HELENA — On Monday, the Senate Ethics Committee met to lay out the plans for their investigation into a former state Senate president.
The committee, made up of two Republicans and two Democrats, has been tasked with looking into Sen. Jason Ellsworth, R-Hamilton, and his handling of a state contract.
Ellsworth, R-Hamilton, was the president of the Senate until this year. In that role, he signed off on a $170,000 contract with a man Lee Newspapers identified as a former business associate, directing him to conduct an analysis of the outcomes from a slate of judicial reform bills up for consideration during the 2025 session.
At the request of incoming Senate leadership, the Legislative Audit Division completed an initial report on the matter, saying the contract hadn’t gone through the proper procedures and that the handling of it had demonstrated “abuse and waste.” Ellsworth has defended his actions.
During Monday’s meeting, the committee gave Ellsworth’s attorney four days to put together a formal response to the allegations. They also began requesting documents and witnesses – including the man Ellsworth signed the contract with; staff from the Audit Division, Legislative Services Division and Montana Department of Administration; and four lawmakers, including Senate President Matt Regier.
Their initial plan is to hold a three-day hearing, Wednesday, Feb. 12, through Friday, Feb. 14. They would then work on their findings the following Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 17 and 18.
Throughout Monday’s meeting, Ellsworth’s attorney, Joan Mell, said she still had objections to the committee’s plans. She said they hadn’t given her nearly enough time to put together a response, that the committee hadn’t been open enough in how it put together its proposed rules, and that the entire investigation couldn’t be separated from what she called bias in the initial process.
“It is inherently a violation of due process to expect that we would proceed on a substantive merits hearing, when I've been given nothing,” said Mell. “There's no way for me to do what I need to do. I don't even know that I'll be able to digest the information in a week.”
Adam Duerk, an attorney from Missoula brought in by Regier to serve as special counsel for the committee, said he appreciated Mell’s concerns and planned to work with her on procedural questions. However, he said the committee is going to be structured differently than a standard legal proceeding.
“This is not a typical trial with a jury, a prosecutor, a judge,” Duerk said. “This is a species of that process that will afford due process and constitutional rights to Sen. Ellsworth.”
The committee is set to meet again Friday, to further discuss their proposed rules.
