Wittich, A spkr

<div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">=</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px;"><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Former lawmaker won’t be disbarred or professionally disciplined for 2010 campaign violations</b></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">LEIA LARSEN Montana Free Press</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> Dec 6, 2018</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> 1</span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">A disciplinary complaint against former lawmaker Art Wittich has been dismissed.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Office of Disciplinary Counsel brought charges of professional misconduct against the Bozeman-based attorney in October 2017, stemming from Wittich’s 2010 primary election campaign for Senate District 35.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In a high-profile 2016 case, the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices sued Wittich, alleging he illegally coordinated with dark money political groups during the primary race and failed to report contributions. A district court jury confirmed Wittich violated campaign finance and reporting laws.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Montana Supreme Court upheld the jury’s decision in 2017. Wittich ultimately paid a $68,232 fine.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">In the October 2017 complaint, Montana Chief Disciplinary Counsel Michael Cotter claimed Wittich’s 2010 campaign violations also trampled over laws governing the ethics and professional conduct of licensed lawyers in the state.</span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Wittich has practiced law in Montana since 1985.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">A formal hearing on the alleged misconduct was scheduled for an unspecified date in January. The hearing could have resulted in Wittich’s disbarment or other disciplinary action.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">However, on Nov. 30, Cotter filed a motion to have the matter dismissed without prejudice. The Montana Commission on Practice, which oversees such complaints, ordered dismissal the same day.</span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Cotter’s office could not comment on why they dropped the disciplinary complaint.</span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Wittich referred Montana Free Press to his attorney, Mark D. Parker, for comment on the dismissal.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I’m always pleased when [a case] against my clients is dismissed,” Parker said. “I’m pleased with Art, pleased with the system, pleased with the prosecutor. Very pleased.”</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Parker filed a request to dismiss the case in November 2017, citing 10 other cases of Montana attorneys and law firms that violated campaign finance rules, but faced no subsequent disciplinary actions.</b></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“That was going to be my argument,” Parker said. “But it didn’t go to hearing.”</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Parker also claimed the complaint violated a six-year statute of limitations, that<b> Wittich’s campaign activity was free expression protected by the Montana and U.S. constitutions, </b>and that Montana campaign finance laws don’t extend to professional discipline.</span></div></span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><a href="https://montanafreepress.org/tag/john-sinrud/"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">https://montanafreepress.org/tag/john-sinrud/</font></a></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">wittich trial winds down</font></div><div><div class="byline" style="margin-bottom: 12px; vertical-align: middle; font-style: italic; margin-top: 0.5rem; padding-bottom: 0.5rem; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="by-author" style="display: inline;"> <span class="author vcard" itemprop="author" style="font-weight: 700;"><a class="url fn n" href="https://montanafreepress.org/author/jadam984/" title="More from John S. Adams" rel="author" style="text-decoration-line: none;">John S. Adams</a></span></span> <time class="entry-date updated dtstamp pubdate" datetime="2016-03-31T20:06:44-06:00" style="display: inline; margin-left: 0.5rem;">March 31, 2016</time></font></div><p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-weight: 700;">By John S. Adams</span>, <em>Editor-in-Chief</em></font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">HELENA — State Rep. Art Wittich, the man accused of accepting illegal in-kind contributions and services from conservative nonprofit groups during his 2010 Senate race, took the witness stand in his own defense Thursday in Lewis and Clark County District Court.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wittich is on trial in a civil lawsuit brought by Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl, who has accused the Bozeman Republican of illegally coordinating with groups funded by the anti-union National Right to Work Committee.</font></p><aside class="scaip scaip-1 " style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Thursday was day four of a scheduled five-day trial and it began with testimony from </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Motl, who fended off allegations by <b>Wittich’s attorney Quentin Rhoades</b> that he held a deep-seeded political bias against Wittich. Through questioning Rhoades attempted to paint Motl as an activist with a long history of working on liberal causes. Wittich, a conservative Republican, strongly opposed Motl’s confirmation in the 2015 Legislature.</span></font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Motl conceded that his only bias – which he called an “appropriate bias – was against the corrupting influence of “dark money” in Montana politics.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Dark money as it was used in 2010 is a serious threat to the integrity of the Montana election process,” Motl said.</font></p><aside class="scaip scaip-2 " style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Motl referenced testimony from Wednesday, when former Republican Rep. Jon Esp, of Big Timber, told the jury that even after winning his 2010 election, he chose not to run for office again because of the “dirty campaign” waged against him by the Right to Work-backed groups.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">If you have an undisclosed, unreported, secretive group of organizations working on behalf of<b> [Esp’s opponent Joel Boniek]</b>…doing what they did to a decent man, and that takes that man to a point where he’s not willing to serve the people of Montana anymore, you have damaged our election process for that candidate,” Motl said. “In addition you have damaged our election process for the people of Montana.”</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rhoades also attempted to get Motl to admit that there was no “smoking gun” evidence that proved Wittich requested special treatment from the Right to Work-backed groups. Rhoades asked Motl to show him the document that served as the “smoking gun.”</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Motl responded there has never been a campaign practice case with as many smoking guns, and pointed to previous witness testimony, phone records, emails between Wittich and Right to Work staffers, to make that case the Wittich had engaged in illegal coordination.</b></font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">C.B. Pearson, a Missoula campaign consultant and a longtime friend and associate of Motl, testified that in his expert opinion, the value of the services Wittich allegedly received from the Right to Work organizations totaled at least $22,000.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Chad Smith, a defense witness who said he runs a printing and direct mail company in Livingston, testified that in his opinion Wittich paid fair market value, if not slightly more for the services he admits he contracted from Direct Mail and Communications.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wittich’s lawyers says he paid around $7,000 for consulting, website, and database services, a sum Wittich said was, in highlight, too much for the products and services that were provided.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wittich took the stand twice during Thursday’s proceedings, once as a witness for the plaintiff, once as a witness for the defense.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The first time around Wittich struggled to recall specific details in his responses to questions from the state’s attorney, Gene Jarussi.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Wittich began many of his answers with phrases like “I don’t recall,” “I’m not sure,” and “I don’t remember”</b> in response to questions about documents, missing emails, receipts, training sessions he attended, and his relationship and conversations with Christian and Allison LeFer, the couple who ran the Right to Work-backed corporations in question.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Near the end of the day the defense called Wittich back to the stand where he told the jury personal details about his past, his family, how he got into politics, and other personal details aimed at warming jurors to the defendant.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Under questioning from his own attorney, Wittich’s memory was much clearer that earlier in the day.</b> Wittich responded with authority about how much he paid for direct mail pieces and website work, the problems he said he had with the LeFers’ company, and details about his “grassroots campaign.”</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 1.5; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Testimony will resume Friday with Wittich on the stand. Wittich is expected to be the last witness to testify in the case. Closing arguments are expected Friday afternoon. One attorney speaking on background said the jury should have the case for deliberation by 2 p.m.</font></p></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/art-wittich/">http://lastbestnews.com/tag/art-wittich/</a></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><article id="post-20011" class="clearfix post-20011 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-montana category-news tag-art-wittich tag-commissioner-of-political-practices tag-montana-supreme-court tag-office-of-disciplinary-counsel prominence-top-story" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(153, 153, 153); margin-bottom: 12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><header><h2 class="entry-title" style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; line-height: 1.1; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2017/10/office-of-disciplinary-counsel-files-complaint-against-wittich/" title="Permalink to Office of Disciplinary Counsel files complaint against Wittich" rel="bookmark" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Office of Disciplinary Counsel files complaint against Wittich</font></a></h2><h5 class="byline" style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="by-author"><span class="by">By:</span> <span class="author vcard" itemprop="author" style="text-transform: uppercase; font-weight: bold;"><a class="url fn n" href="http://lastbestnews.com/author/edkemmick/" title="More from Ed Kemmick" rel="author" style="text-decoration-line: none;">ED KEMMICK</a></span></span><span class="sep"> | </span><time class="entry-date updated dtstamp pubdate" datetime="2017-10-30T17:32:05+00:00">October 30, 2017</time></font></h5></header><div class="entry-content" style="margin-bottom: 24px;"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2017/10/office-of-disciplinary-counsel-files-complaint-against-wittich/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><img width="140" height="140" src="http://lastbestnews.com/wp-content/uploads/Wittich-on-the-stand-140x140.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Wittich" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/Wittich-on-the-stand-140x140.jpg 140w, /wp-content/uploads/Wittich-on-the-stand-60x60.jpg 60w" sizes="(max-width: 140px) 100vw, 140px" style="max-width: 30%; vertical-align: middle; border: 0px; height: auto; clear: both; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 20px;" /></font></a><p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The state Office of Disciplinary Counsel filed a complaint against former state Sen. Art Wittich on Monday, charging him with professional misconduct. The complaint, filed with the Commission on Practice of the Montana Supreme Court by Chief Disciplinary Counsel Michael Cotter, stems from Wittich’s trial in 2016, when he was found liable for violations of state campaign finance laws. This past August, the state high court turned down Wittich’s four-part appeal of that decision. (more…) <a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2017/10/office-of-disciplinary-counsel-files-complaint-against-wittich/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Continue Reading →</a></font></p><h5 class="tag-list" style="margin: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong>Filed under:</strong> <span class="post-category-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/category/montana/" title="Read Posts in the Montana category" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Montana</a></span>, <span class="post-category-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/category/news/" title="Read Posts in the News category" style="text-decoration-line: none;">News</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/art-wittich/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Art Wittich" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Art Wittich</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/commissioner-of-political-practices/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Commissioner of Political Practices" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Commissioner of Political Practices</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/montana-supreme-court/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Montana Supreme Court" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Montana Supreme Court</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/office-of-disciplinary-counsel/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Office of Disciplinary Counsel" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Office of Disciplinary Counsel</a></span></font></h5></div></article><article id="post-19054" class="clearfix post-19054 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-prairie-lights tag-art-wittich tag-daniel-kennedy tag-debra-bonogofsky tag-jonathan-motl tag-national-right-to-work-committee prominence-top-story" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(153, 153, 153); margin-bottom: 12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><header><h2 class="entry-title" style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; line-height: 1.1; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2017/08/prairie-lights-did-someone-say-political-hack/" title="Permalink to Prairie Lights: Did someone say ‘political hack’?" rel="bookmark" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Prairie Lights: Did someone say ‘political hack’?</font></a></h2><h5 class="byline" style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="by-author"><span class="by">By:</span> <span class="author vcard" itemprop="author" style="text-transform: uppercase; font-weight: bold;"><a class="url fn n" href="http://lastbestnews.com/author/edkemmick/" title="More from Ed Kemmick" rel="author" style="text-decoration-line: none;">ED KEMMICK</a></span></span><span class="sep"> | </span><time class="entry-date updated dtstamp pubdate" datetime="2017-08-26T23:28:30+00:00">August 26, 2017</time></font></h5></header><div class="entry-content" style="margin-bottom: 24px;"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2017/08/prairie-lights-did-someone-say-political-hack/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><img width="140" height="140" src="http://lastbestnews.com/wp-content/uploads/Motl-rhoades-1-140x140.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Confer" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/Motl-rhoades-1-140x140.jpg 140w, /wp-content/uploads/Motl-rhoades-1-60x60.jpg 60w" sizes="(max-width: 140px) 100vw, 140px" style="max-width: 30%; vertical-align: middle; border: 0px; height: auto; clear: both; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 20px;" /></font></a><p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Having lost in District Court and now at the Montana Supreme Court, former state Sen. Art Wittich has appealed again to the court of public opinion, airing the same old grievances and portraying his lawless self as the victim of a dastardly conspiracy. Before the start of his trial on charges of breaking campaign finance laws, Wittich said then-Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl, who filed the charges, had no case. (more…) <a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2017/08/prairie-lights-did-someone-say-political-hack/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Continue Reading →</a></font></p><h5 class="tag-list" style="margin: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong>Filed under:</strong> <span class="post-category-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/category/prairie-lights/" title="Read Posts in the Prairie Lights category" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Prairie Lights</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/art-wittich/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Art Wittich" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Art Wittich</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/daniel-kennedy/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Daniel Kennedy" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Daniel Kennedy</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/debra-bonogofsky/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Debra Bonogofsky" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Debra Bonogofsky</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/jonathan-motl/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Jonathan Motl" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Jonathan Motl</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/national-right-to-work-committee/" title="Read Posts tagged with: National Right to Work Committee" style="text-decoration-line: none;">National Right to Work Committee</a></span></font></h5></div></article><article id="post-19050" class="clearfix post-19050 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-montana category-news tag-art-wittich tag-jeff-magnan tag-jonathan-motl tag-national-right-to-work tag-pat-wagman prominence-category-featured" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(153, 153, 153); margin-bottom: 12px;"><header style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h2 class="entry-title" style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; line-height: 1.1; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2017/08/another-candidate-admits-guilt-in-corruption-case/" title="Permalink to Another candidate admits guilt in corruption case" rel="bookmark" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Another candidate admits guilt in corruption case</font></a></h2><h5 class="byline" style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="by-author"><span class="by">By:</span> <span class="author vcard" itemprop="author" style="text-transform: uppercase; font-weight: bold;"><a class="url fn n" href="http://lastbestnews.com/author/edkemmick/" title="More from Ed Kemmick" rel="author" style="text-decoration-line: none;">ED KEMMICK</a></span></span><span class="sep"> | </span><time class="entry-date updated dtstamp pubdate" datetime="2017-08-25T15:10:28+00:00">August 25, 2017</time></font></h5></header><div class="entry-content" style="margin-bottom: 24px;"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2017/08/another-candidate-admits-guilt-in-corruption-case/" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><img width="140" height="140" src="http://lastbestnews.com/wp-content/uploads/Pat-wagman-140x140.png" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Wag" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/Pat-wagman-140x140.png 140w, /wp-content/uploads/Pat-wagman-60x60.png 60w" sizes="(max-width: 140px) 100vw, 140px" style="max-width: 30%; vertical-align: middle; border: 0px; height: auto; clear: both; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 20px;" /></font></a><p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Another Montana politician accused of illegally accepting campaign contributions from corporations has admitted his guilt and agreed to pay a fine. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Pat M. Wagman signed a settlement agreement </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">in which he agreed to pay a civil fine of $19,599 by Oct. 1, and to pay $100 a day for every day after that if the fine is not paid in full. Wagman signed the settlement on Aug. 8 and it was signed Friday by state Commissioner of Political Practices Jeff Magnan. </span><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2017/08/another-candidate-admits-guilt-in-corruption-case/" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;">Continue Reading →</a></font></p><h5 class="tag-list" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong>Filed under:</strong> <span class="post-category-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/category/montana/" title="Read Posts in the Montana category" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Montana</a></span>, <span class="post-category-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/category/news/" title="Read Posts in the News category" style="text-decoration-line: none;">News</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/art-wittich/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Art Wittich" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Art Wittich</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/jeff-magnan/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Jeff Magnan" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Jeff Magnan</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/jonathan-motl/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Jonathan Motl" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Jonathan Motl</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/national-right-to-work/" title="Read Posts tagged with: National Right to Work" style="text-decoration-line: none;">National Right to Work</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/pat-wagman/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Pat Wagman" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Pat Wagman</a></span></font></h5></div></article><article id="post-18977" class="clearfix post-18977 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-montana category-news category-uncategorized tag-art-wittich tag-jonathan-motl tag-montana-supreme-court prominence-top-story" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(153, 153, 153); margin-bottom: 12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><header><h2 class="entry-title" style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; line-height: 1.1; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2017/08/high-court-rejects-wittich-appeal-in-corruption-case-2/" title="Permalink to High court rejects Wittich appeal in corruption case" rel="bookmark" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">High court rejects Wittich appeal in corruption case</font></a></h2><h5 class="byline" style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="by-author"><span class="by">By:</span> <span class="author vcard" itemprop="author" style="text-transform: uppercase; font-weight: bold;"><a class="url fn n" href="http://lastbestnews.com/author/edkemmick/" title="More from Ed Kemmick" rel="author" style="text-decoration-line: none;">ED KEMMICK</a></span></span><span class="sep"> | </span><time class="entry-date updated dtstamp pubdate" datetime="2017-08-23T14:10:10+00:00">August 23, 2017</time></font></h5></header><div class="entry-content" style="margin-bottom: 24px;"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2017/08/high-court-rejects-wittich-appeal-in-corruption-case-2/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><img width="140" height="140" src="http://lastbestnews.com/wp-content/uploads/Wittich-in-the-stand-140x140.