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Utah Attorney General won’t be charged by Justice Dept.

Posted at 10:31 AM, Sep 12, 2013
and last updated 2013-09-12 15:13:35-04

SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah Attorney General John Swallow told FOX 13 the U.S. Department of Justice has wrapped up its criminal investigation into him, and elected not to file charges.

"I've said all along, I'm innocent of these allegations that are baseless," Swallow told FOX 13's Ben Winslow on Thursday. "And now the preeminent law enforcement agency in the country ... has just cleared me. I think that speaks volumes."

The Justice Department declined to comment on its investigation.

Swallow has faced a number of allegations of misconduct, accusing him of trying to derail a federal investigation and seeking favors in exchange for not prosecuting donors to his campaign. (Read more here.)

A man convicted of fraud has also claimed that he was "shaken down" by Swallow and his predecessor, Mark Shurtleff, by taking vacations on his dime -- and then prosecuting him when he refused to go along with it any further.

While the Justice Department has elected to not pursue charges, other investigations continue: The Salt Lake District Attorney and the Davis County Attorney have a joint investigation underway; a House Committee is also investigating him, as is the lieutenant governor's office.

"The Dept. of Justice is done with whatever process they did or did not go through," Davis Co. Attorney Troy Rawlings told FOX 13. "We are not. Our state investigation -- with the assistance of the FBI -- continues."

Swallow said he believes he will be cleared in those probes, too.

"We're going to cooperate fully, and when the truth is known people will know they've got an attorney general they can trust," Swallow said.

Swallow spoke to FOX 13 News about the issue Thursday, and that interview can be seen in the video below:

Stay tuned to FOX 13 on TV and fox13now.com for updates on this developing story.