The Truth About Tranel

Fact Check: Tranel caught lying about her drug money 

Fact Check: Monica Tranel claimed that she did not defend a convicted child rapist and try to get his conviction overturned.

TRUTH: In 2011, as a private, for-hire attorney, Monica Tranel took the appeal of Robert Riggs, a convicted serial child rapist. Riggs was convicted by a jury several years prior of incest, rape, and sexual assault on four little girls between ages 10 and 13.  Tranel attempted to have Riggs’ conviction thrown out and have him released back onto the street. The judge called a “menace” who had committed “sexual offenses against helpless little girls”.

The parents of the victims also expressed gratitude Riggs would be locked behind bars where he couldn’t hurt any more little girls. According to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle: “‘As I understand it, when you go to prison for a crime like this you become a marked man, and that’s what I’d like to see,’ one father said. ‘I’m sick and tired of being scared. He needs to be put away for good,’ said the mother of one of the girls.”

PROOF: In his notice of appeal to the Montana Supreme Court, Riggs listed Tranel as his attorney defending him. In a 2011 decision denying Riggs’ appeal, Tranel was also listed on the brief as Riggs’ attorney. (Justia, 9/27/22)

Riggs was known to the criminal justice system and had prior failed attempts to appeal his conviction before hiring Tranel to represent him.

Fact Check: Tranel profited from Montana’s housing crisis

Fact Check: Monica Tranel claimed she supports policies that would fix Montana’s housing crisis, and has previously criticized AirBnB for contributing to the housing crisis.

“We’ve all seen the proliferation of Airbnb, short-term rentals, and home purchases by companies in the past few years. Demand in Montana is rising because people are moving here, it should not be rising because investors view it as a way to make a profit.” (Daily Inter Lake, 5/23/22)

TRUTH: Monica Tranel has personally profited from Montana’s housing crisis.

PROOF: According to her federal Candidate Report, Tranel owns as much as $50,000 of stock in AirBnb, a company she claims is pricing Montanans out of the housing market.

Fact Check: Monica Tranel lied about defending a convicted child rapist

Fact Check: Monica Tranel claimed that she did not defend a convicted child rapist and try to get his conviction overturned.

TRUTH: In 2011, as a private, for-hire attorney, Monica Tranel took the appeal of Robert Riggs, a convicted serial child rapist. Riggs was convicted by a jury several years prior of incest, rape, and sexual assault on four little girls between ages 10 and 13.  Tranel attempted to have Riggs’ conviction thrown out and have him released back onto the street. The judge called a “menace” who had committed “sexual offenses against helpless little girls”.

The parents of the victims also expressed gratitude Riggs would be locked behind bars where he couldn’t hurt any more little girls. According to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle: “‘As I understand it, when you go to prison for a crime like this you become a marked man, and that’s what I’d like to see,’ one father said. ‘I’m sick and tired of being scared. He needs to be put away for good,’ said the mother of one of the girls.”

PROOF: In his notice of appeal to the Montana Supreme Court, Riggs listed Tranel as his attorney defending him. In a 2011 decision denying Riggs’ appeal, Tranel was also listed on the brief as Riggs’ attorney. (Justia, 9/27/22)

Riggs was known to the criminal justice system and had prior failed attempts to appeal his conviction before hiring Tranel to represent him.

Fact Check: Tranel has no real plan for inflation

Fact Check: Monica Tranel says she has a “plan” to fix inflation, but supports tens of trillions in new spending while also killing American oil and gas production.

“I’m the only candidate in this race with a concrete, actual plan with details about how I will get things done,” (Butte Debate, 9/29/22)

TRUTH: Monica’s “plan” is to continue the same Democrat policies that have led us to record inflation and skyrocketing interest rates in the first place. She has pledged her support for $133 trillion in new government spending and killing American oil and gas production. Economists overwhelmingly agree the two major drivers of inflation are high energy costs and increased government spending.

Further, Monica’s plan is full of hypocrisy. She tells Montanans one thing but secretly does another for her own profit.

PROOF: On “drug prices” – she claims to support cheaper prescription drugs yet is personally profiting from higher prescription drug prices and price hikes on insulin through her lucrative investments in big pharma companies that have hiked the prices of insulin and basic pain medications.

On “affordable housing” – she rails against AirBnB and other short term rentals for causing Montana’s housing crisis, yet is personally profiting off of short term rentals and owns thousands of dollars of AirBnB stock.

On energy – Tranel is a radical environmental lawyer who is the head legal counsel for radical activist group 350 Montana. They work together to end American oil and gas production and sue against and protest Montana energy projects.

On government spending – Monica has pledged her support for $133 trillion in new spending via Build Back Better, the Green New Deal, the Inflation Reduction Act, and Medicare for All, all of which would add trillions to the national debt and drive inflation even higher.

Fact Check: Tranel is a gun-grabber

Fact Check: Monica Tranel claims she supports gun owners rights.

“In Congress, I would support … red flag laws. Another piece of legislation that I would support would end immunity for gun manufacturers.” (Bozeman Daily Chronicle, 6/2/22).

TRUTH: Monica Tranel supports unconstitutional gun grabs via “red flag laws” and predatory litigation against law-abiding Montana gun manufacturers.

PROOF: Red flag laws are widely criticized for violating an individual’s constitutional right to due process. Under red flag laws, any individual can make a false claim to strip another person of their Constitutional Second Amendment rights. The accused is then on the hook to prove they are not a threat. And in some states, respondents are not guaranteed representation in court.

Montana leads the nation in the number of gun manufacturers. The Treasure State is home to more than 150 gun manufacturers, many of them small or family-owned businesses.

Fact Check: Monica Tranel’s own abortion position is extreme

Fact Check: Monica Tranel claims that Ryan Zinke holds “extreme” abortion views, but she doesn’t deny her own position is supporting abortion at any point in a pregnancy.

TRUTH: Ryan is personally pro-life, but he understands life is not perfect and that banning abortion is not an option. He has never voted for a ban on abortion and his record and words consistently recognize the complexity of the issue. Monica Tranel, on the other hand, did not deny that she supports late term abortions despite being given the opportunity to on multiple occasions.

PROOF: “Banning it is too harsh, but Monica’s position of open-ended all the way up to birth is barbaric,” Zinke said in the Butte debate.

“You heard Zinke, again, say he doesn’t support a total abortion ban because there are situations, complications of a pregnant person’s life being at risk, cases of rape or incest…Zinke’s characterization of her position. You know, she didn’t really take that on directly. He’s calling her barbaric. And she had two opportunities to push back on that characterization, but chose not to.” (Montana Public Radio 9/30/22)

Zinke has never supported a total ban on abortion, but has voted to restrict instances where the procedure is acceptable after 20 weeks, similar to laws in Europe and other Western countries. (Roll call vote May 2015). Zinke supports exceptions including for rape, incest, to protect the life of the mother, and other severe circumstances.