A criminal probe of Walker is possible

The Utah Attorney General's Office said Wednesday that a special investigation into an election complaint filed against Rep. Mark Walker, R-Sandy, is moot now that Walker lost his bid to become state treasurer.

However, Chief Deputy Attorney General Ray Hintze told the Deseret News there could still be a criminal investigation into allegations made by Walker's GOP primary opponent, Richard Ellis.

Ellis, who beat Walker in Tuesday's primary and now faces Democrat Dick Clark in the November election, alleges Walker illegally offered him the opportunity to keep his job as chief deputy state treasurer at a much higher salary in exchange for dropping out of the race.

"There is still a criminal side of this," Hintze said. But because the penalty for the possible civil violation is simply removing a candidate from office, he said there's no reason to go forward with the special investigation.

That was explained by Hintze in letters Wednesday to both Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert and Ellis' attorney, Dale Gardiner. Herbert had waited until the polls closed Tuesday night to refer Ellis' allegations to the Attorney General's Office for the special investigation.

Such an investigation requires the appointment of a special counsel. The Attorney General's Office had asked the Davis and Weber County attorneys to act as special counsel, but given the election results Hintze said they are no longer needed in that role.

The "proceeding has been rendered moot by the results of the primary. Therefore this office will not be initiating a special proceeding or appointing special counsel...," Hintze said in his letter to the lieutenant governor.

However, his letter also states that the special statutory procedure required "is in addition to any other civil or criminal action, proceeding, or remedy against the alleged violator and does not limit any of those other proceedings."

Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings, a Republican, and Weber County Attorney Mark DeCaria, a Democrat, said they had agreed to review the complaint and were still willing to work together.

Rawlings and DeCaria could still be called upon to investigate and prosecute any potential criminal violation, which would likely be a class B misdemeanor. Hintze said the attorney general's office would also contact Salt Lake County District Attorney Lohra Miller to see if she wanted the case.

"We are willing to do it to the best of our ability," Rawlings said.

Hintze said the Attorney General's Office wants to stay out of any criminal prosecution. "We would prefer not to have any of it in this office just because of the fact that (Attorney General) Mark Shurtleff, as everyone knows, endorsed Mark Walker."

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