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Wittich" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/Wittich-in-the-stand-140x140.jpg 140w, /wp-content/uploads/Wittich-in-the-stand-60x60.jpg 60w" sizes="(max-width: 140px) 100vw, 140px" style="max-width: 30%; vertical-align: middle; border: 0px; height: auto; clear: both; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 20px;" /></font></a><p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Montana Supreme Court has denied former state Sen. Art Wittich’s four-part appeal of his conviction on charges of violating Montana’s campaign finance laws. Justice Beth Baker said in the 42-page opinion that the high court affirmed all of the District Court judge’s rulings in the case, and it found that former state Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl did nothing illegal in filing the action against Wittich in District Court. (more…) <a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2017/08/high-court-rejects-wittich-appeal-in-corruption-case-2/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Continue Reading →</a></font></p><h5 class="tag-list" style="margin: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong>Filed under:</strong> <span class="post-category-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/category/montana/" title="Read Posts in the Montana category" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Montana</a></span>, <span class="post-category-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/category/news/" title="Read Posts in the News category" style="text-decoration-line: none;">News</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/art-wittich/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Art Wittich" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Art Wittich</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/jonathan-motl/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Jonathan Motl" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Jonathan Motl</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/montana-supreme-court/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Montana Supreme Court" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Montana Supreme Court</a></span></font></h5></div></article><article id="post-18904" class="clearfix post-18904 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-montana category-news tag-art-wittich tag-gene-jarussi tag-john-heenan tag-jonathan-motl tag-national-right-to-work-committee tag-wesley-prouse prominence-top-story" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(153, 153, 153); margin-bottom: 12px;"><header style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h2 class="entry-title" style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; line-height: 1.1; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2017/08/jailed-ex-lawmaker-called-prosecution-political-game/" title="Permalink to Jailed ex-lawmaker called prosecution ‘political game’" rel="bookmark" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Jailed ex-lawmaker called prosecution ‘political game’</font></a></h2><h5 class="byline" style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="by-author"><span class="by">By:</span> <span class="author vcard" itemprop="author" style="text-transform: uppercase; font-weight: bold;"><a class="url fn n" href="http://lastbestnews.com/author/edkemmick/" title="More from Ed Kemmick" rel="author" style="text-decoration-line: none;">ED KEMMICK</a></span></span><span class="sep"> | </span><time class="entry-date updated dtstamp pubdate" datetime="2017-08-16T14:41:41+00:00">August 16, 2017</time></font></h5></header><div class="entry-content" style="margin-bottom: 24px;"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2017/08/jailed-ex-lawmaker-called-prosecution-political-game/" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><img width="140" height="140" src="http://lastbestnews.com/wp-content/uploads/Wesley-Prouse-Pachyderm-Club-140x140.png" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Prouse" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/Wesley-Prouse-Pachyderm-Club-140x140.png 140w, /wp-content/uploads/Wesley-Prouse-Pachyderm-Club-60x60.png 60w" sizes="(max-width: 140px) 100vw, 140px" style="max-width: 30%; vertical-align: middle; border: 0px; height: auto; clear: both; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 20px;" /></font></a><p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The former state legislator who was jailed on Tuesday for contempt of court reportedly refused to cooperate with authorities regarding his involvement in a political corruption scandal, calling the court case against him “a political game.” <b>Wesley Prouse, </b>of Shepherd, who will turn 49 on Thursday, was in jail and could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but the Billings lawyer who prosecuted several Republican legislative candidates involved in the so-called dark-money cases gave an account of the events that landed Prouse in jail.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> (more…) </span><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2017/08/jailed-ex-lawmaker-called-prosecution-political-game/" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;">Continue Reading →</a></font></p><h5 class="tag-list" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong>Filed under:</strong> <span class="post-category-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/category/montana/" title="Read Posts in the Montana category" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Montana</a></span>, <span class="post-category-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/category/news/" title="Read Posts in the News category" style="text-decoration-line: none;">News</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/art-wittich/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Art Wittich" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Art Wittich</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/gene-jarussi/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Gene Jarussi" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Gene Jarussi</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/john-heenan/" title="Read Posts tagged with: John Heenan" style="text-decoration-line: none;">John Heenan</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/jonathan-motl/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Jonathan Motl" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Jonathan Motl</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/national-right-to-work-committee/" title="Read Posts tagged with: National Right to Work Committee" style="text-decoration-line: none;">National Right to Work Committee</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/wesley-prouse/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Wesley Prouse" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Wesley Prouse</a></span></font></h5></div></article><article id="post-14025" class="clearfix post-14025 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-montana category-news tag-art-wittich tag-daniel-kennedy tag-debra-bonogofsky tag-gene-jarussi tag-jonathan-motl prominence-top-story" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(153, 153, 153); margin-bottom: 12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><header><h2 class="entry-title" style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; line-height: 1.1; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2016/09/ex-laurel-legislator-settles-corruption-case-will-pay-fine/" title="Permalink to Ex-Laurel legislator settles corruption case, will pay fine" rel="bookmark" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Ex-Laurel legislator settles corruption case, will pay fine</font></a></h2><h5 class="byline" style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="by-author"><span class="by">By:</span> <span class="author vcard" itemprop="author" style="text-transform: uppercase; font-weight: bold;"><a class="url fn n" href="http://lastbestnews.com/author/edkemmick/" title="More from Ed Kemmick" rel="author" style="text-decoration-line: none;">ED KEMMICK</a></span></span><span class="sep"> | </span><time class="entry-date updated dtstamp pubdate" datetime="2016-09-06T17:28:35+00:00">September 6, 2016</time></font></h5></header><div class="entry-content" style="margin-bottom: 24px;"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2016/09/ex-laurel-legislator-settles-corruption-case-will-pay-fine/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><img width="140" height="140" src="http://lastbestnews.com/wp-content/uploads/Kennedy-mug-140x140.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Kennedy" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/Kennedy-mug-140x140.jpg 140w, /wp-content/uploads/Kennedy-mug-60x60.jpg 60w" sizes="(max-width: 140px) 100vw, 140px" style="max-width: 30%; vertical-align: middle; border: 0px; height: auto; clear: both; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 20px;" /></font></a><p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Former Montana House member Daniel Kennedy of Laurel has agreed to pay a $19,599 fine</b> for accepting illegal campaign contributions during the Republican primary in 2010. In a settlement reached last Thursday and posted Tuesday on the Montana commissioner of political practices’ website, Kennedy said “I did not know at the time but now understand” that the package of campaign services he received came from the National Right to Work organization. (more…) <a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2016/09/ex-laurel-legislator-settles-corruption-case-will-pay-fine/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Continue Reading →</a></font></p><h5 class="tag-list" style="margin: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong>Filed under:</strong> <span class="post-category-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/category/montana/" title="Read Posts in the Montana category" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Montana</a></span>, <span class="post-category-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/category/news/" title="Read Posts in the News category" style="text-decoration-line: none;">News</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/art-wittich/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Art Wittich" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Art Wittich</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/daniel-kennedy/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Daniel Kennedy" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Daniel Kennedy</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/debra-bonogofsky/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Debra Bonogofsky" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Debra Bonogofsky</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/gene-jarussi/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Gene Jarussi" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Gene Jarussi</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/jonathan-motl/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Jonathan Motl" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Jonathan Motl</a></span></font></h5></div></article><article id="post-12945" class="clearfix post-12945 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-opinion tag-art-wittich tag-consumer-financial-protection-bureau tag-gene-jarussi tag-john-heenan tag-jonathan-motl tag-kimberly-reed tag-protect-americas-consumers prominence-top-story" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(153, 153, 153); margin-bottom: 12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><header><h2 class="entry-title" style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; line-height: 1.1; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2016/06/shreds-of-hope-on-campaign-finance-laws/" title="Permalink to Shreds of hope on campaign finance laws" rel="bookmark" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Shreds of hope on campaign finance laws</font></a></h2><h5 class="byline" style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="by-author"><span class="by">By:</span> <span class="author vcard" itemprop="author" style="text-transform: uppercase; font-weight: bold;"><a class="url fn n" href="http://lastbestnews.com/author/david-crisp/" title="More from David Crisp" rel="author" style="text-decoration-line: none;">DAVID CRISP</a></span></span><span class="sep"> | </span><time class="entry-date updated dtstamp pubdate" datetime="2016-06-29T07:52:24+00:00">June 29, 2016</time></font></h5></header><div class="entry-content" style="margin-bottom: 24px;"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2016/06/shreds-of-hope-on-campaign-finance-laws/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><img width="140" height="140" src="http://lastbestnews.com/wp-content/uploads/kimberly-picnic-140x140.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/kimberly-picnic-140x140.jpg 140w, /wp-content/uploads/kimberly-picnic-60x60.jpg 60w" sizes="(max-width: 140px) 100vw, 140px" style="max-width: 30%; vertical-align: middle; border: 0px; height: auto; clear: both; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 20px;" /></font></a><p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Last week I was feeling dispirited about the propaganda flowing into Montana by way of TV ads attacking the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This week, I feel an acorn of hope. No, I still don’t know who has been buying those ads, other than the nonhuman face of <b>Protect America’s Consumers</b>. And the ads are still running in abundance, hour after hour, on cable news channels in a few targeted states, including Montana. (more…) <a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2016/06/shreds-of-hope-on-campaign-finance-laws/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Continue Reading →</a></font></p><h5 class="tag-list" style="margin: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong>Filed under:</strong> <span class="post-category-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/category/opinion/" title="Read Posts in the Opinion category" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Opinion</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/art-wittich/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Art Wittich" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Art Wittich</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/consumer-financial-protection-bureau/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Consumer Financial Protection Bureau</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/gene-jarussi/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Gene Jarussi" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Gene Jarussi</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/john-heenan/" title="Read Posts tagged with: John Heenan" style="text-decoration-line: none;">John Heenan</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/jonathan-motl/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Jonathan Motl" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Jonathan Motl</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/kimberly-reed/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Kimberly Reed" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Kimberly Reed</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/protect-americas-consumers/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Protect America's Consumers" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Protect America's Consumers</a></span></font></h5></div></article><article id="post-11970" class="clearfix post-11970 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-news tag-art-wittich tag-becky-jakes-dockter tag-fish tag-fish-wildlife-and-parks tag-greg-gianforte tag-todd-garrett prominence-category-featured" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(153, 153, 153); margin-bottom: 12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><header><h2 class="entry-title" style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; line-height: 1.1; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2016/05/questions-raised-over-access-dispute-involving-gianforte/" title="Permalink to Questions raised over access dispute involving Gianforte" rel="bookmark" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Questions raised over access dispute involving Gianforte</font></a></h2><h5 class="byline" style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="by-author"><span class="by">By:</span> <span class="author vcard" itemprop="author" style="text-transform: uppercase; font-weight: bold;"><a class="url fn n" href="http://lastbestnews.com/author/eve-byron/" title="More from Eve Byron" rel="author" style="text-decoration-line: none;">EVE BYRON</a></span></span><span class="sep"> | </span><time class="entry-date updated dtstamp pubdate" datetime="2016-05-10T14:15:39+00:00">May 10, 2016</time></font></h5></header><div class="entry-content" style="margin-bottom: 24px;"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2016/05/questions-raised-over-access-dispute-involving-gianforte/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><img width="140" height="140" src="http://lastbestnews.com/wp-content/uploads/Gianforte-copy2-2-140x140.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="GG" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/Gianforte-copy2-2-140x140.jpg 140w, /wp-content/uploads/Gianforte-copy2-2-60x60.jpg 60w" sizes="(max-width: 140px) 100vw, 140px" style="max-width: 30%; vertical-align: middle; border: 0px; height: auto; clear: both; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 20px;" /></font></a><p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A 2009 dispute over public access to fishing site involving gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte was settled in 2013 after a compromise was reached with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. (more…) <a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2016/05/questions-raised-over-access-dispute-involving-gianforte/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Continue Reading →</a></font></p><h5 class="tag-list" style="margin: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong>Filed under:</strong> <span class="post-category-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/category/news/" title="Read Posts in the News category" style="text-decoration-line: none;">News</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/art-wittich/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Art Wittich" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Art Wittich</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/becky-jakes-dockter/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Becky Jakes Dockter" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Becky Jakes Dockter</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/fish/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Fish" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Fish</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/fish-wildlife-and-parks/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Fish Wildlife and Parks" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Fish Wildlife and Parks</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/greg-gianforte/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Greg Gianforte" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Greg Gianforte</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/todd-garrett/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Todd Garrett" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Todd Garrett</a></span></font></h5></div></article><article id="post-11319" class="clearfix post-11319 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-news tag-art-wittich tag-gene-jarussi tag-jonathan-motl tag-quentin-rhoades prominence-category-featured" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(153, 153, 153); margin-bottom: 12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><header><h2 class="entry-title" style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; line-height: 1.1; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2016/04/jury-says-wittich-broke-campaign-finance-laws/" title="Permalink to Jury says Wittich broke campaign-finance laws" rel="bookmark" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Jury says Wittich broke campaign-finance laws</font></a></h2><h5 class="byline" style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="by-author"><span class="by">By:</span> <span class="author vcard" itemprop="author" style="text-transform: uppercase; font-weight: bold;"><a class="url fn n" href="http://lastbestnews.com/author/john/" title="More from John S. Adams, Montana Free Press" rel="author" style="text-decoration-line: none;">JOHN S. ADAMS, MONTANA FREE PRESS</a></span></span><span class="sep"> | </span><time class="entry-date updated dtstamp pubdate" datetime="2016-04-01T23:28:54+00:00">April 1, 2016</time></font></h5></header><div class="entry-content" style="margin-bottom: 24px;"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2016/04/jury-says-wittich-broke-campaign-finance-laws/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><img width="140" height="140" src="http://lastbestnews.com/wp-content/uploads/Motl-rhoades-140x140.