House GOP meets on Swallow. IRS official: White House not involved. Hatch, Lee raise Obamacare in immigration debate.

Happy Wednesday. The Cincinatti IRS official at the center of the scandal over targeting tea party groups during the last election says he had no communications with the White House or even his bosses about pulling aside the groups he was concerned about. The top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released the full transcript of the official's interview after GOP Chairman Darrell Issa refused to do so. [

Herbert job approval high; Obama's low. 80% Utahns want Swallow to resign. Lockhart says impeachment may be needed.

Happy Tuesday. Gov. Gary Herbert continues to have sky high job approval ratings in Utah while only a third of residents have any love for President Barack Obama. That's according to a new poll by BYU's Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, which found Herbert with 75.3 percent approval to 24.7 disapproval. Some other interesting results:

-> Sen. Orrin Hatch holds a slightly better favorability ratings than Sen. Mike...

Poll: Most Americans don't trust Obama. Felon alleges shakedown by Swallow. Inside the NSA's Utah Data Center.

Happy Monday. With the building angst over domestic spying, President Barack Obama's approval rating fell 8 percent in the last month to 45 percent, the lowest in the last eighteen months. And for the first time in his presidency, Obama faces a country where a majority of residents don't believe he is honest and trustworthy. [CNN]

Topping the news: The imprisoned businessman Marc Sessions Jenson alleges that AG Jo...

Congress sinks to new low. Stewart: No citizenship for immigrants. Myriad wins, loses court fight.

Happy Friday and happy Flag Day. You may have thought it impossible, but approval ratings for Congress have dropped even further. A new Gallup poll shows that Americans' confidence in Congress is at an all-time low, with only 10% expressing faith in the Legislative Branch. Congress, it seems, is less popular than HMOs, organized labor, big business and yes, even newspapers. [Time] [

Poll shows strong Utah backing for immigration reform. Hatch worries Dems will 'stiff' him on immigration amendments. Swallow: I have nothing to hide.

Happy Thursday. Exclusive numbers for you this morning showing a strong majority of Utahns back comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship. The poll shows:

-> 71% strongly or somewhat support bipartisan immigration reform being debated in Washington;
-> 74% strongly or somewhat support a bill with a path to citizenship;
-> 64% say they're more likely to vote for an elected official who supports comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship;
-> And 90% said it was...

Herbert would fire Swallow. Bush's spike in popularity. Lee wants to publicize secret court's legal reasoning.

Happy Wednesday. For the first time since 2005, more Americans have a favorable view of former President George W. Bush than an unfavorable one, according to a new Gallup poll. His approval rating has even topped that of President Barack Obama. [Gallup] [WSJ] [

Dueling polls in Utah's 4^th Congressional District have one thing in common - Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson is ahead of GOP challenger Mia Love.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released a summary of its poll Tuesday, which has Matheson up 54 percent to Love's 40 percent. The Dems describes that as a "solid lead" in the expected 2014 showdown.

Their automated poll, conducted by IVR Polling, reached 420 Utah voters between June 6 and June 8 and has a margin of error of 4.7 percentage points.

This Democratic survey comes three weeks after their Republican counterparts released a poll showing Matheson up by just three percentage points - 44 perce...

Hillary takes to Twitter with hint at prez run. Reactions to NSA tactics largely partisan. How a Utah Internet provider deals with police requests.

Happy Tuesday. Outrage over the NSA's surveillance techniques has a distinctive political pattern. If your man is in the White House, you tend to be ok with it. At least that's what Pew found when comparing survey results in the Bush and Obama years. [WaPost]

Topping the news: Utah's five state Senate Dems want witnesses in the Swallow scandal to testify under...

NSA whistleblower comes forward. Lee offers measures to curb domestic spying. What an impeachment would look like.

Happy Monday. Meet the man who leaked NSA documents to the Guardian and The Washington Post and learn why he did it with full knowledge that his life would never be the same. The 29-year-old Edward Snowden came forward and knows what's coming next: "I do not expect to see home again." [Guardian]

Topping the news: Sen. Mike Lee is shopping legislation that would address the NSA's monitoring of American's domestic phone call data...

