Montanans in Action still blocking probe of its finances

By MIKE DENNISON - IR State Bureau - 10/04/07

The political group that bankrolled three conservative-leaning ballot measures in Montana last year still wants a federal judge to block investigation of its finances, saying the state’s top campaign-law enforcer is engaged in a political vendetta.

Just last week, Montanans in Action filed new allegations in federal court in Billings, saying its free-speech rights have been “chilled’’ by an overly broad and improper investigation by Commissioner of Political Practices Dennis Unsworth.

It’s asking U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull to block the investigation, prohibit Unsworth from requiring MIA to disclose its donors and award damages for civil rights violations.

“When they’re demanding all your personal conversations and plans and strategies for the campaigns, those are First Amendment rights,’’ said Trevis Butcher of Winifred, treasurer for MIA. “They are totally overstepping. We’ve been forthcoming on everything.

“We feel the federal court will draw the line on what is expected, and what needs to be divulged. We just want this (investigation) done fairly and properly.’’

Montanans in Action spent $1.18 million last year to support three ballot measures that ended up getting tossed from the 2006 ballot because of signature-gathering fraud.

One of the measures, Constitutional Initiative 97, would have limited state government spending. The other two sought to protect certain property rights and allow the attempted recall of judges for any reason.

Critics said the measures were bankrolled by wealthy, out-of-state individuals and groups with an anti-government agenda, and that Montanans should know their identity.

Butcher has admitted that out-of-state organizations provided most of the $1.18 million for Montanans in Action, but said they don’t want to be identified — and that the law doesn’t require it.

Montanans in Action was formed in early 2006 as a nonprofit group for “educational’’ and political purposes, Butcher said. Such groups don’t have to reveal their supporters — unless they act as an independent political committee that primarily supplies money to political campaigns.

Unsworth said his investigation seeks to establish whether MIA is an independent political committee and therefore must report who gave it the money routed to the campaigns of the three ballot measures.

Attorneys for the state have asked Cebull to dismiss MIA’s lawsuit, saying the investigation is legitimate and that claims of a politically motivated witch hunt are “wild accusations’’ without merit.

The investigation is in response to a complaint from a rival political group, which alleged a year ago that MIA was formed primarily to bankroll the three ballot measures, and therefore must divulge its donors.

Unsworth made the investigation a top priority when he took over the job last fall.

“I felt at the time that we might be able to shed some light on the issues in the complaint before the (2006) election,’’ he said Wednesday. “This office is about disclosure (of campaign-finance information), and my intent was disclosure.’’

But 11 months after the complaint was filed, the issue remains unresolved.

Unsworth said Wednesday that Butcher’s group turned over some documents earlier this year, but has refused to hand over additional information requested by his office.

The lawsuit argues this information is political strategy, protected by free-speech and privacy rights. It also says state law doesn’t give Unsworth the authority to force MIA to divulge its financial supporters.

Last week’s allegations also went a step further, saying Unsworth is “active in Democratic circles’’ and that his investigation was part of a broader effort by Democrats and their allies to trash the three conservative initiatives.

Unsworth, appointed by Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer in August 2006, is barred by law from engaging in any political activities and “has at least as much independent judgment as any elected county attorney,’’ Assistant Attorney General Anthony Johnstone wrote in response last month.

Johnstone said Unsworth is just trying to do his job, which is to follow the trail of the $1 million to its source and see if state law requires its disclosure.

“He cannot simply accept at face value the claims by (MIA) that they have properly documented their campaign finances and produced all relevant records,’’ Johnstone wrote. “Financial patrons of ballot initiatives have no free-speech right to hide behind sham organizations.’’

MIA says it has plans beyond ballot-issue financing

By MIKE DENNISON - IR State Bureau - 10/04/07

An Internet news site chronicling “abuses of state power,” an Internet talk-radio show, and a program to monitor “unethical conduct” by lawyers and judges — such are the long-range plans of a Montana political group formed last year.

But those plans never got off the ground, because a state investigation of Montanans in Action’s finances has scared off potential financial supporters, the group says in court documents.

“The investigation has caused MIA’s other First Amendment activities to die on the vine,” its lawyer wrote in documents filed last week in federal court.

The state commissioner of political practices is investigating whether MIA should reveal who gave it $1.18 million that was distributed to three ballot measures in 2006.

The group, based in Winifred, has asked a federal judge to block the investigation, which it says violates the group’s First Amendment rights of free speech and political association.

At issue is whether Montanans in Action is only a conduit for campaign funds, thus requiring it to identify its financial backers, or a political/education group that is not required to reveal its donors.

Trevis Butcher, the group’s treasurer, said the investigation and ensuing legal battle have prevented MIA from carrying out the plans that would show it’s more than just a campaign-fund conduit.

“We’re building a plan for six-to-eight years,” he said Tuesday. “We’re excited about the opportunity to bring some life to policies that need to be considered. We’re in a great position to do that now, because we have great contacts with people who are serious about those issues.”

Those plans would cost about $1 million a year, the group said in court documents filed last week. They include the talk-radio show, investigative reporting on “limited government and property-rights issues,” gathering information on “abuses of eminent domain and private property rights” in Montana, and comparing the cost of government services to private-sector providers.

Montanans in Action last year financed ballot measures to limit state spending, allow the attempted recall of judges for any reason, and protect certain property rights. All three measures were tossed from the ballot because of signature-gathering fraud.

Butcher said a nonprofit foundation, which he declined to name, is helping pay the legal fees for MIA’s lawsuit against the state.

A Kansas City law firm with Republican Party connections is helping with MIA’s lawsuit. One of the firm’s lawyers working on the suit is Todd Graves, a former U.S. attorney from Missouri who was among the half-dozen federal prosecutors dismissed by the Bush administration in 2006.

Democrats blasted the Bush administration over the firings, saying they were for political reasons. Graves had refused to approve a federal lawsuit that accused Missouri of not purging its voting rolls DASH a suit that Democrats believed was a Republican effort to reduce turnout by Democratic voters in 2006.