State investigators in Utah have obtained a search warrant for calls and texts made by former state Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and others, in an investigation that involves potential bribery, The Salt Lake Tribune reported on Wednesday.
The warrant also demands records from phones used by Shurtleff “fixer” Tim Lawson, who was recently charged with six felony counts in connection to the investigation.
The search warrants are the first public connection between the investigation of Shurtleff and of his succesor, former Attorney General John Swallow. Swallow resigned last month amid mounting investigations.
According to the Tribune, the warrants released Wednesday were tied to the case of Marc Sessions Jenson, who is rumored to have offered to help Shurtleff with a U.S. Senate run if he dropped a fraud case against Jenson. Jenson paid $4.1 million in restitution in a plea deal, then paid Lawson $120,000 over 11 months in 2009.
Jenson later picked up the bill for Shurtleff, Swallow, and Lawson to vacation at his villa in Newport Beach, Calif.
