Walsh selected at least 12 days before announcement

HELENA (AP) — Gov. Steve Bullock’s decision to replace departing U.S. Sen. Max Baucus with former Lt. Gov. John Walsh was made at least 12 days before the governor announced the appointment in February, according to documents released by the Montana Democrat’s office Tuesday.

Walsh is mentioned in a Jan. 27 memo sent to Bullock by his chief of staff, Kevin O’Brien. The memo lays out a three-day proposed timeline starting with Baucus’ confirmation as ambassador to China and Senate resignation on the first day, then the lieutenant governor resigning his post and a press conference announcing the appointment on the second day.

A press conference on the third day would announce a new lieutenant governor, according to the plan.

That memo is the first indication that Bullock had made up his mind about Baucus’ replacement before he announced Walsh’s appointment on Feb. 7. Bullock had not given any hint of his decision before then, prompting anger from Republicans who wanted an open selection process.

O’Brien also advised Bullock in a separate email in December to refrain from any public statements about the appointment.

There would be a series of “inane” questions about the appointment, including whether Bullock would be taking applications for the position, but “you can shut all of these down” by saying “there’s no vacancy to speak of,” O’Brien wrote in the Dec. 20 email.

“This is a fire. The more oxygen we give it, the more it will burn,” O’Brien said in the email, sent as news of Baucus’ nomination broke.

Bullock took the advice, deflecting reporters’ questions for months about whom he would appoint or how he would go about the selection.

The memo and email from O’Brien were among hundreds of documents released Tuesday by Bullock’s office in response to public-records requests made by The Associated Press and other news organizations.

The requests included any correspondence to and from the governor’s office about Baucus’ resignation and how Bullock planned to replace him.

The documents show that while the governor and his public-relations staff were calling the Senate vacancy a hypothetical situation they would not address, administration attorneys and other staff members were scrambling behind the scenes to prepare for its inevitability.

They gathered background on past and recent U.S. Senate appointments in Montana, Minnesota and North Carolina. They figured out the protocols in accepting resignations and making appointments. They drafted appointment certificates and announcements.

They also laid out scenarios and timelines of when to announce a replacement, choosing to name Bullock’s pick soon after Baucus’ confirmation rather than waiting until after Baucus’ planned farewell tour of the state.

“While I certainly understand the desire to do a victory lap, I don’t think it should change our stated desire to move quickly (once he’s confirmed, we’ll be deluged with questions about when we’re going to make the announcement of his replacement),” O’Brien wrote in the Jan. 27 memo to Bullock.

The documents don’t include any correspondence between Walsh and Bullock.

Walsh said in December he asked Bullock to appoint him to the post, but said the governor made no commitment.  Bullock said the day of Walsh’s appointment that he had only informed the lieutenant governor of the decision the night before.

Walsh is running for the Democratic nomination for the Senate seat in November’s election. He has said an interim appointment would allow him to grow his name recognition and build a track record in the Senate to campaign on.

He faces two challengers in the June 3 Democratic primary. Three Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Steve Daines, are seeking the GOP nomination.

Republican legislative and party leaders had called upon Bullock to hold an open process with public input in making the appointment. Bullock responded that he would follow state law, which gives him the power of the appointment.

The governor also dismissed suggestions that Walsh was appointed at the suggestion of Senate and party leaders in Washington D.C.