Commissioner of Political Practices Refers Complaint Against Lisa Bennett to Carbon County Attorney for Prosecution
Bennett remains defiantly non-compliant with election laws
By Denise Rivette (Updated May 19, 2024 at 11:11 a.m.)
According to documents available on the website for the Office of the Commissioner of Political Practices (COPP), on May 8, Commissioner Chris Gallus, referred a complaint against Lisa Bennett to the Carbon County Attorney for prosecution. Lisa Bennett is a candidate for both Carbon County Republican Central Committee committeewoman and to represent House District 55, the position currently held by Brad Barker. The complaint concerns the lack of “paid for by” attribution on Bennett’s campaign signs. In response to the complaint, Bennett twice sent photos of signs that were different in design from the one referenced in the complaint. The signs in Bennett’s photos showed the “paid for by” attribution inside a red graphic line.
In concluding his prosecution referral, Gallus states: “This Commissioner, having been charged to investigate and decide, herby (sic) determines that Lisa Bennett, despite being afforded the opportunity to comply in accordance with MCA §13-35-225(6)(a)(i) has violated Montana campaign practice law MCA §13-35-225 and a civil action under MCA §13-37-128 is justified.”
Carbon County Attorney Alex Nixon has the option of prosecuting this matter or returning it to COPP for action. If COPP pursues legal action, the state pays for prosecution and all fines collected go into the state’s general fund. If the County pursues legal action, the County pays for prosecution and all fines collected are split evenly between the County and state general fund. The County has 30 days to take action or refer it back to COPP. If no action is taken by the county attorney, the case automatically reverts to COPP at the end of the 30 days.
MCA§13-35-225(1)(a) states “All election communications, electioneering communications, and independent expenditures must clearly and conspicuously include the attribution "paid for by" followed by the name and address of the person who made or financed the expenditure for the communication. The attribution must contain for election communications or electioneering communications financed by a candidate or a candidate's campaign finances, the name and the address of the candidate or the candidate's campaign;
MCA§13-35-225(2) states “Communications in a partisan election financed by a candidate, a political committee organized on the candidate's behalf, or a joint fundraising committee with a participant who is a candidate or a political committee organized on the candidate's behalf must state the candidate's party affiliation or include the party symbol.”
According to MCA, a person who intentionally or negligently violates a provision of 13-35-225 is liable in a civil action brought by the commissioner or a county attorney for an amount up to $500 or three times the amount of the unlawful contributions or expenditures, whichever is greater.
On April 30 (the day before Gallus sent letters stating his official acceptance of the complaint and officially informing Bennett of the complaint), in emails between Gallus and Bennett discussing newly self-reported violations, Gallus assures Bennett “Since these matters are resolved through compliance they are never referred to county attorneys for prosecution because prosecution is no longer justified.” Clearly, although left unstated, prosecution is justified if compliance is not achieved in the time allowed by law.
In his decision to turn the matter over to the Carbon County Attorney, Gallus states “Finding of Fact No. 3: On May 1, 2024, candidate Bennett contacted Commissioner Gallus directly via email to notify him of an unrelated printed material financed by her campaign that was accidentally sent out without attribution…”.
On Saturday, May 4, Lisa Bennett, in response to the formal complaint regarding her campaign signage, emailed Scott Cook, Compliance Specialist and Public Records Officer for COPP to report that she had:
“emailed Commissioner Gallus on Tuesday [April 30] that I did lose a box of unlabeled materials at an event [the Politics and Pancakes Breakfast held in Roscoe on April 27 that was the subject of an earlier court action]. I place stickers on all my material that didn’t aleady have an attribution printed. To the best of my knowledge I have not handed out any that were not attributed, although there is the possibility some may have been combined with unlabeled materials unknowingly. Some of my initial stickers were printed on old label sheets I had in my possession and may not have stayed adhered to the paper they were placed on, but all were labeled that I handed out. As I mentioned, I did have one box of unlabeled items that was accidentally brought to an event instead of the labeled versions. I did not hand them out, but the box did disappear and I have no idea who picked it up.
I have a new batch of labels that to my knowledge are adhering fine.”
This reporter has obtained copies of the Liberty Bell publication from around the county (none had attribution stickers) that the recipients stated were received from Lisa Bennett herself or were picked up from stacks left in public places (bars, gas stations) both before and after the April 27 event. This reporter has not seen any physical copies with the sticker but has heard from credible sources of copies distributed in Luther and Roscoe that do have attribution stickers.
