By Missoula Current

The Montana commissioner of political practices fined Missoula County Sheriff T.J. McDermott $936 as a result of a 2014 campaign complaint, according to documents released on Monday as a result of a public records request.

The fines stem from the Democratic primary in 2014, during which candidate Josh Clark filed a complaint alleging that McDermott violated several campaign finance laws by accepting corporate contributions from Datsopoulos, MacDonald and Lind, a law firm in Missoula.

Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl ruled that some of Clark's complaints were valid. Among them, he found that in-kind contributions provided by the law firm were not reported.

He also found that McDermott failed to accurately report and disclose expenses of a business owned by his campaign manager, Jim Parker.

First reported by the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the documents released Monday say McDermott settled with the commissioner last month. Motl added the fines reflected the settlements that were agreed to.

McDermott attributed the violations to accounting oversights.

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