Gianforte suspends Public Service Commissioner Molnar for one year

Gov. Greg Gianforte suspended Public Service Commissioner Brad Molnar for one year after independent investigations “point to unlawful conduct,” including sex discrimination and retaliation.

In a letter Thursday to Molnar, Gianforte recognized his own action is “unprecedented in state history.”

However, he said Molnar’s “unprecedented behavior,” including references to “topless Tuesdays” and retaliation against those who filed complaints against Molnar, warrant the suspension.

The suspension is without pay.

“The PSC should be given adequate time to reestablish order and morale within the agency,” said the letter, obtained by the Daily Montanan. “And Commissioner Molnar should have some time to both reflect on and assess his conduct and to complete any appropriate training the PSC has required of him to ensure proper decorum and lawful behavior on his return.”

Molnar’s attorney, Matthew Monforton, said the commissioner will fight the suspension in court, calling the action a result of a “kangaroo process.”

“The governor used an HR (human resources) complaint to overturn an election, and Montana ratepayers will get stuck with paying higher energy bills as a result,” Monforton said.

The PSC is considering a $15.4 billion merger between the state’s largest public utility, NorthWestern Energy and Black Hills Corp.

Molnar has raised questions about whether the deal is good for ratepayers. In an email Friday, he said Gianforte nullified the votes of the people he was elected to represent.

“This decision is not about workplace conduct. It is about politics, power and money,” Molnar said.

The Public Service Commission regulates monopoly utilities in Montana and is made up of five commissioners elected by district.

Last July, Molnar announced he was under investigation for professional misconduct but only admitted to being unpolished.

In May, the Public Service Commission banished Molnar from working in person at the office, citing his harassing behavior and departures of PSC staff.

In the letter, Gianforte said typically Molnar’s actions would result in a firing, but he has “shown no remorse” and “repeatedly violated the sacred trust between him and the people of Montana.”

“I take very seriously allegations of workplace misconduct in the executive branch, and the gravity and unwillingness to correct the illegal conduct … warrants a meaningful suspension from office — indeed, ordinary outcomes for such misconduct would likely result in termination,” Gianforte said in the letter.

Monforton said Molnar does not intend to undergo professional training as recommended in the report the PSC adopted and demanded by the governor.

“It’s striking to hear lectures about workplace conduct from a governor who physically assaults reporters for asking difficult questions,” Monforton said.

Gianforte pleaded guilty in 2017 to a misdemeanor assault after body-slamming a reporter from The Guardian on the eve of Montana’s special election to the U.S. House, which Gianforte won, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported.

At the time, Gianforte said he took full responsibility for his actions.

Lee Enterprises said he would serve 40 hours of community service, attend 20 hours of anger management classes, pay $385 in fines and $4,646 in restitution. 

In his statement Friday, Molnar said his opponents want him to apologize, but he will not for fighting for free speech and due process.

He said in the PSC process he was never allowed to confront or cross examine the people accusing him, and until June 16, he didn’t even know their identities.

He said Gianforte made the suspension decision based on hearsay, not evidence, so that he can control the PSC and push his agenda for data centers.

“If a governor can suspend an elected commissioner whenever that commissioner becomes politically inconvenient, what remains of the voters’ right to choose their own representatives?” Molnar said.

In his suspension letter, however, Gianforte said Molnar wrongly alleged the governor was biased against him.

Molnar’s fight with the PSC majority has been playing out in court as well, and federal Judge Donald Molloy recently rejected a similar allegation.

Molnar argued the PSC barred him from the workplace to try to keep him away from the hearing about the utility merger.

In a temporary order, Molloy earlier agreed to let Molnar go to the office for a limited period, only for the hearing, which took place in May.

The judge later found the record didn’t show the PSC voted to ban Molnar from the office to prevent him from participating in the hearing

Molloy found the proposed merger and the misconduct case unfolded at the same time, but independent of each other.

Last month, Molloy denied Molnar’s request to be allowed to return to the office in person.

Molnar alleged First Amendment retaliation, and Molloy agreed some of Molnar’s speech was protected.

However, Molloy also found the PSC majority would have made the decision to relegate Molnar to remote work anyway given his behavior.

Gianforte described some of that behavior in his letter outlining his authority and rationale for the suspension.

He said the record showed Molnar received written warnings about his conduct, which reduced employee morale and influenced people to leave their jobs.

Citing the report, he said Molnar made numerous unwelcome sexual comments, including suggesting that a female employee dreamed about a male coworker.

In one case, Gianforte said Molnar called an employee at her personal number about the costs of his own investigation.

Citing the report, he said Molnar observed that because he learned her number, “he could find out where she lived and, most disturbingly, get pictures of her kids sleeping in their beds.”

Molnar, he said, “retaliated for months against those at the PSC who have brought legitimate concerns to light.”

Most executive agency leadership positions are gubernatorial appointments, confirmed by the Senate, but the Montana Legislature adopted a different approach for PSC commissioners, the letter said.

The governor supervises commissioners, but the commissioners are elected, and they “enjoy greater employment protections than many other agency heads,” the letter said. 

At the same time, Montana law grants the governor the authority to suspend a commissioner who fails to perform duties upon a complaint and “good cause,” the letter said. (It notes “removal” is reserved to the court.)

The governor said state statute doesn’t define “good cause,” but it is defined in employment law and includes failure to perform job duties, disrupting the workplace, and repeatedly violating workplace policies.

He said Molnar’s behaviors amount to disruption of operations and violations of workplace policies, and they establish “good cause” for corrective action.

“The State of Montana expects officials, both elected and appointed, to serve the people of Montana and work collaboratively with all state employees with dignity and respect,” Gianforte said in the letter.

A spokesperson for the Governor’s Office said Gianforte is evaluating next steps for an appointment. A timeline was not immediately available Friday.

In August 2025, an internal PSC team requested the governor suspend Molnar pending an investigation, but he declined. He said he did not have “good cause” at the time, but he encouraged the investigation to proceed.