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Rhoades" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/Motl-rhoades-140x140.jpg 140w, /wp-content/uploads/Motl-rhoades-60x60.jpg 60w" sizes="(max-width: 140px) 100vw, 140px" style="max-width: 30%; vertical-align: middle; border: 0px; height: auto; clear: both; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 20px;" /></font></a><p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">HELENA — It took a jury of six men and six women four hours Friday to find that Bozeman Republican lawmaker Art Wittich illegally coordinated with non-profit third-party political groups during his 2010 primary election campaign. (more…) <a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2016/04/jury-says-wittich-broke-campaign-finance-laws/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Continue Reading →</a></font></p><h5 class="tag-list" style="margin: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong>Filed under:</strong> <span class="post-category-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/category/news/" title="Read Posts in the News category" style="text-decoration-line: none;">News</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/art-wittich/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Art Wittich" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Art Wittich</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/gene-jarussi/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Gene Jarussi" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Gene Jarussi</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/jonathan-motl/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Jonathan Motl" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Jonathan Motl</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/quentin-rhoades/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Quentin Rhoades" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Quentin Rhoades</a></span></font></h5></div></article><article id="post-11305" class="clearfix post-11305 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-news tag-art-wittich tag-gene-jarussi tag-jonathan-motl tag-quentin-rhoades prominence-top-story" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(153, 153, 153); margin-bottom: 12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><header><h2 class="entry-title" style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; line-height: 1.1; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2016/03/wittich-testifies-for-first-time-in-political-corruption-trial/" title="Permalink to Wittich testifies for first time in political corruption trial" rel="bookmark" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Wittich testifies for first time in political corruption trial</font></a></h2><h5 class="byline" style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="by-author"><span class="by">By:</span> <span class="author vcard" itemprop="author" style="text-transform: uppercase; font-weight: bold;"><a class="url fn n" href="http://lastbestnews.com/author/john/" title="More from John S. Adams, Montana Free Press" rel="author" style="text-decoration-line: none;">JOHN S. ADAMS, MONTANA FREE PRESS</a></span></span><span class="sep"> | </span><time class="entry-date updated dtstamp pubdate" datetime="2016-03-31T22:38:24+00:00">March 31, 2016</time></font></h5></header><div class="entry-content" style="margin-bottom: 24px;"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2016/03/wittich-testifies-for-first-time-in-political-corruption-trial/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><img width="140" height="140" src="http://lastbestnews.com/wp-content/uploads/Wittich-in-the-stand-140x140.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Wittich" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/Wittich-in-the-stand-140x140.jpg 140w, /wp-content/uploads/Wittich-in-the-stand-60x60.jpg 60w" sizes="(max-width: 140px) 100vw, 140px" style="max-width: 30%; vertical-align: middle; border: 0px; height: auto; clear: both; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 20px;" /></font></a><p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">HELENA — State Rep. Art Wittich, the man accused of accepting illegal in-kind contributions and services from conservative nonprofit groups during his 2010 Senate race, took the witness stand in his own defense Thursday in Lewis and Clark County District Court. Wittich is on trial in a civil lawsuit brought by Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl, who has accused the Bozeman Republican of illegally coordinating with groups funded by the anti-union National Right to Work Committee. (more…) <a href="http://lastbestnews.com/2016/03/wittich-testifies-for-first-time-in-political-corruption-trial/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Continue Reading →</a></font></p><h5 class="tag-list" style="margin: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong>Filed under:</strong> <span class="post-category-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/category/news/" title="Read Posts in the News category" style="text-decoration-line: none;">News</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/art-wittich/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Art Wittich" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Art Wittich</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/gene-jarussi/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Gene Jarussi" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Gene Jarussi</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/jonathan-motl/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Jonathan Motl" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Jonathan Motl</a></span>, <span class="post-tag-link"><a href="http://lastbestnews.com/tag/quentin-rhoades/" title="Read Posts tagged with: Quentin Rhoades" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Quentin Rhoades</a></span></font></h5></div></article></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">=</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px;"><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Medicaid expansion bill survives – but GOP says it still won’t support expansion</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">By MIKE DENNISON Gazette State Bureau Apr 2, 2013 </div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>HELENA — In a dramatic turn of events Tuesday, a coalition of Senate Democrats and five Republicans resurrected and then narrowly endorsed a bill to expand Medicaid in Montana — but GOP senators supporting the move said they’re not for expansion.</b></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Instead, they said they’re looking for a “Montana-made solution” to extend more affordable health coverage to the poor. The Medicaid expansion bill needs to stay alive as a possible vehicle for that solution, they said.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“What my constituents are saying is, they want to keep this discussion alive, they want a Montana solution to provide health care to our constituents … and at the same time, not create a long-term liability for the state,” said Sen. Jim Peterson, R-Buffalo.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Peterson was one of five Republican senators who joined all 21 Democrats in the Senate to endorse Senate Bill 395 on a 26-24 vote, advancing a measure that would expand federally funded Medicaid to cover 70,000 low-income, uninsured Montanans.</span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">That vote set up a final vote that could occur as soon as Wednesday to send the bill to the House, which so far has bottled up Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock’s proposal to expand Medicaid.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Bullock praised the Senate’s action late Tuesday, saying a majority of senators “put politics aside and voted to create 13,000 jobs, provide affordable health care to 70,000 Montanans and reform our Medicaid system.”</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Yet what may happen to that bill in the House remained unclear — as the House refused Tuesday, for a second time, to resurrect Bullock’s similar proposal to expand Medicaid.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“It is one of the most important policy debates, if not the most important policy debate, we’re going to have this session,” said House Minority Leader Chuck Hunter, D-Helena, in urging the House to bring his House Bill 590 to the floor for debate. “It really needs to be decided on by more than (10) members in this House.”</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Ten Republican members of the House Human Services Committee had voted last Wednesday to kill the bill, on a 10-6 party-line vote.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">On Tuesday, 15 Republicans in the full House joined 37 Democrats in voting to move HB590 from the committee to the floor for further action — but 60 votes are needed to remove a bill from a committee in the House, so the motion failed.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Minutes later, the House voted 60-40 to advance a different measure that Republicans have advertised as an alternative proposal that could help low-income Montanans buy private health insurance.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The flurry of votes Tuesday further muddied the political waters on Medicaid expansion, one of the biggest and most contentious issues before the 2013 Legislature.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Bullock and fellow Democrats want the Legislature to approve the expansion, which would provide government-funded health coverage for 70,000 low-income Montanans beginning in 2014.</b></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Montanans earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level — $15,400 for a single person — would be eligible for Medicaid under the full expansion. The federal government has promised to pay virtually all of the expansion’s cost through 2016 and then gradually reduce its support to 90 percent by 2020.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hospitals, physicians, other medical providers, the Montana Chamber of Commerce, unions and other business groups and businesses are supporting the expansion.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Most Majority Republicans, however, have opposed the expansion, saying it’s part of “Obamacare,” which they oppose, and will end up costing the state millions of dollars down the road.</b></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">A Senate committee had voted to kill SB395, an expansion bill, last week. But Tuesday, the full Senate took up the issue, with bill sponsor Sen. Dave Wanzenried, D-Missoula, asking the Senate to reject the committee recommendation and bring the bill to the floor.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">On that vote, six Republicans joined 21 Democrats in defiance of Republican leadership, setting up a two-hour debate on the bill Tuesday afternoon.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Wanzenried and fellow Democrats said his measure would not only expand Medicaid but also enact reforms of the health care system. It’s also the only bill still standing that can extend Medicaid to as many as 70,000 Montanans who need affordable coverage, he said.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I don’t want expansion without reform, but I don’t want reform without expansion,” he said. “If we choose to walk away from this, just south of 50,000 Montanans will have no health insurance whatsoever.”</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Republicans opposing the measure said the reforms are not a serious effort, and that expanding Medicaid will put the state on the hook for multimillion-dollar obligations in the future.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“If this (bill) lives, that this becomes a leverage point at the end of the session,” said Sen. Jason Priest, R-Red Lodge. “This is a seriously weak effort in trying to hoodwink this body into voting for reforms that do not seriously reduce costs. … This is really a half-baked effort.”</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Senate Majority Leader Art Wittich, R-Bozeman, also said that those supporting the measure were “lemmings about ready to jump off the cliff.”</b></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Republicans who supported it, however, said they didn’t want to rely only on a separate measure, still in the House, as the only vehicle to reform Medicaid and perhaps make it easier for low-income Montanans to buy health coverage.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I don’t support Medicaid expansion; I don’t think it’s a long-term solution,” said Sen. Ed Buttrey, R-Great Falls. “I don’t think we can afford it. But I can’t put my faith in one bill solving it. Because if that happens, we may do nothing. We’ve got to come out of here with a solution.”</div></span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://mtcowgirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/gop-leadership-emails.pdf"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">http://mtcowgirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/gop-leadership-emails.pdf</font></a></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">18 pp agenda control p 15? priest</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><header class="entry-header clearfix" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit;" pt="PT" serif="serif" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><h1 class="entry-title" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.3; vertical-align: baseline; transition: all 0.5s ease 0s;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" style=""><b>TEA Party Republican, Dark Money Group Leader Charged with Felony Assault on 4-year-old Daughter</b></font></h1><div class="entry-tags clearfix" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; overflow: hidden;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="margin: 0px 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 900; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">TOPICS:</span><a href="http://mtcowgirl.com/tag/felony-assault-on-a-minor-charges/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px 15px 5px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block; text-transform: capitalize;">Felony Assault On A Minor Charges</a><a href="http://mtcowgirl.com/tag/jason-priest/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px 15px 5px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block; text-transform: capitalize;">Jason Priest</a><a href="http://mtcowgirl.com/tag/medicaid-expansion-opponent/" rel="tag" style="margin: 0px 15px 5px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block; text-transform: capitalize;">Medicaid Expansion Opponent</a></font></div></header><p class="entry-meta" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit;" pt="PT" serif="serif" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" text-transform="text-transform" uppercase="uppercase" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="entry-meta-author vcard author" style="margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">POSTED BY: <a class="fn" href="http://mtcowgirl.com/author/admin/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;">COWGIRL</a></span> <span class="entry-meta-date updated" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">FEBRUARY 14, 2014 6:58 AM</span></font></p><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.4;" pt="PT" serif="serif" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">KTVQ Billings</em> reports, court documents “filed in Carbon County District Court by Assistant Attorney General Mary E. Cochenour, show Priest is accused of grabbing his 4-year-old daughter and throwing her to the ground, causing an injury to her scalp.”</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 900; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">UPDATE:</span></span> The <a href="http://www.carboncountynews.com/content/breaking-news-priest-charged-assault-daughter-0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Carbon County News</em></a> has the most <span id="more-17379" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">detailed account of this incident as reported in court documents so far.  For example, I’m not sure what to make of this statement “The court documents noted that Priest was wearing only socks even though there was snow on the ground and approximately 10 degrees.”</span></font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Priest now faces four charges, including alleged felony assault on a minor.  The Montana Republican party has not asked Priest to resign from his seat in the Montana legislature. Senate President Jeff Essmann has only asked that Priest “step back” from his legislative duties.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As the <a href="http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/state-senator-charged-with-felony-assault-in-domestic-incident/article_23826855-7dd4-5cd2-bdeb-0340b712d7ae.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;">Billings Gazette</a> reports, Priest became upset when his youngest daughter said she wanted to be with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend instead of him.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Court documents show that all three of Priest’s children and his wife say he threw the youngest daughter to the ground, injuring her scalp.  Priest denies this, but not “forcibly removing” his wife and her boyfriend (resulting in the man’s broken rib).   Court documents say that Priest said “he would f@#$-ing do it again” and that “when your wife is acting like white trash in front of your children, it’s not easy to always maintain your composure.”</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Priest is an important figure because he is the leader of dark money group working against the Medicaid expansion in Montana.  He’s also the rebel leader in the <a href="http://ravallirepublic.com/news/state-and-regional/montana-legislature/article_e17c79af-6c04-5c09-b96f-17291cba11fd.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;">civil war within the Republican Party</a>.  He runs a dark money group called <a href="http://mtcowgirl.com/2012/06/07/analysis-corporate-money-in-the-2012-primary/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;">Montana Growth Network,</a> which tries to defeat moderates and take over the <a href="http://mtcowgirl.com/2013/05/16/watchdog-group-profiles-jason-priests-dark-money-group/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;">Montana Supreme Court</a>, and attack legislators he thought might support health coverage for the working poor.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In classic wingnut style, he served as <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Public_Health,Welfare_and_Safety_Committee,Montana_State_Senate" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;">Chair </a>of the Senate Public Health, Welfare, and Safety Committee and as vice-Chair of the <a href="http://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0240W$CMTE.ActionQuery?P_SESS=20131&P_COM_NM=(H)+Joint+Appropriations+Subcommittee+on+Health+and+Human+Services&P_ACTN_DTM=&U_ACTN_DTM=&Z_ACTION2=Find" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;">Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services</a> during the 2013 legislature and is said to be seeking a leadership position in the 2015 session.  Priest <a href="http://www.stillwatercountynews.com/archive/2014/week4/story1.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;">told the Stillwater County News</a> before his arrest that he plans to run in Senate District 29.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">He also has a history of <a href="http://mtcowgirl.com/2014/01/22/senate-district-29s-big-anti-gay-obsession/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;">bigoted comments about LGBT people.</a> Priest is the lawmaker who was forced to apologize for <a href="http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/legislative-candidate-apologizes-for-facebook-remarks/article_bae88ca4-bac1-11df-b7d9-001cc4c03286.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;">anti-gay remarks he made on his Facebook page</a>, the <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Billings Gazette</em> reported. Priest used his “<a href="http://billingsgazette.com/news/opinion/blogs/city-lights/article_dd99052c-be17-11df-817f-001cc4c002e0.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;">hateful, homophobic talk</a>” to argue his dislike for paying taxes.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Then there was the time during his 2010 campaign for the state legislature when Priest spoke to group of Tea Party followers, <a href="http://mtcowgirl.com/2010/09/09/yeah-jason-priest-that-camera-is-on/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;">apparently unaware of a running camera</a>. Priest said,</font></p><blockquote style="margin: 10px 20px 1.25rem; padding: 1.25rem 1.25rem 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 0px 5px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(0, 90, 140); border-image: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6; vertical-align: baseline; quotes: none; display: inline-block;"><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“I live in Red Lodge where I’m that guy that nobody agrees with, and I don’t mind. I have to talk to them about things that are important to them in ways that aren’t offensive to them. That’s a good lesson to learn. I would rather tell them they’re insane… Is that camera on?”</font></p></blockquote><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Priest has also taken heat for <a href="http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/opponents-of-medicaid-expansion-launch-counter-attack/article_9805b85e-4d0a-5632-bf39-957a19fb9745.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;">using his dark money group</a> to lead the charge against Medicaid coverage for the working poor. Some of his considerable wealth has come from auctioning off <a href="http://accountsrecovery.net/profiles/blogs/online-auctions-offer" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;">the medical debt of people who can’t afford health care.</a></font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">An interesting l<a href="http://billingsgazette.com/news/opinion/mailbag/article_4109cc94-b5d9-5d78-8fae-e3cf7220415d.html?mode=story" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;">etter to the editor was published in the Billings Gazette</a> during the 2011 legislative session which asks about the potential conflict of interest incurred by state Senator Jason Priest. Priest sponsored a bill that could <a href="http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=46208884&msgid=609386&act=WW3O&c=487776&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB121244901525139563.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;">reap financial benefits</a> for <a href="http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=46208884&msgid=609386&act=WW3O&c=487776&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plaxo.com%2Fprofile%2Fshow%2F128849197398%3Fpk%3De1cec53b7a87348bbb3dd601f203f96e8f06f885" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;">the medical debt collection industry he comes from</a> and lead the effort to block tens of thousands of working poor Montanans from getting health coverage through Medicaid–even though the federal government would pick up most of the tab.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">For years Sen. Priest was the CEO of a company that specialized in collecting unpaid medical debts owed to hospitals.   