FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, October 31, 2013
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Salt Lake City — In light of new evidence reported in the Salt Lake Tribune this morning suggesting the Attorney General’s Office has not retained documents crucial to an ongoing house investigation into Attorney General John Swallow’s conduct, the Alliance for a Better UTAH has issued the following statement:
“In January, Better UTAH anticipated that records crucial to the various investigations of Attorney General John Swallow could be intentionally or inadvertently destroyed, even if only through the normal process of existing document retention policies. As a result, Better UTAH formally requested that both the Governor and Attorney General issue the equivalent of a litigation hold on all electronic records in the Attorney General’s office. [Letter available here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/122160883/Request-for-document-and-records-retention]. New evidence reported in the Salt Lake Tribune suggests that our initial concerns were correct, but that our request, though predicated on well-founded concerns and sound investigative practices, were summarily ignored. Shame on both the Attorney General and Governor for failing to act to protect the process and the people of Utah.
“We now have a legislative committee, with power vested by the people of the state of Utah, that appears to be unable to thoroughly investigate the Attorney General. As the state’s top law enforcement officer, Attorney General Swallow should have understood the importance of making sure all records were retained by suspending document retention policies and circulating standard litigation hold notices to all appropriate parties. Unfortunately, this casts further doubt not only on Swallow’s judgment, but on the ability of any investigation to reach a thorough conclusion. Without those records, the cloud of suspicion remains.”
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Alliance for a Better UTAH | 801.557.1532 | www.betterutah.org
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The Alliance for a Better UTAH is a year-round, multi-issue education and advocacy organization providing resources, commentary, and action on important public policy matters.