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Posted: 11:56 AM- WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff today to say the two should "kiss and make up" after the they dueled this week in news reports over action taken against crimes in polygamous communities.
Reid, D-Nev., blasted Utah and Arizona in a radio interview on Monday, saying officials in the two states were afraid of taking action against the polygamous sects in their states because the groups had developed political clout. Shurtleff, a Republican, and Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, a Democrat, fired back that Reid was ignorant of their efforts.
Wednesday morning, Reid called both attorneys general and was helping to set up a meeting between the two and the U.S. Justice Department to boost coordination between the agencies.
"He called to say, 'Let's kiss and make up. We have the same goal and that's to get more federal involvement,'" Shurtleff said of his conversation with Reid.
Reid's comments to KUER's Doug Fabrizio were prompted by the raid of a Texas compound in which several hundred children were removed from their homes and an investigation into child abuse launched. Reid said he was a cheerleader for what Texas did and that Utah and Arizona should have done it decades ago.
On Wednesday, after The Tribune and other news outlets reported on the political flare-up, Reid and Shurtleff agreed to move on and talked about their mutual goal of establishing a federal task force to look into potential federal crimes within the various polygamous sects. Some estimates show about 60,000 polygamists living in Utah and Arizona, though Nevada also has a share of polygamists as well.
Reid spokesman Jon Summer said the discussion is yielding results.
"Looks like everything is moving in the right direction as far as stepping up enforcement," Summers said. "And, at the end of the day, the ultimate goal is to step up enforcement and to protect children and women from abusive situations."
Summers said Justice Department officials have signaled an interest in discussing boosted efforts to combat crimes associated with some polygamous communities. Reid has written both then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and current Attorney General Michael Mukasey requesting the task force.
Mukasey's office is responding positively, Summers said.
"They appear to be taking it a lot more seriously now than they did when Gonzales was in charge," he said.
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