This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

It has been an interesting couple of weeks for former state lawmaker and one-time congressional candidate Morgan Philpot, who hopes to rejoin the Utah Legislature by running for the state Senate this year.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that he is the new attorney for Ammon Bundy, who faces charges in the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon to protest federal land-use practices.

That comes in the wake of a $5,784 judgment levied earlier this month against Philpot in 4th District Court.

Philpot had been sued by former campaign supporter Heather Groom, who asserted that she had paid to rent a campaign bus Philpot used when he ran for Congress against Democratic incumbent Jim Matheson in 2010.

Groom alleged Philpot promised to pay her back but never did. The court ruled in her favor.

It's not the first time Philpot has faced financial judgments. The Utah Tax Commission has twice filed tax liens against him.

'It put the company at risk' • Fred Healey, one of nine candidates for mayor of soon-to-be Millcreek City, worked for about 20 years as an executive at Feature Films for Families, which is being sued by the Federal Trade Commission for allegedly deceptive telemarketing practices.

While Healey held leadership positions during the time the alleged wrongdoing took place, he is neither a defendant nor a witness in the federal trial this week in Salt Lake City.

And, he says, he had nothing to do with decisions to make millions of telemarketing calls to numbers on the national "Do Not Call Registry," which is the thrust of the FTC's case against Feature Films for Families and two related companies — the Corporations for Character and Family Films of Utah.

The FTC also alleges the companies made misleading statements when making calls on behalf of certain charities about how much money was going to those groups and how much to the companies.

"I and others advised [Forrest Baker, the chief executive officer who also is a defendant] not to do it," Healey said. "He thought it was the right thing to do, but we said at the time [from a financial perspective] it put the company at risk."

If the jury sides with the feds, the companies and Baker could face fines and other sanctions.

Church and state • Holladay Councilman Steve Gunn sent letters to his constituents calling for an emergency meeting in which he addressed concerns that the council had secretly approved a zoning change to allow a 45-unit condominium project where a community garden is located.

Why an emergency meeting? Somebody heard a rumor in church that the council had already OK'd the project.

"Neither part of this rumor is correct," wrote Gunn, who said he will gather more information on the pros and cons of the proposal before making a decision, and noted that a vote has not yet been scheduled.

"The fact that it has reached the 'heard-in-church' stage suggests to me that we need to talk."

It was accompanied by a fabricated flier supposedly by Utah Dine Bikeyah, a grass-roots American Indian organization, that invited the public to celebrate a new Bears Ears National Monument — except for Utah Navajos, who were directed to "stay away from our party."

The fake news release and party invitation were intended to drive a wedge between native groups over the proposed monument in southeastern Utah.

Now, to prevent further chicanery, postal officials have ordered removal of the bulletin board at the Bluff post office.

So guess who gets punished? The residents in and around Bluff who rely on the bulletin board to learn about community events. Perhaps they will now have to rely on the buzz "heard in church."