Brad Molnar fights suspension by governor in state district court

Brad Molnar, suspended for one year as a Montana Public Service Commissioner, is asking a state district court judge to temporarily stop Gov. Greg Gianforte from appointing his replacement.

Molnar, a Republican, is also asking the judge to stop the PSC from seating any appointee.

Gianforte, also a Republican, suspended Molnar without pay for one year on Thursday following a request from the Public Service Commission majority.

The governor said the suspension was unprecedented, but that Molnar’s actions were unprecedented as well.

For example, an investigation report Gianforte cited said Molnar told an employee he could find out where she lived and take pictures of her children sleeping in their beds, and he made reference to “Topless Tuesdays” at work.

The request from the PSC was based on a recommendation in a misconduct investigation report the PSC adopted in May.

The report said the PSC should ask Gianforte to suspend Molnar, and Molnar should complete training in how to behave professionally in the workplace.

Molnar said the case has afforded him no due process. He had to fight to even see the reports with allegations against him, and he never had a chance to confront his accusers, he said.

As such, he is asking for a preliminary injunction to reverse the suspension.

In a motion filed Monday, Molnar asked Lewis and Clark District Court Judge Mike Menahan to keep Gianforte from appointing his replacement and to prevent the PSC from seating another commissioner until the court rules on his request to restore him to office.

It offers another option as well, that the judge direct any appointment to wait in the wings until the court has made a ruling on the request for a preliminary injunction.

A spokesperson from the Governor’s Office said Monday the governor is still evaluating next steps for an appointment. The spokesperson did not offer a timeline.

A spokesperson from the Public Service Commission could not be immediately reached Monday afternoon. The PSC is made up of five commissioners elected by district, all currently Republican.

In a court filing, Molnar describes the request as “modest, time-limited and preservative.”

He said the move would prevent any harm that would come from having “an unlawfully seated appointee” on the job.

“The appointee would immediately begin participating in Commission business — casting votes, shaping deliberations, and affecting quorum — including in the pending NorthWestern Energy-Black Hills Energy merger proceeding, a $3.6 billion transaction of extraordinary consequence to Montana ratepayers,” the court filing argued.

In a letter outlining his rationale for the suspension, Gianforte said state statute gives him the authority; Public Service Commissioners are elected, but they are under supervision of the governor.

The governor also said an employee who had behaved the way Molnar did would likely face termination, not just suspension.

In his court filing, though, Molnar said employees facing termination “possess robust cross-examination rights,” but the PSC denied him that right.

“Defendants … refused even to identify most of his accusers until a federal court ordered disclosure on June 16, 2026, nearly six weeks after his May 6, 2026 misconduct hearing,” Molnar said.