Gov. Greg Gianforte suspended Public Service Commissioner Brad Molnar for one year after independent investigations point to unlawful conduct, including sex discrimination and retaliation, reports The Daily Montanan.See Molnar's response below: Gianforte suspends Public Service Commissioner Molnar for one yearIn a letter Thursday to Molnar, Gianforte recognized his own action is unprecedented in state history.However, he said Molnars unprecedented behavior, including references to topless Tuesdays and retaliation against those who filed complaints against Molnar, warrant the suspension.The PSC should be given adequate time to reestablish order and morale within the agency, said the letter, obtained by the Daily Montanan. And Commissioner Molnar should have some time to both reflect on and assess his conduct and to complete any appropriate training the PSC has required of him to ensure proper decorum and lawful behavior on his return.Molnars attorney, Matthew Monforton, said the commissioner will fight the suspension in court, calling the action a result of a kangaroo process.The governor used an HR (human resources) complaint to overturn an election, and Montana ratepayers will get stuck with paying higher energy bills as a result, Monforton said.The PSC is considering a $15.4 billion merger between the states largest public utility, NorthWestern Energy, and Black Hills Corp.Molnar has raised questions about whether the deal is good for ratepayers. In a Friday interview with MTN News, he reiterated this stance.This is the biggest Christmas gift that Quantica, NorthWestern (Energy), Black Hills can get. We have to vote on the merger. We'll be voting on that fairly soon. We have the large customer tariff, which is all of NorthWestern's wish list for data centers and how they want people to pay for it," he told MTN News.Quantica is the company proposing a large-scale center near Broadview. The company announced it is seeking up to 7,000 megawatts in generation capacity to power the development, a move that must be approved by the PSC."But this is about data centers. It's about NorthWestern, with the governor's help, taking 370 megawatts of the cheapest electricity in the nation away from the people of Montana and wants to give it to one data center. And I filed an appeal in federal court on my own time doing that. He's not happy. This is about billions of dollars and transparency," he continued in the MTN News interview.The Public Service Commission regulates monopoly utilities in Montana and is made up of five commissioners elected by district.Last July, Molnar announced he was under investigation for professional misconduct but only admitted to being unpolished.In May, the Public Service Commission banished Molnar from working in person at the office, citing harassing behavior and departures of PSC staff.In the letter, Gianforte said typically Molnars actions would result in a firing, but he has shown no remorse and repeatedly violated the sacred trust between him and the people of Montana.I take very seriously allegations of workplace misconduct in the executive branch, and the gravity and unwillingness to correct the illegal conduct warrants a meaningful suspension from office indeed, ordinary outcomes for such misconduct would likely result in termination, Gianforte said in the letter.A spokesperson for the Governors Office said Gianforte is evaluating next steps for an appointment. A timeline was not immediately available Friday.In August 2025, an internal PSC team requested the governor suspend Molnar pending an investigation, but he declined. He said he did not have good cause at the time, but he encouraged the investigation to proceed.- MTN News reporter Russ Riesinger contributed to this story. ...read more read less