The LTE reads:</font></p><blockquote style="margin: 10px 20px 1.25rem; padding: 1.25rem 1.25rem 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 0px 5px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(0, 90, 140); border-image: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6; vertical-align: baseline; quotes: none; display: inline-block;"><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Sen. Jason Priest is the founder and president of Medipent, a New York company that relies on the huge mountain of personal debt generated by our broken health care system for its existence. Yet, as a representative of the people, he aligns himself in opposition to health care reform — a program that intends to eliminate the debt that sustains him and his company. How is his involvement not a conflict of interest?</font></p></blockquote><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Shortly after the Cowgirl blog reported that Priest was incarcerated, the <a href="http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/republican-state-senator-jason-priest-arrested/article_8e17b3a1-d8b4-5a44-aff2-3b8ce5ba08d6.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 600; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;">Billings Gazette</a> reported they had confirmed that Priest had been booked into the jail in the middle of the night.</font></p></div></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://helenair.com/news/politics/emails-document-gop-leadership-power-struggle-in-montana/article_6f408500-603b-11e2-9c03-0019bb2963f4.html"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">https://helenair.com/news/politics/emails-document-gop-leadership-power-struggle-in-montana/article_6f408500-603b-11e2-9c03-0019bb2963f4.html</font></a></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Emails document GOP leadership power struggle in Montana</b></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">AP  <b>Jan 16, 2013</b> 0</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">[pix:  Essman</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sen. Jeff Essman, R-Billings]</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">HELENA —<b> A series of emails shows plans by conservative Republicans to take over leadership of the state Senate from a more moderate faction.</b></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The documents also outline a long-term strategy that includes "<b>changing the face of the Montana Supreme Court"</b> and remapping legislative districts to favor Republicans, according to an email written by Sen. Jeff Essmann of Billings last September.</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">"If we can implement the long term strategy we will be in a position to actually elect a majority of conservatives in both (the House and Senate), adopt conservative legislation and have a court that will uphold it," Essmann wrote.</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Essmann was elected Senate president</b> over former president Jim Peterson of Buffalo in November.</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The emails were exchanged among Essmann, Senate Majority Leader Art Wittich of Bozeman, Sen. Jason Priest of Red Lodge, Majority Whip Eric Moore of Miles City, Sen. Ed Walker of Billings and Sen. Dave Lewis of Helena.</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lewis nominated Essmann to replace Peterson as Senate president.</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"My feeling is that we need to be much more clear about what we stand for as Republicans, how in fact we differ from the Democrats in our beliefs," Lewis said in making the nomination.</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Essmann, Wittich, Priest and Moore said Tuesday that the email exchange shows only that there is a philosophical tug-of-war between conservatives and moderates within the Republican Party.</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"I think that diversity strengthens us," Wittich said. "Just like we have diverse debates here at the Capitol between Democrats and Republicans, having that discussion strengthens us. This is a marketplace of ideas."</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>In a Sept. 13 email with the subject "Agenda Control," Essmann suggested that moderate Republicans could derail the conservative agenda.</b></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"The moderates are in position to block the advancement of our policies if they align with the (Democrats) on either the votes on the bills themselves or the votes on the leadership, which can operate the levers of power to block the advancement of bills," Essmann wrote.[like medicare expansion?]</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Peterson, who calls himself a "Reagan Republican," said Wednesday that he was shocked.</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"There doesn't seem to be any safe space for Reagan Republicans if we focus too much on the extremities or the fringe," he said. "I think this is a case of where politics is getting in the way of good policymaking. I think Montanans expect more from us public servants than the gridlock of Washington, D.C."</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The September emails also discussed how the outcome of the governor's race would affect the efforts of conservative Republicans.</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">"The discussion will be somewhat academic if (Democrat) Steve Bullock is elected Governor, as we will be left to our strategy of putting another 4 or 5 referendums on the 2014 ballot," Essmann wrote.</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Bullock was sworn in last week as Montana's 24th governor.</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tags</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jeff Essman  Republican  Gop  Montana  Politics  Jim Peterson  Montana Supreme Court</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dylan Brown</font></div></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><b>rw bs blog</b></span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">https://wyliberty.org/blog/legal-perspectives/montana-faces-challenge-to-unconstitutional-election-law</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p style="margin: 12px 0px; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: " palatino="Palatino" linotype="Linotype" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"> Anthony McConnell</font></span></p><p style="margin: 12px 0px; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: " palatino="Palatino" linotype="Linotype" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>A Montana group is taking the lead in overturning that state’s anti-free speech election law.</b></font></p><p style="margin: 12px 0px; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: " palatino="Palatino" linotype="Linotype" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Western Tradition Partnership and a small painting business have joined forces to bring Montana into compliance with the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which cited the Wyoming Liberty Group’s brief filed in the case. The court ruled that the FEC could not limit independent spending by corporations on elections.</font></p><p style="margin: 12px 0px; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: " palatino="Palatino" linotype="Linotype" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">WTP sent out this press release detailing their lawsuit:</font></p><p style="margin: 12px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 60px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: " palatino="Palatino" linotype="Linotype" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">BOZEMAN, MT – Citing a Supreme Court decision upholding Americans’ First Amendment rights, Western Tradition Partnership (WTP) and a local employer filed suit March 8 in Montana state court seeking to overturn state laws prohibiting political speech by employers.</font></p><p style="margin: 12px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 60px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: " palatino="Palatino" linotype="Linotype" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">WTP and Bozeman small business Champion Painting filed the suit in state district court in Helena Mar. 8.</font></p><p style="margin: 12px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 60px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: " palatino="Palatino" linotype="Linotype" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">With rising spending, taxes and regulation threatening his business, Champion Painting owner Ken Champion would like to use his business’ financial resources to exercise First Amendment rights. Montana state code (Title 13, Chapter 35) prohibits a corporation from “mak(ing) a contribution or an expenditure in connection with a candidate or a political committee that supports or opposes a candidate or a political party” unless it gets permission from the state through the establishment of a segregated fund.</font></p><p style="margin: 12px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 60px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: " palatino="Palatino" linotype="Linotype" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Just as you do not lose your right to religious expression when you freely assemble as a church, you do not lose your right to political expression when you assemble with others under a corporation. Speaking out about issues of taxation and regulation that threaten employers are central to creating jobs and prosperity,” said <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Donny Ferguson, WTP Director of Media and Public Relations.</span> “Our republic and democratic process are only healthy when all sides can speak freely. One side of the argument, namely government officials, should not have a legally-enforced monopoly on speech.”</font></p><p style="margin: 12px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 60px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: " palatino="Palatino" linotype="Linotype" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The plaintiffs are represented by <b>Margot Barg of Bozeman’s<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> Wittich Law Firm</span></b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">. Attorney General Steve Bullock and Political Practices Commissioner Dennis Unsworth are named as defendants.</span></font></p><p style="margin: 12px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 60px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: " palatino="Palatino" linotype="Linotype" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The suit comes after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld First Amendment protections in a suit brought by the non-profit group Citizens United. The group was threatened by the Federal Election Commission with prosecution for distributing a movie, funded with corporate contributions, about former First Lady and New York Senator Hillary Clinton. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The federal government admitted in court that laws prohibiting corporate expenditures on political speech could be used to go so far as to ban books if they contain a mention of an individual who later became a candidate for public office.</span></font></p><p style="margin: 12px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 60px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: " palatino="Palatino" linotype="Linotype" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">tag free speech</font></p></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">mfp</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">https://montanafreepress.org/</span><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">2018/03/12/</span><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">right-to-work-shady-activities/</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px;"><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">no lnx many</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">CAMPAIGN SPENDING / ELECTIONS / NEWS / POLITICS / MARCH 12, 2018</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Complaint: Dark Money Right to Work Group Engaged in Illegal Political Activities</b></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Republican Kalispell Rep. Frank Garner files complaint against group, which was at the center of allegations of illegal third-party influence in state primaries in 2008, 2010 and 2012</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">HELENA — A group at the center of one of the biggest elections scandals in modern Montana history is actively engaged in the 2018 election, while hiding its activities and spending, according to a complaint filed with state elections regulators.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Kalispell Republican Rep. Frank Garner said in a complaint filed March 6 with the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices that a <b>field operative for Montana Citizens for Right to Work is actively recruiting candidates to run against him</b> in House District 7.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> Garner said that activity is illegal because the group has not registered with state elections officials as required by law.</span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Kalispell Republican Rep. Frank Garner filed a complaint against an operative for Montana Citizens for Right to Work for what he says are illegal campaign activities. Courtesy photo.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>
</b></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>“It appears as if these groups are back and are trying to corrupt our election system once again,</b>” Garner wrote in his complaint.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The complaint stems from a meeting that Montana Citizens for Right to Work assistant director Al Chan allegedly held on Feb. 28 in Kalispell with members of the Flathead County Libertarian Party. According to Kalispell resident Dan Nelson, who said he was at the meeting, the purpose of the confab was for Chan to recruit candidates to run against Garner in the June 5 Republican primary. Nelson later provided Garner with a detailed written account of the meeting, which Garner attached to the complaint.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Al [Chan] said he did not like Garner and talked about him being a liberal and listed off several bills Garner either supported or was against in what seemed to be a negative fashion,” Nelson stated in his account. “Only one of the bills and issue [sic] he talked about as it was related to Garner was related to the Right to Work issue. Al said he also had a personal beef with Frank Garner and implied he had met him before and didn’t like him. Al did not specify what his issue was or why.”</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Garner said in an interview that Chan contacted him in February and tried to set up a meeting. Garner said he refused to meet with Chan because of Right to Work’s shady history with Montana elections.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Chan did not return multiple requests for comment via phone and email.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Calls and emails to</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> Randy Pope, executive director of the Belgrade-based Montana Citizens for Right to Work</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, also went unanswered.</span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>Montana Citizens for Right to Work, along with its national affiliate, the National Right to Work Committee, was at the center of wide-ranging political corruption scandal in Montana covering the 2008 to 2012 election cycles</b>. Tens of thousands of pages of documents obtained by the state Commissioner of Political Practices revealed how the national anti-union group oversaw the activities of American Tradition Partnership, the group at the center of allegations of illegal third-party influence in Montana Republican primary campaigns in 2008, 2010 and 2012.</span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl </b>reviews documents in the basement of his Helena office that connect the National Right to Work Committee to political campaign activities in Montana during the 2010 Republican primary election. Photo by John S. Adams, Montana Free Press.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The lengthy investigation spanned years and resulted in former <b>Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl in 2014 pursuing nine Republican candidates on allegations of illegal coordination and failure to report campaign contributions stemming from the 2010 Republican primary elections.</b></span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Five Republican plaintiffs eventually settled with Motl, and two others had default judgments entered against them. The settlements and judgments included financial penalties and signed admissions by some of the candidates that they violated state elections laws by <b>illegally coordinating with third-party political groups.</b></span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>
</b></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Bozeman Republican Rep. Art Wittich, was among those who faced illegal coordination allegations.[convictd on all? mult cts]</b></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">After a protracted legal battle, Wittich faced a four-day trial in the spring of 2016 that featured testimony from former Right to Work staffers who helped run the network of private and non-profit companies involved in the massive campaign scheme.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>At the trial’s conclusion, a jury found Wittich broke Montana law by illegally coordinating with Right to Work-connected groups during his 2010 Senate primary campaign. A judge ordered Wittich to pay $68,232.58 in fines. In a 5-0 decision in August 2017, the Montana Supreme Court affirmed the jury’s verdict.</b></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">One final candidate, Terry Bannan, of Belgrade, is still facing allegations of illegal campaign coordination stemming from the 2010 Right to Work scandal. Wittich is representing Bannan in those legal proceedings.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The Commissioner of Political Practices is currently suing Montana Citizens for Right to Work and its affiliated organizations for their alleged illegal activities in the 2010 and 2012 elections cycles. That case has not yet been scheduled for trial.</span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Documents obtained by the Montana Free Press indicate that Montana Citizens for Right to Work has been actively participating in Montana elections since as far back as <b>2008.</b> However, state records show the organization has not registered with the Commissioner of Political Practices, nor has it reported any political activities or election-related spending since at least 2012.</span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Under Montana campaign finance laws, political committees must file a statement of organization “within five days after appointing a campaign treasurer or making an expenditure to support or oppose a candidate or ballot issue, whichever occurs first.”</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The extent of Montana Citizens for Right to Work’s political activities during the six years is unclear, but evidence obtained by the Montana Free Press suggests the group was spending money on election-related activity in the state.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Page 186 of Documents detail Right to Work's involvement in MT DocumentCloud</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Page 186 of Documents detail Right to Work's involvement in MT</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Contributed to DocumentCloud by John Adams of Montana Free Press • View document</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Anonymous hit counter for DocumentCloud</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">On his LinkedIn page — which as of March 6 had been removed from the popular professional networking website — Al Chan listed his job as “Assistan [sic] Executive Director at Montana Citizens For Right To Work,” a Bozeman-based position he stated he has held since January.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Chan’s LinkedIn profile also stated he worked for the National Right to Work Committee out of Bozeman from August 2014 through December 2014. Chan lists his work experience during that time as “strategic campaign consulting, executing campaign strategies, and secur[ing] pledges from state House/Senate candidates via survey program.”</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">[Editor’s Note: See DocumentCloud viewer at the bottom of this story to examine additional documents, including Chan’s résumé.]</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Chan previously worked for the National Right to Work Committee in Washington state </b>from April 2016 to January 2018, according to his online resume, which was also recently removed.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Chan also listed a three-and-a-half-month stint as a “Right to Work Committee” field staffer based in Manhattan, Montana during the 2014 election season.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">According to his resume, as a Montana field staffer in 2014, Chan:</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Met with candidates for state house and senate for the purposes of candidate recruitment and candidate vetting”;</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">“Secured <b style="">pledges </b>to support Right-to-Work legislation</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> from state house/senate candidates via a survey program”;</span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Facilitated mass communications with pro-Right-to-Work voters in targeted state house/senate districts via direct mail.”</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Chan also listed having worked as a Livingston-based Right to Work field staffer from Sept. 2 to Nov. 15, 2012, during which time he “facilitated mass communications with pro-Right-to-Work voters in targeted state house/senate districts via direct mail.”</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Right to Work was not registered as a political committee, and none of these activities were reported to the state, according to Commissioner of Political Practices records.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Sarah Arnold, a former Right to Work staffer, testifies during the 2016 trial of Art Wittich,</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> a former Republican lawmaker a jury found illegally coordinated with the organization during his 2010 Senate primary campaign</span></b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. Photo courtesy Kim Reed. </span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sarah Arnold, a former Right to Work staffer who provided in-depth testimony about the inner workings of the Right to Work campaign machine during the Wittich trial, said in an interview Friday that it’s inconceivable Chan could have executed the tasks he claims to have done in Montana in 2012 and 2014 without spending money.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“It sounds to me like they’re asking for another complaint,” Arnold said when reached Friday at her home in Colorado. “They [Right to Work] are clearly trying to do something under the radar, which is shifty. This definitely sounds to me like they’re trying to keep things hidden, given their previous work.”</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Arnold said when she worked for Right to Work,<b> direct mail survey campaigns </b>alone cost upward of 60 cents per mail piece. That cost did not include time and labor expenses, Arnold said.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“You can’t do direct mail without spending money,” Arnold said. “At minimum you have to pay for postage and printing.”</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Federal tax records indicate that salaries were paid to<b> Montana Citizens for Right to Work</b> employees by a group called <b>Conservative Action League, which lists its address as a post office box in Springfield, Virginia.</b></span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Montana Citizens for Right to Work sends out surveys like this one to candidates running for office. The group then uses the responses to the survey to vet candidates and attack candidates who don’t respond or don’t support “Right to Work’s” agenda, according to former Right ot Work staffers. Courtesy photo.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">According to IRS 990 records,<b> Conservative Action League received $820,000 from the National Right to Work Committee </b>between 2014 and 2016. IRS 990 records for 2017 were not immediately available.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s unclear how much money the Conservative Action League spent in Montana in salaries or other grants. According to records from 2014 and 2015, the group paid at least $154,182 to “Western States Right to Work,” which is the group that includes Montana Citizens for Right to Work.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Arnold said when she worked in Montana for the Right to Work-affiliated groups she was paid directly by the National Right to Work Committee.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I’m not sure why they would put it through another group unless the other group is trying to hide something,” Arnold said.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Garner was not aware of the group’s source of funding until contacted by the Montana Free Press.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“People have to decide if they want to be represented by citizen legislators — people they see in the street or in their grocery store every day — or if they want to be represented by <b>dark money groups funded out of a P.O. Box in Virginia,</b>” Garner said. “That’s why I felt I had to bring this information to the commissioner. This isn’t my first run-in with dark money groups, but this is my first complaint. Enough is enough.”</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Americans for Prosperity went door to door on March 3 handing out flyers criticizing Kalispell Republican Rep. Frank Garner for his support of increasing the gas tax to help fund highway construction</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. Photo: AFP-Montana’s Facebook page.</span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>
