On Tuesday night, Hamilton Republican Sen. Jason Ellsworth left the Lewis and Clark District Court guilty of official misconduct. The following morning, that ruling had been vacated.
According to court documents first reported by the Lee State News Bureau, the court inadvertently gave jurors a record of emails between assistant attorney general Dan Guzynski, who represented the State in the case, and Bryce Eggleston, concerning scheduling his witness testimony, which never actually happened.
Ellsworth was accused of using his access to Senate funds to privately award $170,000 in government contracts to Eggleston, a longtime friend, using a loophole to avoid a public bid.
District court judge Christopher Abbott set a tentative retrial for December 14.
