Former Utah Attorney General John Swallow, who resigned due to a wave of scandals, is seeking a return to that office.
Swallow filed as a Republican candidate for Attorney General on Thursday afternoon.
After winning election as Attorney General in 2012, Swallow was the subject of multiple investigations of misconduct and corruption. He resigned in December of 2013.
The Utah House of Representatives investigated accusations of misconduct against Swallow. The final report released by the House, which you can read here, said Swallow “hung a veritable ‘for sale’ sign” on the Attorney General’s office during his tenure.
“From the time Mr. Swallow joined the Office, and even before then he cultivated a series of relationships with individuals and Utah-based industries that resulted in a pattern of benefits, including campaign contributions, political favors, and cash and other benefits, flowing back and forth between him and them,” reads the executive summary of the report.
“Mr. Swallow used these relationships for his own professional, personal, and political benefit,” the more than 200-page report continued.
The House investigation cost taxpayers $4 million.
In January of 2013, Swallow was investigated by the Department of Justice and the FBI in an alleged scheme to help businessman Jeremy Johnson in a lawsuit brought against him by the Federal Trade Commission. Swallow was accused of attempting to bribe former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid through a lobbyist. Swallow was not charged in the scheme.
Swallow was acquitted on charges of bribery, making false statements and misappropriating public funds in 2017.
Swallow’s re-launched campaign website says his service as Attorney General was “cut short by several ‘political’ invesgtigations,” and he is seeking a return to the office to “finish his vision for the State of Utah.”
Swallow joins current Attorney General Sean Reyes, Utah County Attorney David Leavitt, also a Republican, and Democrats Greg Skordas and Kevin Probasco.
