Last Best News (https://montana-mint.com/lastbestnews/tag/art-wittich/page/2/)
HELENA — Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl took the witness stand Wednesday in the jury trial of a Republican lawmaker Motl has accused of illegally benefiting from “dark money” contributions during a 2010 GOP primary campaign. (more…) Continue Reading →
HELENA — Jurors heard from two former National Right to Work Committee staffers Tuesday as testimony resumed on day two of state Rep. Art Wittich’s campaign practice lawsuit. Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl is suing the Bozeman Republican, alleging Wittich illegally benefited from coordinated corporate campaign contributions during his 2010 GOP primary race for the Montana Senate. (more…) Continue Reading →
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. Wittich, the former Republican Senate majority leader and conservative stalwart in the state House, has been accused by, Jonathan Motl, Montana’s top campaign ethics chief, of violating state campaign finance laws. (more…) Continue Reading →
After more than two years of allegations, counter-claims, investigations, and back-and-forth legal maneuverings, the high-profile campaign practices lawsuit pitting a Democratic appointee against a Republican state lawmaker will finally go before a jury on Monday. (more…) Continue Reading →
This story has been updated. The Montana Supreme Court in a 4-2 ruling rejected Republican Rep. Art Wittich’s appeal seeking a dismissal of a high-profile political corruption lawsuit. (more…) Continue Reading →
Rarely does a civil lawsuit garner as much statewide attention as the ongoing legal battle between Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl and Republican State Rep. Art Wittich. The widespread interest in the high-profile showdown was highlighted this week by the many headlines that stemmed from pretrial legal wrangling in advance of a week-long jury trial scheduled for March 28 in Helena. (more…) Continue Reading →
District Judge Ray Dayton on Monday heard more than three hours of testimony in his Anaconda courtroom as he considers competing pre-trial arguments in a high-profile political corruption lawsuit. (more…) Continue Reading →
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. (more…) Continue Reading →
The news is out that news coverage in Montana is taking a huge hit. Lee Newspapers is closing its State Bureau in Helena, the Great Falls Tribune has reported, and KXLH TV in Helena has a story that adds some details. Chuck Johnson, who has been covering Montana politics for more than 40 years, will take a buyout and retire. Mike Dennison, who has done the same kind of reporting for almost 25 years, will be taking a buyout while he looks for a new job. I couldn’t reach Johnson, but Dennison told me Lee offered the two veteran reporters continued employment—if they would accept quite substantial pay cuts. Continue Reading →
Don’t miss Dan Brooks’ fine analysis of the 2015 Legislature. Writing in the Missoula Independent, Brooks reminds us that, despite so much evidence to the contrary, there is occasionally some justice in the universe. The jumping-off point for Brooks’ column was the recent outbreak of bipartisan cooperation in Helena. Searching for a cause, he concluded that we can thank Rep. Art Wittich, R-Belgrade, for this unexpected turn of events. “Wittich’s doctrinaire conservatism,” Brooks writes, “forced moderate Republicans into a coalition with Democrats last week, and their cooperation might make the 2015 session productive after all.” Continue Reading →