</b></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Garner has been in the crosshairs of dark money political groups since 2015, his freshman year in the House.</b></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">In February of that year, in the midst of the legislative session, the Koch Brothers-funded Americans for Prosperity held a “town hall” meeting in Garner’s district and didn’t invite the lawmaker to attend. According to the Flathead Beacon, a crowd of about 100 people attended the event at the Red Lion Inn in Kalispell. Some of them received word about the gathering through the postcard mailers, which read, “Tell Frank Garner to stand with us and vote no on ObamaCare’s expansion in Montana.”</span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Garner came under attack from AFP again over the weekend when the group went door-to-door handing out postcards criticizing Garner for his support of a 2017 bill to increase the gas tax. That measure passed the Republican-controlled House 57-43.</span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Robert Welzel, of Kalispell, filed in January to challenge Garner in the Republican primary. Candidate filing closes March 12.</span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Garner is expected to face an aggressive third-party campaign between now and the June 5 primary election.</span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“It would be nice if we were on a level playing field,” Garner said of the outside spending by third-party groups.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Garner said as a part-time citizen legislator, he’s required to report who supports his campaign, including their name, occupation and address. The same is not true for dark money groups who are not required to report the names of their donors or, in some cases, their expenditures.</span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“In this case, you have groups whose avocation it is to promote their mission, with unlimited amounts of money, who don’t have to tell us who their donors are, and in many cases what their expenses are, as long as they are engaged in so-called issue advocacy,” Garner said. “If we allow dark money groups to spend unlimited amounts of money against people in an elected office, with no controls, no regulations, and aren’t required to follow the rules, then we might as well give them our seats and let them vote for us.”</div></span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">npr</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">W</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">hich is worse, corruption you can see or corruption you can't? In</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Dark Money</em><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, </span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">a documentary about invisible corporate shenanigans in her home state of Montana, director Kimberly Reed makes the incisive case that the latter threatens to sink our democracy outright.</span></font></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.17647em; padding: 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.70588; vertical-align: baseline; max-width: 680px; position: static; float: none; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">If 98 movie minutes about the subversion of campaign financing isn't quite your idea of beating the summer heat, let me start by saying there's not a dull or dry moment in Reed's briskly paced film about the<b> secret assault on the American electoral and judicial process by corporations whose agenda is nothing less than the dismantling of government itself. </b><em style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Dark Money</em> tells a hair-raisingly specific American tale of illicit power. In other words, the stuff of thrillers since Hollywood time began — except that in <em style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">this</em> muckraking expose, the graft was real. Mercifully, so was the pushback from a citizenry long-accustomed to corporate chicanery and led by a few savvy activists working very hard for free.</font></p><aside id="ad-backstage-wrap" aria-label="advertisement" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div id="res628026339" class="bucketwrap internallink insettwocolumn inset2col " style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 27px 15px; padding: 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; position: relative; float: right; width: 330.781px; clear: right; z-index: 1; background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="bucket img" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 1px 0px 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(224, 224, 224); border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; overflow: hidden;"><div class="bucketblock" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 80px; padding: 9px 11px 9px 17px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; min-height: 62px;"><h3 class="slug" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.27273; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 1px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">IT'S ALL POLITICS</font></a></h3><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.27273; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/05/27/410019723/how-politics-is-shaping-language-dark-money-added-to-dictionary" data-metrics="{" category="category" story="Story" to="to" action="action" click="Click" internal="Internal" link="Link" label="label" https="https" www.npr.org="www.npr.org" sections="sections" itsallpolitics="itsallpolitics" how-politics-is-shaping-language-dark-money-added-to-dictionary="how-politics-is-shaping-language-dark-money-added-to-dictionary" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">How Politics Is Shaping Language: 'Dark Money' Added To Dictionary</font></a></h3></div></div></div><div id="res628028638" class="bucketwrap internallink insettwocolumn inset2col " style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 27px 15px; padding: 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; position: relative; float: right; width: 330.781px; clear: right; z-index: 1; background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="bucket img" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 1px 0px 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(224, 224, 224); border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; overflow: hidden;"><div class="bucketblock" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 80px; padding: 9px 11px 9px 17px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; min-height: 62px;"><h3 class="slug" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.27273; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 1px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">IT'S ALL POLITICS</font></a></h3><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.27273; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/09/09/438673739/reality-check-on-campaign-finance-reform-it-would-be-difficult-and-slow" data-metrics="{" category="category" story="Story" to="to" action="action" click="Click" internal="Internal" link="Link" label="label" https="https" www.npr.org="www.npr.org" sections="sections" itsallpolitics="itsallpolitics" reality-check-on-campaign-finance-reform-it-would-be-difficult-and-slow="reality-check-on-campaign-finance-reform-it-would-be-difficult-and-slow" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Reality Check On Campaign-Finance Reform: It Would Be Difficult And Slo

</font></a></h3></div></div></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.17647em; padding: 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.70588; vertical-align: baseline; max-width: 680px; position: static; float: none; width: auto;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><em style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Dark Money</em><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> opens and closes with a flock of </span><b style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">geese flying over a toxic copper quarry. </b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">As Reed's story unfolds, we learn that the beautiful birds' mass demise is only a tiny fraction of the wreckage caused by shady money moguls tinkering with electoral campaigns over a h</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">undred years of Montana history. In part because its elected officials are ordinary folks who often double-up as farmers, teachers and the like, Montana is also heavy on a defiant populism that cuts across party lines. Which may be why it's also the only state, according to Reed, to have fought back locally against the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 rollback of laws preventing corporations and unions using their treasury funds for electioneering.</span></font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.17647em; padding: 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.70588; vertical-align: baseline; max-width: 680px; position: static; float: none; width: auto;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Skillfully fielding an enormous cast of witnesses and participants, Reed shows how Democrats and Republicans running for political and judicial office found themselves targeted by vicious attack ads from deep-pocketed non-profits with blandly vanilla names like Citizens United or Americans For Prosperity, or strategically crowd-pleasing monikers like</span><b style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> Mothers Against Child Predators</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">. </span></b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">No one had ever heard of these shape-shifting advocacy groups, and it was difficult to track the money back to the shadowy ideologues hiding behind them. With the ranks of the working press hamstrung by financial crisis, it fell to a shockingly small band of enterprising freelancers — helped by some highly compromising documents that turned up in a colorfully unlikely location — to uncover a trail of money and influence that led back to wealthy right-wing libertarians. (The Koch brothers come up a lot.)</span></font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.17647em; padding: 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.70588; vertical-align: baseline; max-width: 680px; position: static; float: none; width: auto;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The rest is a gripping tale of self-help sleuthing topped off by the televised trial of Art Wittich, a local State Senator accused of being on the take. </span><b style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">John Adams</b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, a newly laid-off local reporter who will surely be played by Woody Harrelson in the event of a narrative remake of </span><em style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Dark Money</em><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, founded his own dirt-digging website with help from colleagues and donations from an increasingly outraged public. </span><b style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Attorney Gene Jarussi </b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">came out of retirement to </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">work pro bono on tracing the money trail connecting Republican State Senator Wittich to an anti-environmental outfit murkily titled American Tradition Partnership. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">But perhaps the</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> real heroine is Sarah Arnold, a young Republican former staffer for ATP who, disgusted by her employer's dirty tricks, agreed to testify at Wittich's trial. Here's hoping she has stayed safe since.</span></font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.17647em; padding: 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.70588; vertical-align: baseline; max-width: 680px; position: static; float: none; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Without the indispensable <em style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Dark Money,</em> few of us would have heard of this David-and-Goliath struggle. Reed keeps the story mostly local while adroitly teasing out the broader threat of a lack of transparency that's been kicking around American politics since way before Watergate. Her riveting film shows how, with the Internet's global reach and the ever-growing concentration of money and power, dark money is redrawing the political landscape in ways that render parties irrelevant and imperil democracy itself. As one of the film's talking heads points out, when the Supreme Court of the United States decrees that <b>corporations have the same rights as individuals, and financial contributions count as free speech, </b>it is time to take the fight for democracy local, as Montana did. The trick will be to keep it up — and <em style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Dark Money </em>shows what a long, hard grind that will be.</font></p><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="g" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div data-hveid="CAEQAA" data-ved="2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQFSgAMAB6BAgBEAA"><div class="rc" style="position: relative;"><h3 class="r" style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/07/12/626693116/riveting-documentary-sheds-light-on-dark-money-in-montana-politics" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.npr.org/2018/07/12/626693116/riveting-documentary-sheds-light-on-dark-money-in-montana-politics&ved=2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQFjAAegQIARAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Riveting Documentary Sheds Light On 'Dark Money' In Montana ... - NPR</font></a></h3><div class="s" style="max-width: 48em; line-height: 18px;"><div class="f hJND5c TbwUpd" style="height: 18px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><cite class="iUh30" style="font-style: normal;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.npr.org/.../riveting-documentary-sheds-light-on-dark-money-in-montana-p...</font></cite></div><span class="st" style="line-height: 1.4; word-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="f" style="">Jul 12, 2018 - </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dark Money</span> shadows <span style="font-weight: bold;">Montana</span> journalist John Adams as he uncovers ... trial of Art<span style="font-weight: bold;">Wittich</span>, a local State Senator accused of being on the take.</font></span></div></div></div></div><div class="g" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div data-hveid="CAkQAA" data-ved="2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQFSgAMAF6BAgJEAA"><div class="rc" style="position: relative;"><h3 class="r" style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://missoulian.com/news/government-and-politics/montana-supreme-court-upholds-lawmaker-s-fine-in-dark-money/article_5d6d642f-174a-5a43-8da7-2514072a0c35.html" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://missoulian.com/news/government-and-politics/montana-supreme-court-upholds-lawmaker-s-fine-in-dark-money/article_5d6d642f-174a-5a43-8da7-2514072a0c35.html&ved=2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQFjABegQICRAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Montana Supreme Court upholds lawmaker's fine in dark money case ...</font></a></h3><div class="s" style="max-width: 48em; line-height: 18px;"><div class="f hJND5c TbwUpd" style="height: 18px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><cite class="iUh30" style="font-style: normal;">https://missoulian.com/.../montana...dark-money/article_5d6d642f-174a-5a43-8da7-2...</cite></font><div class="action-menu ab_ctl" style="display: inline; position: relative; margin: 1px 3px 0px; user-select: none; vertical-align: middle;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a class="GHDvEf ab_button" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=dark+money+montana+wittich&oq=dark+money+montana+wittich&aqs=chrome..69i57.7344j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#" id="am-b1" aria-label="Result Options" aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="true" role="button" jsaction="m.tdd;keydown:m.hbke;keypress:m.mskpe" data-ved="2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQ7B0wAXoECAkQAg" style="border-radius: 0px; cursor: default; font-weight: bold; height: 12px; line-height: 27px; margin: 1px 0px 2px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; transition: none 0s ease 0s; user-select: none; background-image: none; border: 0px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px 0px; filter: none; width: 13px; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block;"><span class="mn-dwn-arw" style="border-color: rgb(0, 102, 33) transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 5px 4px 0px; width: 0px; height: 0px; margin-left: 3px; top: 7.5px; margin-top: -4px; position: absolute; left: 0px;" /></a></font><div class="action-menu-panel ab_dropdown" role="menu" tabindex="-1" jsaction="keydown:m.hdke;mouseover:m.hdhne;mouseout:m.hdhue" data-ved="2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQqR8wAXoECAkQAw" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto; top: 12px; z-index: 3; transition: opacity 0.218s ease 0s; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 2px 4px; left: 0px; visibility: hidden;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><ol style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font><li class="action-menu-item ab_dropdownitem" role="menuitem" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; user-select: none; cursor: pointer;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a class="fl" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:gdnjG9mZO_kJ:https://missoulian.com/news/government-and-politics/montana-supreme-court-upholds-lawmaker-s-fine-in-dark-money/article_5d6d642f-174a-5a43-8da7-2514072a0c35.html+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:gdnjG9mZO_kJ:https://missoulian.com/news/government-and-politics/montana-supreme-court-upholds-lawmaker-s-fine-in-dark-money/article_5d6d642f-174a-5a43-8da7-2514072a0c35.html%2B%26cd%3D2%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQIDABegQICRAE" style="text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;" /></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></li></ol></div></div></div><a class="fl" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:gdnjG9mZO_kJ:https://missoulian.com/news/government-and-politics/montana-supreme-court-upholds-lawmaker-s-fine-in-dark-money/article_5d6d642f-174a-5a43-8da7-2514072a0c35.html+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:gdnjG9mZO_kJ:https://missoulian.com/news/government-and-politics/montana-supreme-court-upholds-lawmaker-s-fine-in-dark-money/article_5d6d642f-174a-5a43-8da7-2514072a0c35.html%2B%26cd%3D2%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQIDABegQICRAE" style="text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;"><span class="st" style="line-height: 1.4; word-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="f" style="">Aug 23, 2017 - </span>BILLINGS — The <span style="font-weight: bold;">Montana</span> Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a ... The civil case was brought against <span style="font-weight: bold;">Wittich</span>, then a state senator, by ...