State senator's $5 million defamation claim denied, Ellsworth attorney vows to sue

Montana's tort defense office has denied a $5 million claim from state Sen. Jason Ellsworth, a Hamilton Republican who said he was defamed in the controversial saga that ended with his lifetime ban from the Montana Senate. 

The senator, who has been under investigation by the Montana Department of Justice since February for his role in a contract dispute that devoured much of the 2025 Legislature's attention, now looks to take his case to court, his attorney said Thursday. 

Ellsworth in January became ensnared in scandal over two no-bid state contracts he arranged for a business associate with no qualifications for the job. The contracts together were worth $170,100 and Ellsworth intended the payout for his associate would come from a tranche of leftover funds from a committee he formed in early 2024. 

Members of his own party soon accused Ellsworth of corruption, and in March his attorney, Joan Mell, submitted a $5 million claim against the state for defamation, invasion of privacy, emotional distress and "blacklisting."

2:27+3

GOP Senate probing $170K state contract legislator quietly awarded to business associate

Senate President Matt Regier said he has “very, very serious concerns” about the contract arrangement. "The more you look at it, the deeper it's getting.”

In the filing, Mell asserted Ellsworth had developed health issues due to the unrelenting scrutiny, and news coverage, of his contract deal with Agile Analytics. 

The Department of Administration has a 120-day window to accept or deny such claims, providing the state an opportunity to settle the matter, before a party can file a civil lawsuit to retrieve damages.

On June 30, attorneys retained by the Department of Administration to review Ellsworth's claim notified Mell it was denied. 

In a phone interview on Thursday, Mell vowed to press forward with a lawsuit, declining to speak to the specifics but stating it would "address all the wrongdoing that has occurred."

3:50+5

Montana Senate votes to censure Sen. Ellsworth, revoking nearly all legislative abilities

The Montana Senate resoundingly voted to censure Hamilton Sen. Jason Ellsworth, a move that includes a lifetime ban from the chamber.

Auditor's findings, Senate's conclusions

Ellsworth was in the final days of his term as president of the Senate in December when he told staff to pay out a single contract to Bryce Eggleston, the sole employee of Agile Analytics and a longtime friend, to track the implementation of bills that had yet to be introduced at the Legislature. Eggleston later told an attorney he had no expertise in this work but had several conversations with Ellsworth about policymaking that he believed qualified him for the contract. 

Legislative staff rejected that attempt, noting all contracts over the $100,000 threshold had to go through the public bidding process. Ellsworth returned days later with two contracts that split the original work agreement into two documents and bifurcated the payments which separately appeared below the $100,000 threshold. Ellsworth told the reporters he did so "Because I was under the impression that there was a certain dollar amount I had to be under, so that's why I split it up into two."

1:58+3

Emails: Legislative staff blocked senator's initial request for controversial contract

GOP Senate President Matt Regier said he only recently learned of the $170k state-funded contract. On Friday he said he was trying to cancel it and terminate any payments.

This time, staff worked to revise provisions of those contracts in order to abide by the state's requirements for such business deals and to meet an upcoming deadline: At the end of December, the pool of funds leftover from Ellsworth's committee would expire and return to the state account from which it was disbursed. The Montana State News Bureau first reported on the contracts and, following a surge in attention on the matter, the contracts were canceled before Eggleston received any payment. 

Republican Senate leadership referred the arrangement to Legislative Auditor Angus Maciver, whose office determined that Ellsworth had abused his government position and wasted state resources.

"There was and is no logical reason that the original contracts were bifurcated other than to unlawfully avoid oversight of the contracts by the Division of Administration…" the report stated. "State law specifically prohibits artificially dividing contracts to avoid the required procurement process."

That legislative audit report prompted the Senate to form an ethics committee to form a recommendation for the upper chamber. On April 1, the Senate voted 44-6 to strip Ellsworth of all his committee assignments and preclude him from serving on interim committees. While he retained his power to vote on legislation, the body also handed him a lifetime ban from the chamber.

Ellsworth's defense largely asserted his involvement in gathering the contract was legal, and that he was under political persecution due to his alliance with a bloc of moderate Republicans and Democrats who had taken control of the Senate and undermined leadership in his own party. 

1:12+2

Montana GOP calls for Sen. Ellsworth's resignation following controversial business deal

"Should Senator Ellsworth choose not to resign, the Montana Republican Party will fully support the Senate's decision to expel him," the Montana GOP said Sunday.

Litigation incoming

Ellsworth now appears ready to fight his case in the courts, the very government branch that he sought to bring to heel when he formed the Senate Select Committee on Judicial Oversight and Reform in 2024. The leftover funds from that committee were intended for the controversial contract. 

Mell said Thursday there are several components likely to appear in the upcoming litigation, namely Maciver for his office's findings in the audit report. 

"I guarantee the auditor will be (named)," she said.

Maciver declined to comment for this story. 

Other elements of upcoming litigation may be reflected in the March tort claim in which Ellsworth demanded $5 million from the state. That notice named Senate President Matt Regier and cited statements he made implying Ellsworth had engaged in criminal and corrupt conduct. 

Regier did not return calls seeking comment on Thursday. 

Mell's decision to press forward with litigation also comes before the state justice department appears to have wrapped up its investigation into the contract dispute.

A spokesperson for the Montana Department of Justice and Attorney General's Office confirmed on Thursday the case is still under investigation.

13:18+3

Montana DOJ opens criminal investigation into Senator Ellsworth's $170K contract deal

Attorney General Austin Knudsen will conduct the criminal investigation into Sen. Jason Ellsworth's controversial contract, but he said he cannot conduct the ethics investigation.