An oversight board of Montana attorneys has recommended that Attorney General Austin Knudsen be suspended from practicing law for 90 days. The decision came after Knudsen was charged with 41 counts of professional misconduct.
The recommendation now goes to the Montana Supreme Court, which gets the final say.
A five-member panel held a disciplinary hearing earlier this month where a special counsel laid out the charges against Knudsen. Those included undermining the integrity of the Montana Supreme Court and ignoring a court order.
Knudsen says he was zealously defending his client, the state Legislature, in a case where he believed the state’s High Court had overreached its constitutional powers.
The Commission on Practice’s disciplinary board wrote in an unanimous decision that Knudsen violated his oath as an attorney and the rules of professional conduct. The members’ recommendation also calls on Knudsen to pay all fees associated with the disciplinary proceedings.
Knudsen is currently running for re-election to be the state’s top attorney.
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