</font></span></a></div></div></div></div><div class="g" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div data-hveid="CAgQAA" data-ved="2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQFSgAMAJ6BAgIEAA"><div class="rc" style="position: relative;"><h3 class="r" style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://montanafreepress.org/2018/05/16/watch-now-dark-money-official-trailer/" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://montanafreepress.org/2018/05/16/watch-now-dark-money-official-trailer/&ved=2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQFjACegQICBAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Watch Now: "Dark Money" official trailer | Montana Free Press</font></a></h3><div class="s" style="max-width: 48em; line-height: 18px;"><div class="f hJND5c TbwUpd" style="height: 18px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><cite class="iUh30" style="font-style: normal;">https://montanafreepress.org/2018/05/16/watch-now-dark-money-official-trailer/</cite></font><div class="action-menu ab_ctl" style="display: inline; position: relative; margin: 1px 3px 0px; user-select: none; vertical-align: middle;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a class="GHDvEf ab_button" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=dark+money+montana+wittich&oq=dark+money+montana+wittich&aqs=chrome..69i57.7344j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#" id="am-b2" aria-label="Result Options" aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="true" role="button" jsaction="m.tdd;keydown:m.hbke;keypress:m.mskpe" data-ved="2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQ7B0wAnoECAgQAg" style="border-radius: 0px; cursor: default; font-weight: bold; height: 12px; line-height: 27px; margin: 1px 0px 2px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; transition: none 0s ease 0s; user-select: none; background-image: none; border: 0px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px 0px; filter: none; width: 13px; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block;"><span class="mn-dwn-arw" style="border-color: rgb(0, 102, 33) transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 5px 4px 0px; width: 0px; height: 0px; margin-left: 3px; top: 7.5px; margin-top: -4px; position: absolute; left: 0px;" /></a></font><div class="action-menu-panel ab_dropdown" role="menu" tabindex="-1" jsaction="keydown:m.hdke;mouseover:m.hdhne;mouseout:m.hdhue" data-ved="2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQqR8wAnoECAgQAw" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto; top: 12px; z-index: 3; transition: opacity 0.218s ease 0s; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 2px 4px; left: 0px; visibility: hidden;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><ol style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font><li class="action-menu-item ab_dropdownitem" role="menuitem" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; user-select: none; cursor: pointer;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a class="fl" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:zBk0pfhm4OQJ:https://montanafreepress.org/2018/05/16/watch-now-dark-money-official-trailer/+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:zBk0pfhm4OQJ:https://montanafreepress.org/2018/05/16/watch-now-dark-money-official-trailer/%2B%26cd%3D3%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQIDACegQICBAE" style="text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;" /></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></li></ol></div></div></div><a class="fl" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:zBk0pfhm4OQJ:https://montanafreepress.org/2018/05/16/watch-now-dark-money-official-trailer/+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:zBk0pfhm4OQJ:https://montanafreepress.org/2018/05/16/watch-now-dark-money-official-trailer/%2B%26cd%3D3%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQIDACegQICBAE" style="text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;"><span class="st" style="line-height: 1.4; word-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="f" style="">May 16, 2018 - </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">DARK MONEY</span>, a political thriller, examines one of the greatest present threats to American democracy: the influence of untraceable corporate ...</font></span></a></div></div></div></div><div class="g" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div data-hveid="CAcQAA" data-ved="2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQFSgAMAN6BAgHEAA"><div class="rc" style="position: relative;"><h3 class="r" style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://montanafreepress.org/2018/03/12/right-to-work-shady-activities/" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://montanafreepress.org/2018/03/12/right-to-work-shady-activities/&ved=2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQFjADegQIBxAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Complaint: Dark Money Right to Work Group Engaged in Illegal ...</font></a></h3><div class="s" style="max-width: 48em; line-height: 18px;"><div class="f hJND5c TbwUpd" style="height: 18px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><cite class="iUh30" style="font-style: normal;">https://montanafreepress.org/2018/03/12/right-to-work-shady-activities/</cite></font><div class="action-menu ab_ctl" style="display: inline; position: relative; margin: 1px 3px 0px; user-select: none; vertical-align: middle;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a class="GHDvEf ab_button" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=dark+money+montana+wittich&oq=dark+money+montana+wittich&aqs=chrome..69i57.7344j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#" id="am-b3" aria-label="Result Options" aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="true" role="button" jsaction="m.tdd;keydown:m.hbke;keypress:m.mskpe" data-ved="2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQ7B0wA3oECAcQAg" style="border-radius: 0px; cursor: default; font-weight: bold; height: 12px; line-height: 27px; margin: 1px 0px 2px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; transition: none 0s ease 0s; user-select: none; background-image: none; border: 0px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px 0px; filter: none; width: 13px; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block;"><span class="mn-dwn-arw" style="border-color: rgb(0, 102, 33) transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 5px 4px 0px; width: 0px; height: 0px; margin-left: 3px; top: 7.5px; margin-top: -4px; position: absolute; left: 0px;" /></a></font><div class="action-menu-panel ab_dropdown" role="menu" tabindex="-1" jsaction="keydown:m.hdke;mouseover:m.hdhne;mouseout:m.hdhue" data-ved="2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQqR8wA3oECAcQAw" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto; top: 12px; z-index: 3; transition: opacity 0.218s ease 0s; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 2px 4px; left: 0px; visibility: hidden;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><ol style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font><li class="action-menu-item ab_dropdownitem" role="menuitem" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; user-select: none; cursor: pointer;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a class="fl" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:sKqvSUdzjbIJ:https://montanafreepress.org/2018/03/12/right-to-work-shady-activities/+&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:sKqvSUdzjbIJ:https://montanafreepress.org/2018/03/12/right-to-work-shady-activities/%2B%26cd%3D4%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQIDADegQIBxAE" style="text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;" /></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></li></ol></div></div></div><a class="fl" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:sKqvSUdzjbIJ:https://montanafreepress.org/2018/03/12/right-to-work-shady-activities/+&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:sKqvSUdzjbIJ:https://montanafreepress.org/2018/03/12/right-to-work-shady-activities/%2B%26cd%3D4%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQIDADegQIBxAE" style="text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;"><span class="st" style="line-height: 1.4; word-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="f" style="">Mar 12, 2018 - </span>At the trial's conclusion, a jury found <span style="font-weight: bold;">Wittich</span> broke <span style="font-weight: bold;">Montana</span> law by illegally .... Garner has been in the crosshairs of <span style="font-weight: bold;">dark money</span> political groups ...</font></span></a></div></div></div></div><div class="g" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div data-hveid="CAYQAA" data-ved="2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQFSgAMAR6BAgGEAA"><div class="rc" style="position: relative;"><h3 class="r" style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="http://cordilleramontana.worldnow.com/story/31605421/motl-takes-the-stand-in-wittich-dark-money-trial" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://cordilleramontana.worldnow.com/story/31605421/motl-takes-the-stand-in-wittich-dark-money-trial&ved=2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQFjAEegQIBhAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Motl takes the stand in Wittich `dark money' trial - WorldNow</font></a></h3><div class="s" style="max-width: 48em; line-height: 18px;"><div class="f hJND5c TbwUpd" style="height: 18px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><cite class="iUh30" style="font-style: normal;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">cordilleramontana.worldnow.com/story/.../motl-takes-the-stand-in-wittich-dark-money-t...</font></cite></div><span class="st" style="line-height: 1.4; word-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">He also suggested that Motl investigated <span style="font-weight: bold;">Wittich</span> because of a personal bias against so-called “<span style="font-weight: bold;">dark money</span>” and groups that successfully overturned a <span style="font-weight: bold;">Montana</span> ...</font></span></div></div></div></div><div class="g" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div data-hveid="CAUQAA" data-ved="2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQFSgAMAV6BAgFEAA"><div class="rc" style="position: relative;"><h3 class="r" style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://flatheadbeacon.com/2018/03/12/complaint-dark-money-right-work-group-engaged-illegal-political-activities/" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://flatheadbeacon.com/2018/03/12/complaint-dark-money-right-work-group-engaged-illegal-political-activities/&ved=2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQFjAFegQIBRAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Complaint: Dark Money Right to Work Group ... - Flathead Beacon</font></a></h3><div class="s" style="max-width: 48em; line-height: 18px;"><div class="f hJND5c TbwUpd" style="height: 18px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><cite class="iUh30" style="font-style: normal;">https://flatheadbeacon.com/.../complaint-dark-money-right-work-group-engaged-illeg...</cite></font><div class="action-menu ab_ctl" style="display: inline; position: relative; margin: 1px 3px 0px; user-select: none; vertical-align: middle;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a class="GHDvEf ab_button" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=dark+money+montana+wittich&oq=dark+money+montana+wittich&aqs=chrome..69i57.7344j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#" id="am-b5" aria-label="Result Options" aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="true" role="button" jsaction="m.tdd;keydown:m.hbke;keypress:m.mskpe" data-ved="2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQ7B0wBXoECAUQAg" style="border-radius: 0px; cursor: default; font-weight: bold; height: 12px; line-height: 27px; margin: 1px 0px 2px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; transition: none 0s ease 0s; user-select: none; background-image: none; border: 0px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px 0px; filter: none; width: 13px; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block;"><span class="mn-dwn-arw" style="border-color: rgb(0, 102, 33) transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 5px 4px 0px; width: 0px; height: 0px; margin-left: 3px; top: 7.5px; margin-top: -4px; position: absolute; left: 0px;" /></a></font><div class="action-menu-panel ab_dropdown" role="menu" tabindex="-1" jsaction="keydown:m.hdke;mouseover:m.hdhne;mouseout:m.hdhue" data-ved="2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQqR8wBXoECAUQAw" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto; top: 12px; z-index: 3; transition: opacity 0.218s ease 0s; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 2px 4px; left: 0px; visibility: hidden;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><ol style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font><li class="action-menu-item ab_dropdownitem" role="menuitem" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; user-select: none; cursor: pointer;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a class="fl" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:VMzdtFfMtpMJ:https://flatheadbeacon.com/2018/03/12/complaint-dark-money-right-work-group-engaged-illegal-political-activities/+&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:VMzdtFfMtpMJ:https://flatheadbeacon.com/2018/03/12/complaint-dark-money-right-work-group-engaged-illegal-political-activities/%2B%26cd%3D6%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQIDAFegQIBRAE" style="text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;" /></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></li></ol></div></div></div><a class="fl" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:VMzdtFfMtpMJ:https://flatheadbeacon.com/2018/03/12/complaint-dark-money-right-work-group-engaged-illegal-political-activities/+&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:VMzdtFfMtpMJ:https://flatheadbeacon.com/2018/03/12/complaint-dark-money-right-work-group-engaged-illegal-political-activities/%2B%26cd%3D6%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQIDAFegQIBRAE" style="text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;"><span class="st" style="line-height: 1.4; word-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="f" style="">Mar 12, 2018 - </span>Complaint: <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dark Money</span> Right to Work Group Engaged in Illegal Political ... At the trial's conclusion, a jury found <span style="font-weight: bold;">Wittich</span> broke <span style="font-weight: bold;">Montana</span> law by ...</font></span></a></div></div></div></div><div class="g" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div data-hveid="CAQQAA" data-ved="2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQFSgAMAZ6BAgEEAA"><div class="rc" style="position: relative;"><h3 class="r" style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://helenair.com/news/local/biggest-stories-of-jury-finds-wittich-guilty-of-campaign-violation/article_8624f113-c53a-5621-b18d-0e50826b3bff.html" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://helenair.com/news/local/biggest-stories-of-jury-finds-wittich-guilty-of-campaign-violation/article_8624f113-c53a-5621-b18d-0e50826b3bff.html&ved=2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQFjAGegQIBBAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Biggest stories of 2016: 10. Jury finds Wittich guilty of campaign violation</font></a></h3><div class="s" style="max-width: 48em; line-height: 18px;"><div class="f hJND5c TbwUpd" style="height: 18px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><cite class="iUh30" style="font-style: normal;">https://helenair.com/...wittich.../article_8624f113-c53a-5621-b18d-0e50826b3bff.htm...</cite></font><div class="action-menu ab_ctl" style="display: inline; position: relative; margin: 1px 3px 0px; user-select: none; vertical-align: middle;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a class="GHDvEf ab_button" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=dark+money+montana+wittich&oq=dark+money+montana+wittich&aqs=chrome..69i57.7344j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#" id="am-b6" aria-label="Result Options" aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="true" role="button" jsaction="m.tdd;keydown:m.hbke;keypress:m.mskpe" data-ved="2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQ7B0wBnoECAQQAg" style="border-radius: 0px; cursor: default; font-weight: bold; height: 12px; line-height: 27px; margin: 1px 0px 2px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; transition: none 0s ease 0s; user-select: none; background-image: none; border: 0px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px 0px; filter: none; width: 13px; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block;"><span class="mn-dwn-arw" style="border-color: rgb(0, 102, 33) transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 5px 4px 0px; width: 0px; height: 0px; margin-left: 3px; top: 7.5px; margin-top: -4px; position: absolute; left: 0px;" /></a></font><div class="action-menu-panel ab_dropdown" role="menu" tabindex="-1" jsaction="keydown:m.hdke;mouseover:m.hdhne;mouseout:m.hdhue" data-ved="2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQqR8wBnoECAQQAw" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto; top: 12px; z-index: 3; transition: opacity 0.218s ease 0s; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 2px 4px; left: 0px; visibility: hidden;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><ol style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font><li class="action-menu-item ab_dropdownitem" role="menuitem" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; user-select: none; cursor: pointer;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a class="fl" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:6DFUfdlRX5gJ:https://helenair.com/news/local/biggest-stories-of-jury-finds-wittich-guilty-of-campaign-violation/article_8624f113-c53a-5621-b18d-0e50826b3bff.html+&cd=7&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:6DFUfdlRX5gJ:https://helenair.com/news/local/biggest-stories-of-jury-finds-wittich-guilty-of-campaign-violation/article_8624f113-c53a-5621-b18d-0e50826b3bff.html%2B%26cd%3D7%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQIDAGegQIBBAE" style="text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;" /></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></li></ol></div></div></div><a class="fl" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:6DFUfdlRX5gJ:https://helenair.com/news/local/biggest-stories-of-jury-finds-wittich-guilty-of-campaign-violation/article_8624f113-c53a-5621-b18d-0e50826b3bff.html+&cd=7&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:6DFUfdlRX5gJ:https://helenair.com/news/local/biggest-stories-of-jury-finds-wittich-guilty-of-campaign-violation/article_8624f113-c53a-5621-b18d-0e50826b3bff.html%2B%26cd%3D7%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQIDAGegQIBBAE" style="text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;"><span class="st" style="line-height: 1.4; word-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="f" style="">Jun 16, 2018 - </span>Art <span style="font-weight: bold;">Wittich</span>, R-Bozeman, was found guilty on April 1 of accepting illegal ... <span style="font-weight: bold;">Montana</span>Supreme Court upholds lawmaker's fine in <span style="font-weight: bold;">dark money</span> case ...</font></span></a></div></div></div></div><div class="g" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div data-hveid="CAMQAA" data-ved="2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQFSgAMAd6BAgDEAA"><div class="rc" style="position: relative;"><h3 class="r" style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/politics/former-bozeman-legislator-lays-out-appeal-of-dark-money-case/article_e672a3a2-2478-51d3-98ec-942f097bea73.html" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/politics/former-bozeman-legislator-lays-out-appeal-of-dark-money-case/article_e672a3a2-2478-51d3-98ec-942f097bea73.html&ved=2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQFjAHegQIAxAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Former Bozeman legislator lays out appeal of 'dark money' case in ...</font></a></h3><div class="s" style="max-width: 48em; line-height: 18px;"><div class="f hJND5c TbwUpd" style="height: 18px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><cite class="iUh30" style="font-style: normal;">www.bozemandailychronicle.com/...dark-money.../article_e672a3a2-2478-51d3-98ec...</cite></font><div class="action-menu ab_ctl" style="display: inline; position: relative; margin: 1px 3px 0px; user-select: none; vertical-align: middle;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a class="GHDvEf ab_button" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=dark+money+montana+wittich&oq=dark+money+montana+wittich&aqs=chrome..69i57.7344j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#" id="am-b7" aria-label="Result Options" aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="true" role="button" jsaction="m.tdd;keydown:m.hbke;keypress:m.mskpe" data-ved="2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQ7B0wB3oECAMQAg" style="border-radius: 0px; cursor: default; font-weight: bold; height: 12px; line-height: 27px; margin: 1px 0px 2px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; transition: none 0s ease 0s; user-select: none; background-image: none; border: 0px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px 0px; filter: none; width: 13px; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block;"><span class="mn-dwn-arw" style="border-color: rgb(0, 102, 33) transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 5px 4px 0px; width: 0px; height: 0px; margin-left: 3px; top: 7.5px; margin-top: -4px; position: absolute; left: 0px;" /></a></font><div class="action-menu-panel ab_dropdown" role="menu" tabindex="-1" jsaction="keydown:m.hdke;mouseover:m.hdhne;mouseout:m.hdhue" data-ved="2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQqR8wB3oECAMQAw" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto; top: 12px; z-index: 3; transition: opacity 0.218s ease 0s; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 2px 4px; left: 0px; visibility: hidden;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><ol style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font><li class="action-menu-item ab_dropdownitem" role="menuitem" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; user-select: none; cursor: pointer;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a class="fl" href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:1xVJXSkb80wJ:www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/politics/former-bozeman-legislator-lays-out-appeal-of-dark-money-case/article_e672a3a2-2478-51d3-98ec-942f097bea73.html+&cd=8&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:1xVJXSkb80wJ:www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/politics/former-bozeman-legislator-lays-out-appeal-of-dark-money-case/article_e672a3a2-2478-51d3-98ec-942f097bea73.html%2B%26cd%3D8%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQIDAHegQIAxAE" style="text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;" /></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></li></ol></div></div></div><a class="fl" href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:1xVJXSkb80wJ:www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/politics/former-bozeman-legislator-lays-out-appeal-of-dark-money-case/article_e672a3a2-2478-51d3-98ec-942f097bea73.html+&cd=8&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:1xVJXSkb80wJ:www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/politics/former-bozeman-legislator-lays-out-appeal-of-dark-money-case/article_e672a3a2-2478-51d3-98ec-942f097bea73.html%2B%26cd%3D8%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQIDAHegQIAxAE" style="text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;"><span class="st" style="line-height: 1.4; word-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="f" style="">May 1, 2017 - </span>Art <span style="font-weight: bold;">Wittich</span>, R-Bozeman, filed a brief with the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Montana</span> Supreme Court earlier this month that says the commissioner of political practices broke ...