SALT LAKE CITY — An audit of former Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes found he lacked transparency and created a perceived conflict of interest for his involvement with Operation Underground Railroad, adding that Reyes appeared to leverage his position to support the controversial nonprofit organization.
The audit released Friday by the state's Legislative Auditor General cited numerous instances where Reyes withheld "questionable" information pertaining to his activities and travels while in office.
The Auditor General's office was originally ordered to conduct the audit to investigate Reyes's involvement with Operation Underground Railroad (OUR) and his longtime relationship with the organization's founder, Tim Ballard.
Reyes has been a longtime supporter of Ballard, who has been the subject of multiple lawsuits accusing him of misconduct, including sexual assault. Ballard eventually stepped down from his leadership position with OUR and denied all allegations against him.
Texts between Reyes, Ballard raise questions about criminal investigation:
Reyes served as an advisory board member of OUR from 2015-2020.
According to the audit, Reyes "held back" information on:
- Meetings with the OUR Board of Governors.
- Events that included Reyes and Ballard in what appeared to be speaking roles and fundraisers for OUR.
- Meetings with Reyes and OUR staff to review OUR operations.
Communications also discovered during the audit showed times when Reyes claimed he represented both the State of Utah and OUR.
The audit shared how Reyes's perceived conflict of interest with nonprofit organizations such as OUR "could compromise the AGO’s ability to fulfill its duties impartially in the event of misconduct or noncompliance within these organizations. The appearance of a conflict is further magnified when the AG is not transparent regarding his involvement with some nonprofits."
When Reyes announced he would not run for reelection in Dec. 2023, he ordered an investigation into Ballard, which he recused himself from, and apologized for their friendship.
Reyes apologizes for Ballard friendship in Dec. 2023 video below:
Among the items redacted or withheld from auditors included times when Reyes visited a private barber shop and whether he conducted official business at the location as investigators discovered. During one 2023 barber shop meeting where information was withheld, Reyes is alleged to have met with "former military personnel working to partner on human trafficking issues" with the Attorney General's Office, according to the audit.
When the Legislative Auditor General asked to review the travel policies and practices of Reyes and his offices, the audit claimed the information provided "did not appear to be complete."
"This impairs our ability to fulfill the request made by the Legislature," the audit states. "Since we did not receive sufficient information, we did not evaluate whether travel appeared to be appropriate or excessive."
Video below shows how Reyes was accused of witness tampering, intimidation:
The audit added that Reyes's travel outside of official business did not appear to use state funding. However, information gathered by auditors showed Reyes traveled more than he disclosed.
In November, Derek Brown was elected as Utah's new Attorney General, replacing Reyes in office.
In its recommendations for the Attorney General moving forward, the audit suggests the office should establish best practices on internal governance and transparency, and that the Utah State Legislature should consider enacting additional ethical and transparency requirements on the position.
Following the audit's release, Reyes and his team released a statement saying he welcomed audits throughout his tenure as Attorney General and highlighted the more positive aspects of the latest audit.
"The audit’s review validated that the AGO had the best culture of any public agency that they have reviewed thanks to its people and the leadership of AG Reyes and his management team," the statement read. "This fact speaks volumes about the vision, consistency and leadership from the top, especially in relation to when AG Reyes took over at the lowest point in AGO history. While the AGO has always had talented and dedicated employees, they were under paid, under resourced and under appreciated. The office that was transitioned to AG Brown this past month is one that competes with private law firms in bringing the highest quality legal representation to the state."
