Ellsworth’s Efforts to Secure State Job and Contract for Associate Under Scrutiny

Before Montana State Sen. Jason Ellsworth attempted to secure a $170,000 state-funded contract for his longtime business associate Bryce Eggleston, he sought to facilitate a job for Eggleston within state government.

Documents obtained by the Montana State News Bureau reveal that Eggleston submitted his resume for a communications job in the office of the Clerk of the Montana Supreme Court. The position was ultimately abandoned before Eggleston advanced beyond an initial interview.

According to Clerk Bowen Greenwood, who was reelected in November, the position was not his initiative. He stated that Ellsworth had expressed a desire for the office to focus more on communications. Ellsworth had previously challenged Greenwood in the Republican primary for the clerk position, citing concerns over a lack of communication from the office. However, the discussions about Eggleston’s prospective role occurred months after Greenwood secured his primary victory.

Though the job was never publicly posted, Eggleston had two conversations with Greenwood—one over the phone and another in person at the clerk’s office in Helena. Eggleston did not list any previous employers in his four-page resume and did not respond to a request for comment.

Ellsworth denied pressuring Greenwood to hire Eggleston but maintained that Eggleston was highly qualified due to his past legislative work related to the judicial branch. Greenwood, however, felt that Ellsworth was actively advocating for Eggleston’s hire. Additionally, Greenwood expressed concerns over Eggleston’s insistence on a fully remote role, which was not standard practice for the office. Eggleston also indicated in his resume that his salary should exceed the median for similar state positions, which was approximately $87,863 annually.

The effort to place Eggleston in a government role did not end there. In December, Ellsworth made two attempts to secure a state contract for Eggleston without following the standard public bidding process. The proposed contract would have allocated $170,100 over two years using surplus funds from the judicial oversight committee, which Ellsworth led.

In the first attempt, Ellsworth sought to split the contract into two invoices of approximately $80,000 each, a strategy that would have bypassed the state procurement process. After legislative staff rejected that approach, Ellsworth submitted a single contract for $170,100, which state procurement officials reluctantly approved. The contract was ultimately canceled within days of being finalized and before any payments were made, following initial reporting on the deal.

Legislative audit findings later determined that Ellsworth’s attempt to split the contract was an abuse of his government position and a misuse of state resources. Despite the controversy, Ellsworth defended his actions, arguing that Eggleston was a legitimate candidate for the role and that multiple legislators had supported the creation of the communications position.

Three months after discussions about the clerk’s office job, legislative staff received the contract proposal for Eggleston through his newly-formed company, Agile Analytics. The contract outlined a plan for Eggleston to analyze the impact of judicial reform bills—legislation that was a top priority for Republicans in the session.

Following revelations about the contract, the Montana Senate voted to convene an ethics committee to investigate the matter. However, the committee was temporarily disbanded after Democrats and some Republicans voted to refer the issue to the attorney general for review. The jurisdiction of Attorney General Austin Knudsen over the matter remains unclear, and it is uncertain whether he will pursue the inquiry.

By: Montana Newsroom staff