The Montana Republican Party has asked local law enforcement here to launch a criminal investigation into what it calls "illegal" contacts between the governor's office and an arbiter in an ethics case involving the governor.

Jake Eaton, executive director of the Montana Republican Party, sent a letter to Lewis and Clark County Attorney Leo Gallagher Tuesday saying a criminal investigation is warranted.

Eaton argued that Eric Stern, the governor's senior counsel, had four illegal conversations with Dennis Unsworth, the commissioner of political practices, while Unsworth was considering whether the governor violated state ethics rules.

Ethics cases are decided after public, trial-like proceedings. Stern's contacts with Unsworth, who is also a Schweitzer appointee, is like a lawyer secretly contacting a judge to argue his case, said Erik Iverson, the GOP party chairman. In this case, it may be even worse, he said, because Unsworth's very job depends on Schweitzer. One of the messages Stern delivered to Unwsorth was that "the governor is very upset."

A University of Montana law professor whom Unsworth hired as hearings examiner has concluded Schweitzer did violate ethics rules when he filmed a public service announcement after filing for re-election. The hearings examiner recommended the governor should pay a $750 fine.

Unsworth has not yet made a final ruling, although Schweitzer has since sent in the money to pay the fine. Unsworth has also previously said Stern's conversations with him will have no bearing on his decision, although he said he should have admonished Stern for making the contacts.

Speaking for Stern and the governor's office, Schweitzer's spokeswoman Sarah Elliott, dismissed the GOP's requests. "There is nothing new here," she said in a prepared statement. "While many Montanans are struggling with high gas prices and a national economic downturn, the Montana Republican Party is worried about conversations that the commissioner himself said would not affect his judgment."

Meanwhile, Gallagher said Tuesday that his office is unlikely to launch an investigation. The county attorney's office typically only prosecutes cases, he said; it doesn't investigate them. Typically, he said, they send such requests "back to an investigative entity," either the police, sheriff's department or a state agency.

The party could pursue a civil case against the governor if no law enforcement agency investigates the matter, Iverson said, although he believes the situation does warrant a criminal investigation. The party has also contacted the Helena Police Department and the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Department.

"We're confident law enforcement is going to take this as seriously as we do," Iverson said. "It looks like there's criminal tampering here and the only way to know for sure is so have a thorough investigation."