HuffPost hits back with 'George W. Obama.' Phone records may be stored in Utah. Hatch wants immigrants to pay back taxes.

Happy Friday. The left-leaning Huffington Post is upset with President Barack Obama over the latest revelation that phone companies are handing over call information to the feds in secret. The HuffPost's home page has been featuring the headline "George W. Obama" on top of a hybrid Obama-Bush picture that's just a tad creepy. [HuffPost]

Topping the news: Phone records seized from Verizon could be stored at the NSA's new data storage center due to open in Utah in the fall. [

House Republicans are trying to keep the heat on Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, releasing a poll Thursday that shows him with a slight advantage over GOP challenger Mia Love with 18 months to go before Election Day.

The National Republican Congressional Committee says their poll is evidence Matheson is in trouble in his rematch with Love, whom he beat by less than 800 votes in 2012.

Though this far out, the big take away from the NRCC polling is how much effort the national party is expending on Matheson's race. And it should be noted that the poll seemed to go out of its way to tie Matheson to President Barack Obama.

The NRCC contracted with the Republican firm Harper...

NSA nabs American phone call records. Swallow defends self to House GOPers. Lee meets with House conservatives.

Happy Thursday. The National Security Agency has been secretly grabbing telephone records of Verizon customers in the United States under a special court order, the Guardian newspaper reports. The order, from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, allows the NSA to snatch up records of all phone calls originating in the United States and specifically mentions local calls that have nothing to do with foreign persons. [Guardian] [

First lady hates hecklers. Aposhian gun-less after court. State rep wants Utahns to be able to recall elected leaders.

Happy Wednesday. First Lady Michelle Obama doesn't like hecklers for sure, but she took an extra step Tuesday night at a fundraiser where she threatened to leave the stage after an audience member kept interrupting her speech. The crowd jeered the protester and the first lady kept going. [DailyCaller]

Topping the news: A justice court judge gives Utah's top gun-rights spokesman Clark Aposhian 24 hours to turn in all his fir...

Bush library: How would you have decided on Iraq, etc.? Aposhian loses guns under temp order. GOP House 'fractured' and 'adrift.'

Happy Tuesday. Would you have invaded Iraq? Sent troops into New Orleans after Katrina? Bailed out Wall Street? Former President George W. Bush's new library allows visitors to decide how they would have come down when faced with the big choices Bush has while in office. The New York Times takes a look at how you can decide -- in hindsight -- and compare yourself to the ex-president. [NYTimes]

Toppi...

Romney slams Obama ahead of Utah summit. Shurtleff, law firm part ways. Herbert opens part-time D.C. office.

Happy Monday. Mitt Romney isn't going quietly into the night. Seven months after the election, the unsuccessful presidential candidate is still taking shots at President Barack Obama, arguing that Obama didn't have any kind of first 100 day plan and that he "continues to campaign as if there is another election, and there isn't." [WSJ]

-> Romney, meanwhile, will return to Utah this week to hold a summit featuring three possible 2016 candidates as well as...

New emails in the Swallow scandal. Bush rides away from fame. Chaffetz ready to reduce the prison population.

Happy Friday. HuffPost's Jon Ward got to tag along on a bike ride with former President George W. Bush and reports on the grueling trek the group made at the Crawford, Tex., ranch. "Did we reach zen out there," the reporter asks. "Ultra Zen," Bush responds. [HuffPost]

Topping the news: State House Republicans will spend their June caucus talking about the John Swallow scandal and their options. [

On Thursday, two seasoned suburban mayors announced their plans to seek re-election.

Midvale Mayor JoAnn Seghini will run for a fifth term as her city’s so-called “part-time” leader. The tireless septuagenarian said she spends up to 60 hours a week representing the Salt Lake County city of about 28,000 people.

“I provide full-time service for part-time salary,” Seghini told The Tribune. “I’m retired and am able to do that.”

