SALT LAKE CITY — The U.S. Justice Department confirmed to FOX 13 it has been investigating embattled Utah Attorney General John Swallow.
In a rare statement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Utah confirmed the investigation because of “extraordinary public interest.”
“Though the Department of Justice, including the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah, does not typically confirm investigations, because of the extraordinary public interest in this matter, we want to reassure the public that we, along with the FBI, have been investigating the allegations and will follow the facts and the law in doing so,” the statement reads in its entirety.
Swallow’s office told FOX 13 the investigation is good news, saying the attorney general had asked for an investigation and is hoping to get all the facts out as soon as possible.
Swallow has been accused by Jeremy Johnson, a Utah businessman facing federal fraud charges, of helping broker a deal to bribe top lawmakers to make his fraud investigation go away. Swallow denies that he was involved in the bribery deal, but just introduced Johnson to a man who worked with Johnson to hire lobbyists to try and get the case dropped.
[VIDEO: The Swallow-Johnson allegations explained]
Swallow says that while he didn’t do anything against the law, he made some unwise choices.
