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READ THE STORY FROM THE MONTANA FREE PRESS

“An ongoing dispute over Montana’s state court system, stemming from a new law that gives Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte direct power to fill temporary judicial vacancies, has embroiled the state judiciary in a mud-streaked partisan fight involving bias allegations, missing records, and subpoenas issued to Montana Supreme Court justices.

The increasingly fraught situation has seen legislative Republicans set up a committee to investigate the judicial branch and subpoena judicial records and staff as the court prepares to hear a challenge to the appointment law. Legislative Democrats have responded by accusing Republicans of manufacturing a “constitutional crisis” by smearing the judiciary in an effort to exert broader control over state government.”

READ THE STORY FROM KPAX

” The administrator of the Montana Supreme Court, at the center of a battle with Republican legislators over the release of internal emails from the state judiciary, has filed a new request asking the high court to block GOP efforts to obtain and disseminate those emails.

The filing from Beth McLaughlin Monday evening came the same day the Republican state attorney general’s office – representing legislative Republicans – said they would not comply with a Sunday Supreme Court order to halt the email acquisition.”