Former state Senate president Ellsworth pleads not guilty, claims legislative immunity

Former Republican state Senate president Jason Ellsworth pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor official misconduct charge Thursday in Lewis and Clark County District Court.

President of the 2023 Montana Legislature, Ellsworth is alleged to have awarded $170,100 in government work to a longtime business associate without soliciting competitive bids at the end of 2024. Prosecutors say the Hamilton Republican divided the work into two contracts to avoid having to put the work out to bid. 

Ellsworth maintains he’s innocent and pleaded that way during a video appearance. 

Arraignments are a basic first step in criminal court. Proceedings took a turn Thursday after district court Judge Christopher Abbott denied an attempt by Ellsworth to vacate the arraignment or stay proceedings based on legislative immunity. At one point in the days leading up to the arraignment, the senator informed the court he wouldn’t be appearing.

“With all due deference, I decline the court’s invitation to appear on grounds of legislative immunity and separation of powers,” Ellsworth said in a pre-arraignment court filing. “My actions have been judged by my esteemed fellow senators this past session and I am otherwise beholden to the people of Ravalli County back home.”

The gist of Ellsworth’s argument is that because his actions were legislative in nature, he is protected from criminal prosecution under the Montana Constitution. 

Additionally, the Hamilton Republican argued the court had no right to suspend him from office, as the court did shortly after charges were filed against Ellsworth on Dec. 18. The Montana Constitution specifies that the Legislature has exclusive control of its members, Ellsworth argued in filings. The state Senate voted more than once during the 2025 Legislature not to expel Ellsworth, who called the earlier court order unconstitutional. They did ban him from the chamber floor for life and strip him of committee assignments for two years.

Ellsworth said in court filings that he was acting as Senate president and chair of the Senate Select Committee on Judicial Oversight and Reform when he awarded the contracts for tracking how the judicial system would apply laws drafted by the select committee.

Abbott ruled that Ellsworth hadn’t proved that legislative immunity could prevent arraignment, which the judge described as a perfunctory step. But Abbott said in a court order that Ellsworth’s legislative immunity arguments would be considered promptly for a ruling later. The court calendar indicates a March hearing on Ellsworth’s legislative immunity argument. Abbott has blocked out four days for a trial beginning June 14.

The accusation of official misconduct by the former Republican Senate president roiled the politics of the 2025 Montana Legislature. The accusations were brought by Ellsworth’s successor, Republican Senate President Matt Regier of Kalispell and Rhonda Knudsen, the mother of Montana’s Republican Attorney General Austin Knudsen. Legislative staff  investigated the matter, which lawmakers eventually voted to refer to the attorney general for prosecution.

Ellworth during the 2025 legislative session argued in ethics proceedings concerning the contracts that any problems with the contracts were corrected during the final weeks of 2024 by legislative staff and procurement employees at the Department of Administration. The former president’s authority to spend the money was expiring at the end of 2024. 

No state money changed hands with Ellsworth’s selected contractor, who declined the work as allegations of scandal erupted in January 2025. 

Republican senators during the session also tried unsuccessfully to expel their former leader, rather than turn Ellsworth over for criminal prosecution. In the end, a majority of senators agreed to censure Ellsworth after finding his actions unethical. The Hamilton Republican finished the session by participating through video conferencing.

Ellsworth’s legislative immunity argument to the court is based in part on a 2024 decision by Abbott in a case concerning the father of Ellsworth’s original accuser, current Senate President Matt Regier. 

In July 2024, Abbott accepted the legislative immunity argument of former state Sen. Keith Regier, R-Kalispell. In that case, plaintiffs were suing the state over Public Service Commission political districts advanced by Keith Regier and passed into law by the 2023 Legislature. Plaintiffs argued that partisan gerrymandering was used to create the districts and asked that Keith Regier testify and submit records about how the districts were created.

Keith Regier argued that the legislative privilege secured by the Montana Constitution protected him from having to produce documents or testify related to his work as a legislator. The state law aligns with the Speech and Debate Clause of the U.S. Constitution that provides the same protections to members of Congress.  The maximum sentence for misdemeanor official misconduct is six months in jail and a $500 fine.