In addition to the lack of “paid for by” attribution on Bennett’s campaign signs, Gallus noticed that Bennett had violated state law mandating campaign materials “must state the candidate's party affiliation or include the party symbol.” Bennett’s signs around the county remain without indication of party affiliation. All signs inspected by this reporter do have a “paid for by” attribution included inside a graphic line. Whether or not this meets the legal requirement of being clear and conspicuous remains to be determined by authorities.
This is the second COPP complaint filed this year against Lisa Bennett. On March 7, 2024, a complaint was filed with COPP against Lisa Bennett claiming she filed documents on behalf of the Carbon County Republican Central Committee listing herself as “Deputy Treasurer,” a position the complaint maintains Bennett was neither appointed nor elected to. Gallus brings his March 22 letter accepting that complaint to a conclusion with:
“In accordance with my statutory duties, I must consider recusal in any matter that would give rise to the appearance of impropriety, results in a conflict of interest or the ‘appearance of a conflict of interest between public duty and private interest pursuant to Title 2, chapter 2.’ MCA §§13-37-111(3) and 13-37-108(6). If I recuse myself from any such matter, I will appoint a deputy commissioner with the qualifications specified in MCA §13-37-107 to handle this matter going forward.
Prior to my appointment as commissioner, I represented respondent Lisa Bennett in a matter pertaining to a public records request. Recusal is discretionary and I will consider my duties under the law and the details of my prior representation of Ms. Bennett to determine if recusal is necessary and appropriate. See Powell v. Motl, OP-14-0711, Order of the Montana Supreme Court (Nov. 6, 2014). However, based on this information, if you would like to request my recusal from this matter, please do so by April 1, 2024 and include any information you feel is pertinent to my decision. I will make a determination as to recusal after having an opportunity to review anything you provide.”
Gallus made no mention of recusal in his letter accepting the second complaint. He did, however, include an informational copy of MCA §45-7-207 not included in his communications regarding the first matter. MCA §45-7-207 describes the offense of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. According to the statute, a “person convicted of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence shall be imprisoned in the state prison for a term not to exceed 10 years or be fined an amount not to exceed $50,000, or both.” Gallus has yet to file a formal decision on his recusal in either COPP matter involving Lisa Bennett.
On January 11, 2023, then prospective and now confirmed Commissioner of Political Practices Chris Gallus was granted an extension for filing a motion on behalf of his client, Lisa Bennett, in her suit against Carbon County alleging public information requests were not fulfilled in a timely manner. This extension was granted based on his likely impending appointment as COPP which would “statutorily prohibit” him from representing Bennett. He was granted the extension so he could hand the case off to an attorney who did not have a conflict of interest. Gallus was appointed to the COPP position on January 19 and was confirmed on February 14, 2023. Three months later, on May 24, Gallus continued to represent Bennett by responding to the County’s answers and counterclaims with another motion for extension due to his “public employment creating potential conflicts”. Another extension was granted until June 10. On June 9, 2023, a notice of substitution of counsel and yet another request for extension was filed by the Plaintiffs’ new counsel, Del Post, of Missoula. Further action on the claims and counterclaims between Bennett and Carbon County is not expected until after the November election.
In addition to the above matters, Bennett is the defendent in a lawsuit brought by the Montana Republican Party wherein it is alleged, among other things, that Bennett represented herself to the Commission of Political Practices (COPP) as a compliance officer of the Montana Republican Party and, using the email address compliance@gopmontana.com, caused official documents to be diverted from the Montana Republican Party to herself.
Update May 13 at 5:00 p.m.:
Carbon County Attorney Alex Nixon has declined to participate in the prosecution of the sign violations and referred the matter back to COPP. Commissioner Chris Gallus announced, “Now that I have this back from County Attorney Nixon I will do the conflict and recusal analysis before I proceed, but this matter will proceed.”
Update May 19 at 11:11 a.m.:
Carbon County commissioners report removing 16 Lisa Bennett campaign signs that violate the law by not conforming to election law requirements and by being installed on County property. This was over a week after she was informed by the Commissioner of Political Practices that her signs violated the law and she had two days to remedy the situation. Reports of Bennett’s illegal signs being installed without permission on private and government property abound and continue.