Attorney Accuses Montana Political Practices of Extortion, Contempt of Court

On Tuesday, Montana Political Practices Commissioner Jonathan Motl dismissed campaign finance charges against former gubernatorial candidate Rick Hill. In the past, Hill’s attorney, Matthew Monforton, has accused Motl of partisanship, but he has recently raised the stakes and says Motl was using extortion.

"What made this so outrageous is that he could have, and should have disposed of this case back in October of 2012 when it was filed, but instead he lit it sit over Rick for four years," Monforton said. The reason he did that was to try to extort money from Rick."

The money in question, is about $200,000 that was left in Hill’s campaign war chest from an initial $500,000 donation from the Montana Republican Party.

"Commissioner Motl called me last fall and said look your client has a million and a half exposure, he's got a couple 100,000 bucks, yeah, we know it should go back to the Republican Party where it rightfully belongs, but why don't you consider paying that to me, Mr. Motl, so that your client doesn't face any jeopardy," Monforton said.

On top of partisanship and extortion, Monforton accused Motl of selective prosecution and hinted that he might be charged with contempt of court for reverting some Montana campaign finance limitations back to older and sometimes even lower limits.