A statement Thursday said that the longtime educator will campaign as “A Voice for MIdvale,” speaking up for her constituents as she serves on several board...

Herbert third-most popular governor. Leavitt unveils Romney transition plans. Hill AFB to gain 200 jobs.

Happy Thursday. Gov. Gary Herbert is a popular guy in Utah, and according to a New York Times analysis, is the third most popular governor in America. Herbert nabs a 73 percent approval rating while some 20 percent of Utahns disapprove of his job performance, putting the state's chief executive just below Wyoming's Matt Mead and Arkansas Mike Beebe. [NYTimes]

Topping the news: The National Security Agency is working with the Universi...

When all else fails, Photoshop.

Former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt today unveiled a new book detailing the immense work he and his transition team put into preparing for a potential Mitt Romney presidency. Only one part of the new book is, well, a bit faked.

The picture on page 4 of the Romney Readiness Project 2012 shows Leavitt shaking hands with Romney at the 2006 National Governors Association meeting. It's a good shot to include in telling the story about all of Leavitt's work for Romney that ended up being shelved when President Barack Obama won re-election.

The photo, unfortunately, has been changed to black out three other governors who photo-bombed the Leavitt-Rom...

LDS Church blames Obamacare for cutting hours at DI. Did Holder lie under oath? Christie wins Obama a stuffed teddy bear.

Happy Wednesday. The House Judiciary Committee wants to know if Attorney General Eric Holder lied under oath about his involvement in government surveillance of journalists after reports surfaced that he signed off on an unprecedented probe of a Fox News reporter. [CBSNews]

Topping the news: Mormon-owned Deseret Industries cuts its workers hours to avoid having to offer health insurance ...

Report: Some tea party groups needed IRS scrutiny. NYTimes looks at BYU's film center. AG's office morale suffering.

Happy Tuesday. Some conservative groups concerned that they were targeted by the IRS in a partisan ploy to hurt the tea party effort may have actually deserved extra scrutiny, The New York Times reports. Turns out, several of the groups applying for nonprofit status under the social welfare exemption were actually clear-cut political groups. In one case, a group that said it didn't help out a congressional race when in fact it has spent thousands doing so. [

Rove says to cool it on impeachment talk. Herbert, NSA confident on energy tax carve out. Shurtleff attempted to broke $2 million deal.

Happy Friday. Rep. Jason Chaffetz has said that impeaching President Barack Obama over the Benghazi terrorist attacks is a possibility -- though he clarifies that it's not what he's seeking or even what may happen. But Karl Rove has some advice for Chaffetz and a few other Republicans who have uttered the i-word: Cool it!

-> Rove says in an op-ed that Republicans should just be focused on getting the facts out and not to muddy the conversation with the idea of tossing out the president. [

Huntsman's new Utah venture. Winder won't seek another term in West Valley. Obama admits drones killed four Americans

Happy Thursday. Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman has set up a new political action committee based in the Beehive State. The Red Rock PAC will give him a way to raise money to travel and speak about issues dear to his heart as he considers another presidential run in 2016.

"For this year and next year, it will be more about talking about the issues that really matter, presenting them to people who are interested in hearing about them and kind of seeing where they go." [

Obama's approval rating unchanged. Hatch votes for immigration reform. Herbert testifies before Congress.

Happy Wednesday. Charlie Cook, one of the best political handicappers in the nation, says Americans aren't changing their approval or disapproval of President Barack Obama because they might be fed up with the Washington cesspool and are more focused on an economic recovery than on the latest scandal du jour. [NJ]

Topping the news: Sen. Mike Lee is renting a home from the friend who bough...

Tornado kills dozens in Oklahoma. Hatch may back immigration reform. House speaker to Chaffetz: be patient.

'Tis Tuesday, and the nation is in mourning after a powerful tornado ripped through Oklahoma City and a suburb, killing at least 51 people, including 20 children. Two schools were destroyed by the strong winds and scores of homes leveled in what may be one of the most deadliest tornadoes in American history. [NBCNews]

Topping the news: Sen. Orrin Hatch says he'll back immigration reform if Dem...

