New questions arise from John Swallow-Johnson meeting

Scandal » Transcript of Krispy Kreme recording could prove most telling.

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Johnson: So I transfer a million dollars to some weird company, one-time deal, that’s it. And guess what happens the next week. Reid introduces a bill to make online poker legal. So to me everything Richard’s saying —

Swallow: Rings true?

Johnson: — makes sense. And you can go and verify that he actually did introduce that bill.

At several points, Johnson tells Swallow about what Johnson believes was an effort by online-poker companies to pay Reid to introduce a bill legalizing the game. Johnson does so as a way of bolstering his assertion that his own deal with Richard Rawle, the late owner of a Provo-based payday-loan chain, involved a similar effort.

Here, Tolman says, Swallow may have a duty to report a potential crime. "Is there an obligation at that point that he has a discussion with folks in his office?"

Cassell counters that, since it appears Swallow doesn’t believe a crime occurred, he need not report it.

"In any event," Cassell says, "federal law does not require people to report crimes to authorities — although good citizens do report crimes when they come to their attention."

For his part, Swallow maintains he "certainly did not receive any credible evidence about a plot to bribe a senator."

"He thought the comments seemed absurd," according to Utah Attorney General’s Office spokesman Paul Murphy.

Reid’s office has adamantly denied Johnson’s allegations as well.

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Swallow: So why would they [investigators] even be thinking about Harry Reid?

Johnson: Well, because it’s — it’s in your emails.

Swallow: Oh.

Johnson: You’re — you spell it out pretty clearly that the money is going to —

Swallow: Really?

Johnson: — influence Harry Reid. And I just feel like — I — I feel like — I feel like —

Swallow: What a curious (inaudible) thing for me to say. Wow.

Johnson has alleged that Swallow helped broker a bribe to enlist Reid’s help in derailing a Federal Trade Commission investigation of Johnson’s I Works business.

Like Reid, Swallow has denied any such scheme. Swallow says he merely helped Johnson hire lobbyists to work on his case.

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