiving payments directly from the Bullock campaign. Disclosure forms show that the Bullock campaign paid Hilltop for travel expenses and a series of conference calls throughout the year, as first reported by Media Trackers.

Hilltop’s involvement in the conference calls themselves is not clear.

The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment. However, Kevin O’Brien, the governor’s deputy chief of staff and former campaign manager, toldUSA Today correspondent John Adams that allegations of coordination between the campaign and independent expenditure groupsare “unsubstantiated and misleading,” though O’Brien declined to directly deny the allegations.

Hilltop did not respond to questions about its involvement in Montana’s gubernatorial race. However, publicly available information suggests that the group was coordinating a large effort through both direct work for the campaign and a web of “independent” groups to elect Bullock.

Shortly after receiving payments for those campaign-related conference calls, Hilltop began work for a pair of political action committees, soliciting fees in exchange for work supporting Bullock’s campaign.

One of those committees, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana, paid Hilltopfor salaried canvassers, mailings, and “management fees” in support of the Bullock campaign. Hilltop associate Molly Bell also coordinated hiring for Planned Parenthood activists during the campaign, according to a post on the group’s Facebook page.

A union-backed 527 called the Build Montana PAC paid Hilltop $9,000 for graphic design services that appear to be associated with a mailer supporting Bullock’s campaign, for which printing and mailing fees were paid to another vendor on the same day.

Build Montana PAC also enlisted the services of a firm called Brushfire Strategies, whose founding partner, Marco Guido, is a principal at Hilltop. Build Montana paid Brushfire more than $12,000 for phone banking in support of Bullock. That payment was mailed to Hilltop’s Washington D.C. office, at 1000 Potomac St. NW, Suite 500.

A state environmentalist group called Montana Conservation Voters (MCV) alsohired Hilltop to support Bullock’s campaign, making multiple payments for campaign mailers. Hilltop associate Joe Splinter was MCV’s development director until 2011.

MCV also paid Brushfire Strategies for Bullock phone-banking. Those payments were also mailed to Hilltop’s office.

Splinter was also listed as the treasurer for an independent expenditure group called Montana Hunters and Anglers Leadership Fund, which was active in the 2012 Montana Senate race. That group paid Brushfire to conduct get-out-the-vote calls in November, and mailed the payment to Hilltop’s headquarters.

The Bullock campaign also paid tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic media firm Three Point Media, which was founded by Hilltop partner Mo Elleithee, formultiple television ads.

Those payments, made over the course of several months, were also mailed to the office at Potomac St., which Three Point Media lists as its headquarters.

Three Point Media has done work for a 501(c)(4) group called the Citizens for Strength and Security Fund (CSS Fund), producing multiple ads for the group during the 2012 election cycle. The CSS Fund was created by Hilltop in 2009 to advance liberal health careproposals.

The Bullock campaign also mailed payments for an opposition research vendor to Hilltop’s office. Campaign finance disclosures show two payments to Eric Ohlsen, who heads the Democratic research firm Ohlsen Research.

Ohlsen’s relationship with Hilltop is not clear, but the metadata for the group’s website includes the phrase “Hilltop Public Solutions” and its website lists an office at Hilltop’s Potomac St. address. Ohlsen’s clients also include a group called Citizens for Strength and Security (distinct from the CSS Fund), which also hasties to Hilltop.

Citizens for Strength and Security came up in Bullock’s effort to undermine First Amendment protections for corporations and nonprofit groups. Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D., R.I.) and John McCain (R., Ariz.) cited the group in a briefsupporting Bullock’s argument to bolster their claim that disclosure requirements for independent expenditure groups “are inadequate.”

Bullock was more forceful in his State of the State address.

“These groups believe they can violate our laws and corrupt our government in order to create a system that benefits their special interests,” Bullock said. “Montanans deserve better.”

However, Bullock himself appears to have supported the organization behind Citizens for Strength and Security and a host of other shadowy liberal groups.

None of the groups contacted for comment by the Washington Free Beaconresponded, but the many links between them suggestHilltop played a significant role in coordinating both independent and campaign-related activities that led to Bullock’s electoral victory.

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