Clinton loyalists too scared for a 2016 run. Bennett: Swallow should take a leave. Utah GOP rejects convention changes.

Happy Monday. Four key advisers to Hillary Clinton say they will not take part in a 2016 presidential bid, saying they remain too scared from her 2008 showdown with eventual President Barack Obama and one offered some unsolicited advice to her former boss: "She shouldn't run as a front runner." [WaPost

Did Reid get Romney's taxes from the IRS? Hatch calls for new probe. Enviro group sues EPA over Utah pollution.

Happy Friday. Now that it's clear the IRS gave extra, super scrutiny to tea party-related groups during the 2012 cycle, Republicans are wondering if there was some rogue government tax collector who handed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid copies of Mitt Romney's taxes. If you recall, Reid took to the Senate floor last year to claim that Romney hadn't paid a dime of income taxes in a decade -- a point strenuously denied by Romney's folks. Now, an RNC spokeswoman wonders if the IRS was leaking. [

IRS targeted Dem groups, too. Acting IRS commissioner resigns. Romney buys houses in Utah.

Happy Thursday. Turns out that it wasn't only tea party groups targeted by the IRS for increased scrutiny, there were a few liberal leaning wannabe nonprofits that faced the same level of concern. Three Democratic groups says not only were they subjected to extra questions from the IRS, one group say its tax exempt status denied. [Bloomberg]

Topping the news: Salt Lake and Davis county prosecutors are both investigating A...

Google Maps Romney oops. IRS targeted pro-Hatch group. Gag order for Johnson.

Happy Wednesday. "Slick Mitt's Used Car Lot" is no more, at least on Google Maps. After the Boston Herald pointed out that some tech savvy anti-Mitt Romney person had labeled the former candidate's campaign headquarters with the possibly undesirable name, Google quickly updated the tag on the north end Boston address. The city plans to turn the building into a school. [BostonHerald]

Topping the news: A pro-Sen. Orrin Hatch group may have been ...

Idaho senator's $250k Vegas gamble. Chaffetz: IRS officials could face jail. Justice Department nabbed AP phone records.

Happy Tuesday. A lot of politicians invest leftover campaign donations but an aide to Sen. Mike Crapo took it a bit further, forking over $250,000 in contributions to a buddy in Las Vegas to seek a higher return. Turns out, the company Crapo's guy was backing is gone and so, it seems, is the money. That's one point Crapo might want to leave out of fund-raising letters. [Statesman]

Topping the news: Rep. Jason Chaffetz says t...

White House, Dems push back in Benghazi probes. 62% of Shurtleff donors tied to controversial industries. Special counsel to investigate Swallow.

Happy Monday. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney says it was former presidential candidate Mitt Romney that started the GOP's politicization of the Benghazi terrorist attack and charges Republicans just want to fan the flames instead of look at how things have changed since. [TPM] [Time]

-> Meanwhi...

Lawmakers contemplate impeaching Swallow. Chinese citizens petition the White House. Lee's border security amendment gets rejected.

Happy Friday. Frustrated Chinese people have learned the White House accepts online petitions and they have decided to make a few requests, asking for everything from complete liberation from their leaders to endorsing a sweet tofu. So far the China-based petitions have received 170,000 votes in the past week. [WaPost]

Topping the news: State...

Polls show Bush and Obama not so far apart. Papers: Shurtleff, Swallow charged thousands in expenses to convicted fraudster. Utah voters getting more diverse, still 90% white.

Happy Thursday. There are more similarities between Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama than you might think. Voters, according to polls, grade the two commanders in chief about the same, despite the fact the anti-Bush sentiment helped fuel Obama's rise. In the end, though, polls show the country remains deeply divided along partisan lines. [WaP...

Rep. Marc Roberts and Sen. Margaret Dayton garnered the lowest scores for their respective chambers in the latest legislative scorecard by the Sierra Club’s Utah chapter.

