Criminal trial begins Tuesday for state Sen. Jason Ellsworth, the Hamilton Republican charged last December with official misconduct — a misdemeanor — after the Montana Department of Justice accused him of using his senate seat to steer a state contract toward a longtime friend.
The charge stems from allegations detailed in court documents that Ellsworth leveraged his official role for personal advantage, specifically in connection with a state contracting process. Official misconduct under Montana law is a misdemeanor, but a conviction carries real consequences for a sitting legislator.
Ellsworth, who represents a district in the Bitterroot Valley, has been one of the more prominent figures in the Republican caucus at the statehouse in Helena. The Department of Justice filed the charge in December 2025, and the case has worked its way through the courts since then.
For Montanans watching the Legislature, the trial is a test of whether the state's misconduct statutes have teeth when applied to an elected official. A verdict — guilty or not — will land while the political calendar is already churning. What happens next depends on what a jury decides this week.