The Murray City Police Department has completed its investigation into an allegation that Republican attorney general candidate Frank Mylar offered opponent Trent Christensen a position in the Utah attorney general’s office, assuming Mylar were to win the election, in exchange for Christensen’s endorsement.
Christensen believed the offer — which came about a week before the Republican state convention — was an attempted bribe and filed a report with the Murray City Police Department.
According to Christensen, Mylar’s text message read: “Hey Trent. In my last day of trial and by God’s grace my campaign has picked up more steam. I won Weber and was there only 10 minutes. Overwhelmingly won Davis. If you could endorse me before the convention I would definitely include you in my office. Think about it for a few days. Thx. Good luck today.”
On Tuesday, amid the GOP primary election, Christensen posted on social media that he was told Tuesday that the investigation was complete and was forwarded to Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill, who will consider whether charges are warranted.
A spokesperson for the Murray City Police said Tuesday that “the investigator confirmed it has been sent to the DA for screening” and Gill confirmed that his office “received the materials today.”
Mylar finished first among delegates at the Republican state nominating convention and was one of three Republicans to qualify for the primary ballot, along with Rachel Terry and Derek Brown. He finished third in Tuesday’s primary where Brown nabbed the GOP nomination.
Mylar did not respond to an email and phone call from The Salt Lake Tribune seeking a comment on the latest development in the case.
In May, when Christensen’s complaint was first reported, Mylar told Deseret News that the message was a mistake and he retracted it.
“In the morning, just before heading to court, I was drafting a text, that was sort of a stream of consciousness statement about the campaign and in that text, I asked him to endorse me before the state convention and I would find a place for him in the office,” Mylar told Deseret News. “I did not know whether I had actually sent that text because I was going into court again.”
Mylar said after he realized he had sent the message, he “immediately retracted the text to Trent, said it was a mistake, that I was in trial, and it was a mistake and not an offer.”
Christensen said the detective handling the case told him that he had been waiting on a subpoena issued to the phone company to authenticate the texts, but having received that information he forwarded the investigation to the district attorney.
“I didn’t want it to affect the election. I don’t believe in that, but I am a member of the bar and I have an ethical duty to report it,” Christensen told The Salt Lake Tribune. “I trust the process. Maybe he doesn’t get charged, maybe he does. … That part doesn’t matter to me. I did what I was supposed to do.”