The Orem senator received a 38 percent score on key environmental issues, while the freshman lawmaker from Santaquin garnered a 25 percent score on bills covering everything from air quality and public health to zoning and public lands to energy and wildlife.

In the House, nine representatives scored 100 percent, as did two in the Senate. All of them are Democrats.

Dan Mayhew, chairman Utah Sierra Club, said that...

Romney aide writing tell-tale book. Hatch wants immigrants' DNA. New complaint against Swallow.

Happy Wednesday. A former Mitt Romney aide is writing a book on what he says were the major mistakes in the campaign, including some made by the candidate himself. Other former advisers says the author wrote op-eds and wasn't in on the biggest decisions. [Globe]

Topping the news: Sen. Orrin Hatch wants immigrants in America illegally to have to submit DNA samples to be compared against criminal databases ...

Report: Immigration bill could cost taxpayers $6.3 trillion. U.S. attorney for Utah hands Swallow probe to Justice. Herbert nominates Braceras for UDOT head.

Happy Tuesday. The proposed immigration reform bill now before the Senate could cost taxpayers $6.3 trillion if enacted as the new citizens it would create would take more in federal benefits than taxes they pay in, according to the Heritage Foundation, which used a previous report on this subject to help scuttle the 2007 reform push. [Politico]

-> ThinkProgress, though, takes issue with Heritag...

Attention young chefs: First Lady Michelle Obama wants your healthiest recipe and submitting one could earn you a trip to the White House.

As part of her Let's Move! challenge, the first lady is sponsoring a nationwide recipe challenge where a winner from each state will be flown to Washington for a Kids' State Dinner. The dinner will feature some of the winning recipes.

"Last year's young chefs impressed and inspired me with their creativity, and I can't wait to welcome a whole new group to the White House this summer and taste their creations," Obama said in a statement. "So kids, let's get cooking!"

The challenge urges kids ages 8-12 to team up with a parent or gua...

How Al Gore got rich. Lee declines presidential bid. Chaffetz presses Benghazi hearings.

Happy Monday. Former Vice President Al Gore didn't have much money when he served in office but has now amassed a fortune rivaling Mitt Romney. Gore made an estimated $100 million in a single month after selling off his TV network and Apple stock, a far cry from where he stood in office representing Tennessee. [SeattleTimes]

Topping the news: The three best known members of the Senate tea party club, Sens. Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are exploring presidential bid...

Biden's presidential calculus. The tea party seizing on Obamacare rollout. D.C.'s deer stew.

Happy Friday. The National Park Service has found an interesting way to help feed the homeless. It's donating the meat harvested from deer killed in D.C.'s Rock Creek Park to a shelter where it will be made into a ragu on top of whole wheat pasta and topped with cheese. [CityPaper]

Topping the news: Vice President Joe Biden doesn't miss an opportunity to fuel speculation that he'll run for president in 2016, ...

Poll: Americans against Syria engagement. Hatch calls immigration reform 'crucial.' School budgets face tough future.

Happy Thursday. Americans, it appears, are pretty war weary. A new poll shows little interest in sending troops to Syria even if the country is engaged in using chemical weapons on its own people. Some 68 percent of folks polled opposed sending ground troops while only 5 percent backed the idea. [HuffPost]

Topping the news: Sen. Orrin Hatch calls immigration reform "crucial" and some of the current laws "stupid." [

Romney: No thanks, San Diego. Dems win -- court battle over records. Our tweeting Congress.

Happy Wednesday and welcome to May. A Mitt Romney aide says the former 2002 Winter Olympic chief is glad to offer advice to San Diego in its bid for the Summer Games but won't take any official position with the city's bid committee. San Diego's mayor had suggested that Romney could help swing the Games his way thanks to all his work in the Salt Lake Olympics. Alas, it's not to be. [CNN]

Topping the news: A state judge ruled for the Utah Democrati...

Obama, chilling out. GOP senators yell at Cruz, Lee, Paul. Chaffetz on Afghan cash: 'bizzaro world.'