</font></span></a></div></div></div></div><div class="g" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div data-hveid="CAIQAA" data-ved="2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQFSgAMAh6BAgCEAA" style=""><div class="rc" style="position: relative;"><h3 class="r" style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="http://missoulanews.com/coverstory/a-conversation-with-montana-born-dark-money-documentarian-kimberly-reed/article_86b947e4-fbcc-11e7-80f7-9b71051700e7.html" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://missoulanews.com/coverstory/a-conversation-with-montana-born-dark-money-documentarian-kimberly-reed/article_86b947e4-fbcc-11e7-80f7-9b71051700e7.html&ved=2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQFjAIegQIAhAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">A conversation with Montana-born 'Dark Money' documentarian ...</font></a></h3><div class="s" style="max-width: 48em; line-height: 18px;"><div class="f hJND5c TbwUpd" style="height: 18px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><cite class="iUh30" style="font-style: normal;">missoulanews.com/...montana...dark-money.../article_86b947e4-fbcc-11e7-80f7-9b7...</cite></font><div class="action-menu ab_ctl" style="display: inline; position: relative; margin: 1px 3px 0px; user-select: none; vertical-align: middle;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a class="GHDvEf ab_button" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=dark+money+montana+wittich&oq=dark+money+montana+wittich&aqs=chrome..69i57.7344j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#" id="am-b8" aria-label="Result Options" aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="true" role="button" jsaction="m.tdd;keydown:m.hbke;keypress:m.mskpe" data-ved="2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQ7B0wCHoECAIQAg" style="border-radius: 0px; cursor: default; font-weight: bold; height: 12px; line-height: 27px; margin: 1px 0px 2px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; transition: none 0s ease 0s; user-select: none; background-image: none; border: 0px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px 0px; filter: none; width: 13px; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block;"><span class="mn-dwn-arw" style="border-color: rgb(0, 102, 33) transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 5px 4px 0px; width: 0px; height: 0px; margin-left: 3px; top: 7.5px; margin-top: -4px; position: absolute; left: 0px;" /></a></font><div class="action-menu-panel ab_dropdown" role="menu" tabindex="-1" jsaction="keydown:m.hdke;mouseover:m.hdhne;mouseout:m.hdhue" data-ved="2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQqR8wCHoECAIQAw" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto; top: 12px; z-index: 3; transition: opacity 0.218s ease 0s; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 2px 4px; left: 0px; visibility: hidden;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><ol style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font><li class="action-menu-item ab_dropdownitem" role="menuitem" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; user-select: none; cursor: pointer;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a class="fl" href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:zLoAXdFmPtgJ:missoulanews.com/coverstory/a-conversation-with-montana-born-dark-money-documentarian-kimberly-reed/article_86b947e4-fbcc-11e7-80f7-9b71051700e7.html+&cd=9&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:zLoAXdFmPtgJ:missoulanews.com/coverstory/a-conversation-with-montana-born-dark-money-documentarian-kimberly-reed/article_86b947e4-fbcc-11e7-80f7-9b71051700e7.html%2B%26cd%3D9%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQIDAIegQIAhAE" style="text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;" /></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></li></ol></div></div></div><a class="fl" href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:zLoAXdFmPtgJ:missoulanews.com/coverstory/a-conversation-with-montana-born-dark-money-documentarian-kimberly-reed/article_86b947e4-fbcc-11e7-80f7-9b71051700e7.html+&cd=9&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:zLoAXdFmPtgJ:missoulanews.com/coverstory/a-conversation-with-montana-born-dark-money-documentarian-kimberly-reed/article_86b947e4-fbcc-11e7-80f7-9b71051700e7.html%2B%26cd%3D9%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQIDAIegQIAhAE" style="text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;"><span class="st" style="line-height: 1.4; word-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="f" style="">Jan 18, 2018 - </span>A conversation with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Montana</span>-born '<span style="font-weight: bold;">Dark Money</span>' documentarian Kimberly .... Former state Senate Majority Leader Art <span style="font-weight: bold;">Wittich</span> was found guilty of ...</font></span></a></div><div jsl="$t t--ddbPTeIsNI;$x 0;" class="r-imRskABmMv1Q" data-ved="2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQ2Z0BMAh6BAgCEAY"><div class="g" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 28px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div data-hveid="CAAQAA" data-ved="2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQFSgAMAl6BAgAEAA"><div class="rc" style="position: relative;"><h3 class="r" style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://themontanapost.com/tag/dark-money/" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://themontanapost.com/tag/dark-money/&ved=2ahUKEwiH8qDj0tncAhUR-6wKHW8JAIIQFjAJegQIABAB" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">dark money – The Montana Post</font></a></h3><div class="s" style="max-width: 48em; line-height: 18px;"><div class="f hJND5c TbwUpd" style="height: 18px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><cite class="iUh30" style="font-style: normal;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://themontanapost.com/tag/dark-money/</font></cite></div><span class="st" style="line-height: 1.4; word-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dark Money's</span> Art <span style="font-weight: bold;">Wittich</span> Fires Off Another Reasonable Letter. May 3, 2014. 1 Comment. It's a real tragedy watching the civil war ripping through the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Montana</span> ...</font></span></div></div></div></div></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">see lefer, ongoing</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 22.8px;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/politics/documents-allege-right-to-work-s-involvement-in-montana-elections">http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/politics/documents-allege-right-to-work-s-involvement-in-montana-elections</a></font></span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 22.8px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 22.8px;"><a href="http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/politics/back-and-forth-motions-hurl-allegations-in-lead-up-to"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/politics/back-and-forth-motions-hurl-allegations-in-lead-up-to</font></a></span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/politics/commissioner-expands-allegations-against-wittich/</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 22.8px;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">---</font></span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 22.8px;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="subscriber-preview" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 27px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">— A Bozeman legislator is suing a man who wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper that was critical of the lawmaker.</font></p></div><div class="subscriber-preview" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 27px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="">Republican Rep. Art Wittich claims Rob Gregoire defamed him in his letter to the Belgrade News.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 27px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="">=</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 27px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="">1018</font></p><h3 class="recent-posts clearfix" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 1.3; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; padding-bottom: 0.5em; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(125, 129, 133);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Your search for <span class="search-term" style="background-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); padding: 1px 5px;">lefer</span> returned 5 results</font></h3><article id="post-1556" class="clearfix post-1556 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-campaign-spending category-corruption category-elections category-government category-news category-politics tag-mtleg tag-mtpol tag-art-wittich tag-atp tag-campaign-finance tag-cb-pearson tag-commissioner-of-political-practices tag-dark-money tag-gene-jarussi tag-john-sinrud tag-jonathan-motl tag-quentin-rhoades featured-media featured-media-image" style="margin-bottom: 24px; border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170);"><div class="entry-content" style="margin-bottom: 24px;"><h2 class="entry-title" style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; line-height: 1.1; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><a href="https://montanafreepress.org/testimony-winds-down-in-corruption-trial/" title="Permalink to Testimony Winds Down in Corruption Trial" rel="bookmark" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Testimony Winds Down in Corruption Trial</font></a></h2><p style="margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By John S. Adams, Editor-in-Chief</font></p><p style="margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">HELENA — State Rep. Art Wittich, the man accused of accepting illegal in-kind contributions and services from conservative nonprofit groups during his 2010 Senate race, took the witness stand in his own defense Thursday in Lewis and Clark County District Court.</font></p><small class="date-link" style=""><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="date">March 31, 2016</span> <span class="sep">|</span> <a href="https://montanafreepress.org/testimony-winds-down-in-corruption-trial/" title="https://montanafreepress.org/testimony-winds-down-in-corruption-trial/" rel="" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;">https://montanafreepress.org/testimony-winds-down-in-corruption-trial/</a></font></small></div></article><article id="post-1540" class="clearfix post-1540 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-campaign-spending category-corruption category-elections category-government category-news category-politics tag-mtleg tag-mtpol tag-art-wittich tag-atp tag-campaign-finance tag-commissioner-of-political-practices tag-corruption tag-dark-money tag-gene-jarussi tag-jonathan-motl tag-montana-politics tag-quentin-rhoades tag-western-tradition-partnership featured-media featured-media-image" style="margin-bottom: 24px; border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170);"><div class="entry-content" style="margin-bottom: 24px;"><h2 class="entry-title" style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; line-height: 1.1; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><a href="https://montanafreepress.org/motl-takes-the-stand-in-wittich-corruption-trial/" title="Permalink to Motl Takes the Stand in Wittich Corruption Trial" rel="bookmark" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Motl Takes the Stand in Wittich Corruption Trial</font></a></h2><p style="margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl testifies in his lawsuit against Republican Rep. Art Wittich.</font></p><small class="date-link" style=""><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="date">March 30, 2016</span> <span class="sep">|</span> <a href="https://montanafreepress.org/motl-takes-the-stand-in-wittich-corruption-trial/" title="https://montanafreepress.org/motl-takes-the-stand-in-wittich-corruption-trial/" rel="" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;">https://montanafreepress.org/motl-takes-the-stand-in-wittich-corruption-trial/</a></font></small></div></article><article id="post-1519" class="clearfix post-1519 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-campaign-spending category-corruption category-elections category-government category-news category-politics featured-media featured-media-image" style="margin-bottom: 24px; border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170);"><div class="entry-content" style="margin-bottom: 24px;"><h2 class="entry-title" style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; line-height: 1.1; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><a href="https://montanafreepress.org/former-right-to-work-staffers-take-stand-in-wittich-trial/" title="Permalink to Former Right to Work Staffers Take Stand in Wittich Trial" rel="bookmark" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Former Right to Work Staffers Take Stand in Wittich Trial</font></a></h2><p style="margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sarah (Anderson) Arnold, a former Right to Work employee, fields questions from Quentin Rhoades, Rep. Art Wittich’s attorney.</font></p><small class="date-link" style=""><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="date">March 29, 2016</span> <span class="sep">|</span> <a href="https://montanafreepress.org/former-right-to-work-staffers-take-stand-in-wittich-trial/" title="https://montanafreepress.org/former-right-to-work-staffers-take-stand-in-wittich-trial/" rel="" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;">https://montanafreepress.org/former-right-to-work-staffers-take-stand-in-wittich-trial/</a></font></small></div></article><article id="post-1485" class="clearfix post-1485 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-campaign-spending category-corruption category-elections category-government category-news category-politics tag-mtleg tag-mtpol tag-art-wittich tag-atp tag-campaign-finance tag-commissioner-of-political-practices tag-corruption tag-courts tag-dark-money tag-jonathan-motl tag-political-speech tag-quentin-rhoades tag-wtp featured-media featured-media-image" style="margin-bottom: 24px; border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170);"><div class="entry-content" style="margin-bottom: 24px;"><h2 class="entry-title" style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; line-height: 1.1; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><a href="https://montanafreepress.org/wittich-corruption-trial-underway/" title="Permalink to Wittich Corruption Trial Underway" rel="bookmark" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Wittich Corruption Trial Underway</font></a></h2><p style="margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By John S. Adams, Editor-in-Chief</font></p><p style="margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">HELENA — A highly anticipated civil trial to determine whether Bozeman Republican Rep. Art Wittich violated campaign practice laws during his 2010 primary campaign got underway in Helena on Monday.</font></p><small class="date-link" style=""><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="date">March 28, 2016</span> <span class="sep">|</span> <a href="https://montanafreepress.org/wittich-corruption-trial-underway/" title="https://montanafreepress.org/wittich-corruption-trial-underway/" rel="" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;">https://montanafreepress.org/wittich-corruption-trial-underway/</a></font></small></div></article><article id="post-1222" class="clearfix post-1222 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-campaign-spending category-corruption category-elections category-government category-news category-politics tag-2008-gop-primary tag-2010-gop-primary tag-2012-gop-primary tag-allison-lefer tag-american-tradition-partnership tag-art-wittich tag-atp tag-campaign-finance tag-christian-lefer tag-citizens-united tag-dimitri-kesari tag-direct-mail-and-communications tag-jedd-coburn tag-jonathan-motl tag-montana-citizens-for-right-to-work tag-national-right-to-work-committee tag-smart-simple-campaigns tag-western-tradition-partnership tag-wtp top-term-post_tag-2008-gop-primary featured-media featured-media-image" style="margin-bottom: 24px; border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170);"><div class="entry-content" style="margin-bottom: 24px;"><h2 class="entry-title" style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; line-height: 1.1; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><a href="https://montanafreepress.org/documents-detail-right-to-works-involvement-in-montana-elections/" title="Permalink to Documents detail Right to Work’s involvement in Montana elections" rel="bookmark" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Documents detail Right to Work’s involvement in Montana elections</font></a></h2><p style="margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">HELENA – Thousands of newly uncovered documents and recently filed court records bolster the already mounting evidence tying the anti-union National Right to Work Committee to the political activities of conservative nonprofit groups accused of improperly coordinating Republican legislative primary campaigns in Montana.</font></p><small class="date-link" style=""><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="date">January 26, 2016</span> <span class="sep">|</span> <a href="https://montanafreepress.org/documents-detail-right-to-works-involvement-in-montana-elections/" title="https://montanafreepress.org/documents-detail-right-to-works-involvement-in-montana-elections/" rel="" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;">https://montanafreepress.org/documents-detail-right-to-works-involvement-in-montana-elections/</a></font></small></div></article><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 27px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="">=</font></p></div><div id="inasset-video-ad" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div id="blox-ad-position-png_video_ad1" data-tnt-ads="{" vendor="vendor" blox="blox" type="type" position="position" display="display" default="default" region="region" png_video_ad="png_video_ad" fold="fold" above="above" slot="slot" width="width" overline="overline" advertisement="Advertisement" js="js" video="video" http="http" bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com="bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com" bozemandailychronicle.com="bozemandailychronicle.com" shared-content="shared-content" art="art" tncms="tncms" templates="templates" libraries="libraries" flex="flex" components="components" resources="resources" scripts="scripts" video.a29f06e2ab895814c1976b2e38e27635.js="video.a29f06e2ab895814c1976b2e38e27635.js" class="tnt-ads-container " style="box-sizing: border-box; min-height: 1px;"><div id="tncms-region-article_instory_top" class="tncms-region " style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 27px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In April, a jury found that Wittich took illegal corporate contributions from an anti-union organization in 2010. A judge ordered him to pay more than $80,000 in fines and costs.</font></p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 27px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wittich says he was defamed because Gregoire’s letter says he was <b>convicted of a crime. The case against Wittich was a civil lawsuit filed by Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl, and Wittich was not criminally charged.</b></font></p></div></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 22.8px;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">--</font></span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="subscriber-preview" style="box-sizing: border-box;" open="Open" sans="Sans" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" line-height="line-height" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 27px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The high-profile Bozeman Republican found in violation of Montana’s campaign finance laws in April has asked a district court judge for a new trial.</font></p></div><div class="subscriber-preview" style="box-sizing: border-box;" open="Open" sans="Sans" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" line-height="line-height" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 27px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Rep. Art Wittich filed a motion Friday with District Court Judge Ray Dayton asking for a new trial.</font></p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box;" open="Open" sans="Sans" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" line-height="line-height" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 27px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">According to court documents, Wittich is arguing for a new trial because the monetary value of the “attack” and “survey” letters was off, Montana’s definition of “contribution” is unconstitutional, and the dismissal of juror No. 9 was improper “and prevented Mr. Wittich from having a fair trial.”</font></p></div><div id="inasset-video-ad" style="box-sizing: border-box;" open="Open" sans="Sans" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" line-height="line-height" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><div id="blox-ad-position-png_video_ad1" data-tnt-ads="{" vendor="vendor" blox="blox" type="type" position="position" display="display" default="default" region="region" png_video_ad="png_video_ad" fold="fold" above="above" slot="slot" width="width" overline="overline" advertisement="Advertisement" js="js" video="video" http="http" bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com="bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com" bozemandailychronicle.com="bozemandailychronicle.com" shared-content="shared-content" art="art" tncms="tncms" templates="templates" libraries="libraries" flex="flex" components="components" resources="resources" scripts="scripts" video.a29f06e2ab895814c1976b2e38e27635.js="video.a29f06e2ab895814c1976b2e38e27635.js" class="tnt-ads-container " style="box-sizing: border-box; min-height: 1px;"><div id="tncms-region-article_instory_top" class="tncms-region " style="box-sizing: border-box;" open="Open" sans="Sans" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" line-height="line-height" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box;" open="Open" sans="Sans" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" line-height="line-height" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 27px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">After opening remarks in the March trial, a juror was dismissed for expressing an opinion on the case to the court clerk and was replaced by an alternate. Wittich argues that the court erred in its handling of the situation. “Mr. Wittich had a vested right to have (the juror) sit on his jury and hear his case,” the motion reads.