HELENA — A month after the head of the elected body that regulates utilities in Montana announced he was under investigation, the controversy surrounding the Montana Public Service Commission is continuing to heat up. Now, the PSC’s vice president has asked Gov. Greg Gianforte to temporarily suspend the president from his duties while that investigation continues.
(Watch the video to hear from PSC commissioners about the controversy.)
Commissioner Brad Molnar, R-Laurel, told reporters last month that he was being investigated over allegations of unprofessional conduct. He has called the entire investigation improper and refused to cooperate.
This week, an attorney representing Molnar posted on social media, linking to a copy of a letter from Commissioner Jennifer Fielder to the governor’s office. In it, Fielder wrote that Molnar had engaged in “a hostile pattern of activity designed to derail the investigation.”
“Commissioner Molnar has been using his high-level position in a multitude of ways to thwart the investigation and stop it from reaching its conclusion,” she wrote. “Any other manager who engaged in this type of behavior would normally be suspended from duty through administrative leave imposed by agency management. But a Public Service Commissioner can only be suspended from duty by the Governor.”
Fielder accused Molnar of threatening retaliation against those involved with the investigation and refusing to follow the PSC's Code of Conduct. She wrote that leaders had a responsibility to prevent harassment and discrimination.
“As a result of Commissioner Molnar’s own actions, it has become abundantly clear that this is not possible with his presence in the workplace,” she wrote.
MTN contacted Fielder, who confirmed she had signed a letter on behalf of the PSC’s “response team,” which handles reports of retaliation, harassment or other policy violations within the agency. She declined to comment further, saying the letter speaks for itself.
Speaking with MTN Wednesday, Molnar denied retaliating against anyone. He said suspending him would be “overturning an election” and an attack on his constitutional rights.
“I am definitely being treated differently than any other commissioner, and that's all the way down the line,” he said.
In his social media post, Molnar’s attorney Matthew Monforton also included a letter from Gianforte’s legal counsel asking for a response to Fielder’s complaint. In his response, Monforton called the request to suspend Molnar “unlawful” and urged Gianforte to reject it.
“As detailed below, her complaint fails every legal standard Montana courts have established for gubernatorial suspensions of elected officials,” Monforton wrote. “Commissioner Molnar would immediately challenge any suspension, and we are confident the courts would swiftly overturn your decision – leaving you to share in the legal and political wreckage.”
Monforton said Molnar’s actions, including objecting to the funding for an outside counsel to conduct the investigation, are protected governmental speech.
Throughout this process, Molnar has argued that he is being targeted for political reasons, specifically his claim that he will be more rigorous than other PSC members in investigating and regulating large utility companies.
“Everything is to silence me from talking about facts,” he told MTN. “I am fighting to talk about facts.”
Fielder’s letter says “[i]n no way is this recommendation based on Commissioner Molnar’s regulatory decisions” or on the original allegations being investigated. Instead, she said suspension was necessary so the investigation can be completed “without continued interference and unfettered retaliatory action by Commissioner Molnar.”
State law says the governor has the authority to suspend a commissioner “upon complaint made and good cause shown,” and to temporarily appoint someone if “in the governor's judgment the exigencies of the case require.”
MTN reached out to Gianforte’s office to ask about the complaint.
“The governor's office is committed to an impartial review of any complaints made under MCA 69-1-113, and the review involves only the matters raised in the complaint,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “The office is also committed to due process by issuing required notice and providing an opportunity to be heard as this process moves forward.”
