A Lewis and Clark County District Court judge has cleared the way for Gov. Greg Gianforte to suspend the Public Service Commission’s president if he so decides.

On Friday, District Judge Mike Menahan ruled in favor of Public Service Commission Vice President Jennifer Fielder, who quietly sent a letter to Gianforte in August asking him to use his statutory power to suspend commission president Brad Molnar.

Molnar’s workplace conduct has been the subject of a months-long publicized internal HR investigation, and Fielder alleges that Molnar has been purposefully and successfully obstructing the inquiry, spurring her to request Gianforte’s intervention. When Molnar learned of Fielder’s letter, he sued.

Molnar and Fielder, who hold the top two positions on the commission, are elected by

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