</font></p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box;" open="Open" sans="Sans" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" line-height="line-height" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 27px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wittich’s attorney, Lucinda Luetkemeyer, said in an email Friday that this was not an appeal, and that Commissioner of Political Practices Jon Motl has 14 days to respond. Motl could not be reached for comment Friday evening. If the motion is denied, Wittich could still appeal.</font></p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box;" open="Open" sans="Sans" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" line-height="line-height" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; line-height: 27px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2014, Commissioner Motl filed a lawsuit alleging that Wittich received and failed to report corporate contributions during the 2010 campaign for Senate District 35 in Gallatin County.</font></p></div></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" /><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">=</font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">WTP email dump shows spoofed email accounts, tea party activism and Donald Trump</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">By Troy Carter Chronicle Staff Writer  Feb 3, 2016</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">Emails released by Montana’s campaign watchdog illustrate how out-of-state political organizations discussed faking candidate emails, advising the local tea party and using Donald Trump to smear Democrats.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">Last month, in response to a Chronicle public records request, Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl released more than 1,200 pages of emails from staffers for the anti-union National Right to Work Committee and affiliated political groups working in Montana from 2008 to 2012.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">Here are a few of the highlights from those emails:</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">Right to Work ran “covert ops” on Montana Republicans they didn’t like, mostly online</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">Even as they feared “the greens” gaining access to their own email, Right to Work staff in Montana were setting up fake websites for their opponents or hacking their email.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">“You’ll know what this means...,” Right to Work staffer Andrew O’Neill wrote in a April 23, 2010, message to his boss, Christian LeFer. The email’s subject line read: “About the covert ops we were talking about earlier.”</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">The message contained a username and password for “llewjoneshd27@gmail.com,” a reference to Republican Llew Jones of Conrad, who was representing House District 27 at the time.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">But, said Jones on Monday, he wasn’t using a Gmail account in 2010.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">“That sounds like a spoof. They were going to send out fake emails in my name.... They were an effective little bunch,” Jones said. “But I’m glad it’s reached the light of day so it’s more difficult to do these things.”</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">WTP raised outside money and spent it in the 2010 Gallatin County Commission election</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">Among the email records released was a fundraising email from Christian LeFer to Dickey Richardson of Miami.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">In the email, LeFer says his group is involved in more than two dozen Montana’s Legislature races, “plus many county commissioner races that are ripe for the picking.”</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">LeFer gave the example of former House Speaker Scott Sales who was running for Gallatin County Commissioner. His “pro-freedom record and opportunity for a win in 2010 makes him an ideal candidate for Governor in 2012,” Lefer wrote on April 19, 2010.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"> Sen. Scott Sales</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">Sen. Scott Sales, R-Bozeman</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">official photo</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">Lefer was working for Sales, and Sales was working for Lefer. In the Montana Right to Work Committee’s election planning document it was noted behind candidate names, “Sales says O’Neil is 100%,” “Call SS” and “Sales to make calls.” The same document also says of Sales: “Need 99 more like this man.”</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">Likewise, Western Tradition Partnership was preparing Sales’ campaign materials using his own signature, which he provided. Sales lost the GOP primary to incumbent Commissioner Joe Skinner, but not before WTP attacked Skinner.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">Some Gallatin County Democrats claim they helped defeat Sales by voting for Skinner, making it an example of two equally disliked processes — cross-over voting and outsider-funded attack ads.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">Bozeman tea party activity</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">Connect with the Chronicle on Facebook for the latest news, links and more.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">Emails show LeFer was also an activist in Montana’s tea party circles, trading messages with Bozeman Tea Party leader Henry Kriegel about websites and statewide coordination calls.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">KRIEGEL TO LEFER (p. 1)</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">Selected portion of a source document hosted by DocumentCloud</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">View entire document with DocumentCloud</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">When the Bozeman Tea Party met resistance to its permit application for a Main Street rally in July 2009, LeFer wrote the group suggesting it fire up its base and threaten legal action against City Hall.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">“Perhaps we should get a legal opinion from Art Wittich about selective handling of applications based upon politics,” Lefer wrote on June 6, 2009. “There may be precedent that supports us, and perhaps if there were even the hint of repercussions, these people might run this a little more fairly.”</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">Donald Trump used to attack Democrats</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">Today, billionaire Donald Trump very well could win the Republican nomination for president, but when WTP’s Donald Ferguson wanted to attack a Democrat, he had O’Neill digitally attach their faces onto Trump’s body.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">“Any chance we can get Trump and safecracker (the John Morse bank robber) photoshops for these guys? These were the best photos I could find,” Ferguson wrote on Oct. 15, 2010, with seven photos of Democrats attached, including former Rep. Julie French, D-Scobey.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">French faced Republican Austin Knudsen, now the Speaker of the House, and lost. On Monday, she couldn’t recall any WTP fliers with her head on Trump’s body, but she did remember the ads portraying her as a bank robber.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">“I do remember the number of fliers. It was staggering. There was a Nancy Pelosi flier at one time. I do not remember Donald Trump,” French laughed.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">The emails show that Ferguson also liked to use the digitally manipulated image of “Playboy” founder Hugh Hefner leaning over the Capitol dome in attack ads projecting tropes of unearned wealth and sexuality onto Montana and Colorado candidates.</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">Troy Carter can be reached at 582-2630 or tcarter@dailychronicle.com. </div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">=</div></span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 22.8px;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></span></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">=</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><h1 class="posttitle" id="post-279" style="outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; line-height: 18px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Going down Drury Lane: Art Wittich and Christian Lefer ran primary race against Bruce Tutvedt?</font></h1><p class="postdetails" style="outline: none; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">By ATP Editor, on March 14, 2013 |</font></p><div class="postcontent" style="outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 18px;"><p style="outline: none; margin: 7px 0px 12px; padding: 0px;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.6266415931750089" style="outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">As the Extremist Leadership in the Senate continues to fall apart, new allegations of illegal coordination with </font><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">American Tradition Partnership </font><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">have come to light.</font></b></p><p style="outline: none; margin: 7px 0px 12px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://atpexposed.com/arvis-and-rinopoacher/" style="outline: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">As documented before</a>, the ATP backed Extremists put former President Pro-Tem Bruce Tutvedt in their crosshairs by backing out of state carpetbagger Rolan Roberts II. New details have come to light that show </font><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">clear coordination between Roberts, ATP, as well as Senate Majority Leader Art Wittich.</font></p><p style="outline: none; margin: 7px 0px 12px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://atpexposed.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/drury-lane.pdf" style="outline: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Roberts paid over $10,000</a> to “Drury Lane Consulting”. Drury Lane Consulting’s address is 7251 South Albion St in Centennial Colorado. This property is also the address for Lefer’s <a href="http://atpexposed.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/nonprofitstat.pdf" style="outline: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“Get Non-Profit Status” consulting firm</a>. So not only did ATP’s shell groups back Roberts on the “independent”, but Lefer also ran Robert’s campaign. This is a clear violation of campaign finance law. Word around the Capital is that Senator Tutvedt will be filing a complaint for this blatant violation of law.</font></p><p style="outline: none; margin: 7px 0px 12px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">It wasn’t just Lefer running Robert’s campaign. It is widely speculated that Majority Leader Art Wittich is ATP’s lawyer. It seems now that he is also providing political consulting services as well now. Word around the capital is that Senator Wittich not only helped Roberts with his campaign, but he also recruited Roberts to run against Tutvedt in the first place. The reason for this is very obvious self serving. Wittich narrowly beat Tutvedt in the race for Senate Majority Leader. ATP and the Extremist Majority Leadership had bought and paid for 15 members of the State Senate, and they wanted to add Roberts to their team. More details about Wittich’s role in this primary will be coming.</font></p></div></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">=</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">cowgirl :  if you think the black helicopter crowd lives only in rural Montana, think again.</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Recall that when Dave Gallik was forced out as Commissioner of Political Practices last year, there was a feeling among readers at the time that something didn’t smell quite right.  His four employees had rummaged through desk and photocopied his notes, kept tabs on his comings and goings, and sent it all to reporters.  They even called the police one time without any legitimate explanation.  There was a feeling among many observers (and many commenters here) that something smelled fishy, especially when the now-infamous photo appeared on the front of the IR, the four women posing for the photographer, seeming to bask in the glow of their 15 minutes of sunlight.</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Gallik has always maintained that he was framed by four people who were out to get him because he was a tough boss who forced them to change their ways, and they were resistant.</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Well, yesterday Gallik got his day in court.   And one of his chief accusers, Julie Steab, one of the employees who made some of the strongest accusations against Gallik in the press, was called to the stand.</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">To the shock of observers in court and the embarrassment of the attorney bringing the case against Gallik, Ms. Steab testified that she was the target of a surveillance operation, that “an unknown person or persons” were “following her” around, day and night, in the aftermath of Gallik’s resignation.  She also testified that the other three women in the office were similarly tailed. But Mary Baker, one of the other employees, took the stand after Steab and stated that she had never been followed nor did she know of any case where any of the four employees were followed.</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">I’d say Steab’s bizarre testimony is grounds for the press and public to reconsider Gallik’s tenure and the events surrounding his departure.  In my opinion, he was brought down by at least one woman whose credibility has been shattered, whose testimony yesterday clearly suggests to me some type of paranoia or tendency toward fantasy.</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px;"><b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The attorney bringing the case was none other than the</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> Tea Partier Art Wittich, suing Gallik on behalf of the Montana Policy Institute, the right-wing think tank</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.  Wittich, like most GOP attorneys in Montana, spends his days suing the Governor, Steve Bullock, Commissioners past and present, and Democrats generally</span></b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. Clearly his star witness, Steab, did not deliver, destroyed her own credibility, and caused Wittich some embarrassment.  Poor guy.  It’s kind of like calling a witness to the stand, who upon cross examination confesses to having been abducted by aliens, or having seen Elvis still alive in Hawaii.</span></span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">===</span></font></div><div class="blog-thumbnail-content" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="entry-header clearfix" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; clear: both; line-height: 20.8px;"><div class="title-meta-wrapper" style="margin: -75px auto 0px; padding: 1em; border: 1px solid rgb(235, 235, 235); border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 85%; position: relative; z-index: 10;"><h3 class="entry-title clearfix" style="text-align: left; margin: 0px 0px 0.125em; padding: 0px 1em; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.2;"><a href="http://intelligentdiscontent.com/2013/05/20/art-wittich-is-a-clown/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Art Wittich is a Clown</font></a></h3><div class="entry-meta-wrapper clearfix" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="entry-meta" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: large; line-height: 20.8px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline; float: none; text-transform: uppercase;">POSTED BY <span class="author" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://intelligentdiscontent.com/author/pogie/" title="Don Pogreba" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; transition: all 0.1s ease-in; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">DON POGREBA</a></span>  </div><div class="entry-meta date" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: large; line-height: 20.8px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline; float: none; text-transform: uppercase;"><span class="weekday" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">· MONDAY<span class="weekday-comma" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">,</span></span> <span class="month" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">MAY</span> <span class="day" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">20<span class="day-suffix" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">TH</span><span class="day-comma" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">,</span></span> <span class="year" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">2013</span>  </div></div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><div class="entry-meta" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline; float: none; text-transform: uppercase;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 2em; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; clear: both; line-height: 20.8px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font><p style="text-align: left; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Always the statesman, Bozeman’s Senator Art Wittich <a href="http://www.kxlh.com/news/bullock-appoints-motl-as-commissioner-of-political-practices/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; transition: all 0.1s ease-in;">offered his typically insightful commentary</a> today following the announcement of Jonathan Motl as the next Commissioner of Political Practices:</font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></p><blockquote style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0.25em 1.5em; border-width: 0px 0px 0px 5px; border-left-style: solid; border-left-color: rgb(235, 235, 235); outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; quotes: none; line-height: 1; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><p style="text-align: left; margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">MT Senate Majority Leader Art Wittich (R-Bozeman) said, “It’s disappointing but not surprising from this governor. Jon Motl will be the fourth Democratic partisan hack appointee in a row now. And he is probably going to target only Republicans and it’s going to lead to more scandal like the other commissioners.”</p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left; margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Of course, Wittich has reason to worry about the appointment of a competent professional to the Commissioner’s office.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> He’s in bed with the worst practitioner of dark money politics in Montana,<b> American Tradition Partnership</b></span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, as the Missoula Independent’s Alex Sakariassen </span><a href="http://missoulanews.bigskypress.com/missoula/taking-the-helm/Content?oid=1712768" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; transition: all 0.1s ease-in initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">noted back</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> in January:</span></p><blockquote style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0.25em 1.5em; border-width: 0px 0px 0px 5px; border-left-style: solid; border-left-color: rgb(235, 235, 235); outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; quotes: none; line-height: 1; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><p style="text-align: left; margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">According to Wittich, ATP was represented by a partner at his firm during the 2010 district court fight against the Corrupt Practices Act. ATP went by the name Western Tradition Partnership back then, and a collection of checks made out by WTP reveals payments for the firm’s legal work—one check directly to Art Wittich for $2,000 signed June 14, 2010, and two $3,500 checks to Wittich Law signed in August and September 2010. The checks appeared among hundreds of WTP payment records loaded to the web by “Frontline” last November, separate of the meth house documents….</p><p style="text-align: left; margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Wittich also has political connections to </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Direct Mail</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> and Communications, a Livingston print shop run by the wife of one-time WTP official </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Christian LeFer.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> Wittich’s campaign finance reports for 2010 show $7,915.43 in payments to Direct Mail for numerous campaign material and mailing expenses.</span></b></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left; margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Senator Wittich represents the worst of modern politics: without a shred of evidence, he’s willing to smear the good name of someone before he’s even taken the job as Commissioner, despite having a personal record that is incredibly questionable. His <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_A._Clark" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; transition: all 0.1s ease-in;">preferred candidate</a> for the Commissioner’s office demonstrates that.</p><p style="text-align: left; margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">I’m willing to bet that Mr. Motl hasn’t had any shady dealings with direct mail firms whose documents were recovered from any meth houses recently. Perhaps there’s a reason <a href="http://www.nbcmontana.com/news/GOP-split-lingers-over-dark-money-crackdown/-/14594602/19732150/-/qygclez/-/index.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; transition: all 0.1s ease-in;">even his fellow Republicans</a> find Mr. Wittich <a href="http://montana.mediatrackers.org/2013/04/15/senate-debates-and-passes-campaign-finance-dislclosure-requirements/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; transition: all 0.1s ease-in;">so disagreeable</a>.</p><p style="text-align: left; margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Good luck, Commissioner Motl. With the hyper-partisan attitude of some members of the Montana Legislature already on display, you’re going to need it.</p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></aside>