Here's the gist, folks:
John Swallow left a 2012 meeting at Krispy Kreme with Jeremy Johnson so alarmed that he was in the cross hairs of federal investigators that Swallow took drastic measures to cover his tracks and ties to the indicted businessman, Utah House investigators said Thursday.Yes. Many of us expected the worst; and it appears that's just what's being rolled out, as the discussion turns to the possible legal blowback for the beleaguered John Swallow, as is set forth in the accompanying SL-Trib "companion" story:
In the weeks that followed, Swallow obliterated his electronic footprints and created new documents designed to mislead anyone who might delve into his activities, according to evidence pieced together by a five-month investigation by a special House committee.
"We believe the evidence here shows Mr. Swallow panicked following the Krispy Kreme meeting, thinking about the consequences that would occur in terms of his political run for attorney general if Mr. Johnson went public with his allegations," said Steve Reich, special counsel to the committee. "And it was this panic that led him down a path of evidence elimination and evidence fabrication."
Within weeks of the doughnut shop exchange, Swallow had thehard drives on his state-issued computers wiped clean and appears to have purged thousands of emails, later lying to the public and investigators about their disappearance, Reich said. He bought a "burner" phone that couldn’t be traced and created a fake paper trail for consulting work he did on a Nevada cement project.
"Based on the record available to us, our conclusion is that the Krispy Kreme meeting that Mr. Swallow had with Jeremy Johnson … set off a months-long spree where Mr. Swallow destroyed or lost records while creating new ones designed to support his version of events."
His record of behavior, his shifting story and attempts to mislead investigators and the public, taken as a whole, Reich said, cannot be innocently explained away.
Howbout obstruction of justice and criminal provisions within the Government Records Access and Management Act, and Utah State Bar disbarment, just for "starters?"
Looks like our former Utah Attorney General's in a heap o' trouble, dunnit?
Of course, Swallow and his "mouthpiece," Salt Lake attorney Rod Snow, continue to proclaim his innocence, as Snow's hourly billings keep on mounting up.
Update 12/20/13 11:40 a.m.: Added bonus for those who'd like to follow today's Utah House of Representatives hearing in realtime:
Simultaneously fascinating and disturbing, indeed.
Remember my fellow Utah voters. Always vote GOP straight ticket [Wink].
Update 12/21/13 6:30 a.m.: The Tribune carries the day 2 report, which is even creepier than day 1:
Tony Soprano for Utah Attorney General!