Happy Tuesday. While the job of commander in chief is the most demanding in the world, Vanity Fair pulled together a bunch of photos to show that President Barack Obama is able, on occasion, to lean back and enjoy the time. The magazine highlights White House staff photos of the president resting his feet on the Resolute Desk and otherwise appearing a bit more relaxed. [VanityFair]

Topping the news: Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., says fellow Republicans yelled at him ...

San Diego wants Romney's help with Olympic bid. Hatch may back immigration reform. Utah lawmakers eye pro-gun bills.

Happy Monday. Mitt Romney is credited for helping to save the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, so San Diego is thinking he could be helpful in swinging the Games to come its way. The city's mayor says he's asked Romney to be its honorary chairman in seeking the 2024 SummerOlympics for San Diego and it's Mexican neighbor, Tijuana. [AP]

Topping the news: Sen. Orrin Hatch voted against immigr...

Clinton pokes fun at Bush paintings. LDS Church OK with gay Scouts. Senators talk nuke waste storage.

Happy Friday. The dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Library brought together all of the living presidents and fun and endearing speeches; it was sort of a high school reunion for all the Bush officials to get back together. Ex-President Bill Clinton dropped the most interesting comment of the day, however, by joking that Bush should paint him naked. [DailyMail]

Topping the news: The LDS Church came out in full su...

Feds spend $890,000 on ... nothing. Gadfly Zinn arrested. Zuckerberg's group targets Hatch.

Happy Thursday. Last year, the federal government spent $890,000 on nothing. Well, technically, the government paid banks that sum in fees for nearly 14,000 accounts with zero balances, The Washington Post reports. The Obama administration has tried to close some of these accounts with limited success.

-> The best paragraph from the story: "The Pentagon once paid $435 for a hammer, after all. But at least in that case it got a hammer." [

Axelrod to join Romney event. GOP targets Clinton over Benghazi. AP's Twitter hack.

Happy Wednesday. David Axelrod, the mastermind behind President Barack Obama's re-election, will join the candidate he defeated, Mitt Romney, for a retreat in Park City this summer. While the event was reported as a get-together of Romney's top donors, his people told The Salt Lake Tribune before they wanted it to be bipartisan and Axelrod's attendance certainly hits that note. [Globe] [

Bush library to open this week. Shurtleff backs immigration reform. Post columnist takes on Lee.

Happy Tuesday. Later this week, all the living presidents will be in Dallas for the dedication of former President George W. Bush's library and The Associated Press got a look inside where the exhibits include a look at the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the 2000 recount that landed Bush in office and a powerful display to remind visitors of the impact of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. [AP]

Topping the news: Forme...

There may not have been a whole lot of drama in it, but the Legislature officially voted Friday not to call itself back in session to override Gov. Gary Herbert's veto of HB76, Concealed Carry Amendments, which would have allowed adults to carry a hidden, unloaded weapon without obtaining a permit.

The House vote was 41 in favor of overriding the governor's veto, with 33 voting against. The Senate vote was 16 in favor of the override and 13 against. Constitutionally, it requires two-thirds of both chambers to override a veto, meaning it would have taken 50 supporters in the House and 20 in the Senate.

Below is the list of how each member voted on the override question.

<...

GOP matching Huntsman? Garn vs. the Electoral College. Utah's $12 million presidential race.

Happy Monday and happy Earth Day. Jon Huntsman may or may not be running for president again in 2016, but whomever does may end up following his lead on policy issues. A profile of Huntsman notes that the Republican Party seems to be gravitating toward the positions the former Utah governor espoused during his failed White House run: against a Constitutional ban on gay marriage, a more moderate approach on immigration and resistance toward ambitious military operations. [

Manhunt continues for Boston suspect. Another suspect, cop dead in shootout. Bush: Jeb should run for president.

Happy Friday. Former President George W. Bush says he hopes his brother, ex-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, runs for president in 2016. The former White House occupant says he's not sure whether his younger brother will mount a bid but that he hopes people will judge Jeb Bush on his own merits and track records. [HuffPost]

Topping the news: The two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing led police on a wild and deadly chase Thursday night, ending in ...