AG issues cease-and-desist letter to nonprofit news outlet

HELENA — The Montana attorney general’s office issued a cease-and-desist letter to a state news outlet after it published a 381-page internal survey earlier this month about workplace culture and leadership at the Montana Highway Patrol, a division of the state Department of Justice overseen by Attorney General Austin Knudsen.

The letter to the Daily Montanan, part of the national organization States Newsroom, described the Montana Highway Patrol Organizational Climate Assessment as a “confidential document” and directed the news outlet to remove a copy of the survey from its website and edit an accompanying article to remove quotes attributed to the survey.

“The version of the Climate Assessment you published contains sensitive and private information in the form of confidential individual Montana Highway Patrol employee comments and employee identities that was illegitimately obtained without consent,” said the letter from DOJ general counsel Chad Vanisko, dated August 21.