During the past 20 years, Utah’s three elected attorneys general have consistently put their private interests ahead of the duties they were elected to carry out while engaging in highly questionable, if not outright unlawful, practices. As attorneys general in Utah are independently elected, there is no one assigned full-time to hold them accountable. It is for this reason that we are calling for the establishment of an independent Office of Inspector General (OIG) in the Attorney General’s Office (UAGO).
The highly questionable activities of Utah’s current attorney general, Sean Reyes, have resulted in The Salt Lake Tribune’s editorial board recommending that he find something else to do, legislators voting to audit his activities and fellow Republicans getting ready to run against him. In addition, Utah State Sen. Mike McKell, Gov. Spencer Cox’s brother-in-law, floated the idea that the attorney general be appointed by the governor rather than being elected by the people.
Ironically, Reyes was originally appointed by Gov. Gary Herbert following the resignation of John Swallow — and we saw how that worked out. Meanwhile, at the federal level, appointed attorneys general have been accused by both Democrats and Republicans of protecting the presidents who appointed them.
Not surprisingly, Reyes opposes McKell’s proposal because, according to a statement from his office, “appointed AGs can’t exercise independent discretion or decision making and they become just an extension of the governor or whoever appoints them.” While we don’t fundamentally disagree with this statement, we do disagree with the assertion that Reyes has been able “to restore the good name of the UAGO with accountability, transparency and expectations for the highest quality of legal work.” In fact, in many ways he has followed the path taken by previously discredited attorneys general, and a 2015 legislative audit apparently did little to change that.
So, if still more legislative audits or an appointed attorney general are not the answer, what is? Well, we would argue that the establishment of an independent inspector general with the power to investigate waste, fraud, mismanagement, unethical and/or unlawful conduct specific to and within the Attorney General’s Office would be a step forward in keeping attorneys general in line — especially since the OIG would have the authority and duty to expose improper actions and refer the most egregious cases to the appropriate county or federal prosecutors.
An OIG could also assist with the independent investigations of whistleblowers’ complaints involving government waste, fraud and/or abuse. Currently, whistleblowers have an all but impossible uphill battle as the UAGO represents state agencies and their employees, often without independent investigations into “what” the whistleblowers reported. Whether the claims of the whistleblower have merit or not, the UAGO defends the state agency and/or offending state employee(s), may participate in retaliation against whistleblowers and fails to independently investigate the claims.
Had an OIG been in place, it could have looked into claims that the UAGO failed to appropriately take a second look at first-degree felony cases, which include rape, murder and assaulting a police officer. For example, two women recently described their interactions with the UAGO as adversarial, unnecessarily traumatizing and, at times, inappropriate. Were an OIG in place, it could already be investigating the legality of the Ballard and Reyes’ financial relationship with OUR, whether Reyes’ knew of and failed to investigate claims of sexual misconduct within that organization and how funds received from OUR by the UAGO were used.
Other financial relationships and state contracts involving Reyes and/or the UAGO could have been referred to and investigated by an OIG, had such an office existed. These include a $21 million dollar surveillance contract with Banjo, a multi-million dollar no-bid contract outside the Utah Procurement Code with a private law firm to represent the UAGO in a federal whistleblower case and related GRAMA cases, a $1.8 million dollar contract with the National Child Identification Program, a $51,000 campaign donation from Washakie Renewable Energy, a polygamous organization involved in criminal cases, Reyes’ free trip to the 2022 FIFA World Cup paid for by the government of Qatar and funding partnerships of Reyes’ nonprofit, Liberate All Value All.
Utahns deserve an attorney general and an Attorney General’s Office that upholds the constitutions of the United States and the State of Utah, respects and enforces the law, and protects the interest of all Utahns. Failure to establish an OIG will ensure that questionable and potentially unlawful conduct continues to go unchecked and could even result in the attorney general becoming an appointed position.
Judith Pinborough-Zimmerman
Dr. Judith Pinborough-Zimmerman, Ph.D., was an assistant research professor at the University of Utah between 2005 and 2013. She was a program manager and speech pathologist at the Utah Department of Health between 1978 and 2005. Dr. Zimmerman has prevailed against the state of Utah, represented by the UAGO, on whistleblower-related claims in state and federal court.
Ronald Mortensen
Dr. Ronald Mortensen, Ph.D., has over 35 years experience with the United States Department of State and USAID as a diplomat and humanitarian. He has observed first-hand the key role that an OIG plays in ensuring that American Embassies comply with all laws and regulations and how an OIG helps ensure that the United States’ international humanitarian assistance is properly allocated, tracked and used.
The Salt Lake Tribune is committed to creating a space where Utahns can share ideas, perspectives and solutions that move our state forward. We rely on your insight to do this. Find out how to share your opinion here, and email us at voices@sltrib.com.