Feds are now providing evidence in Shurtleff case

A state prosecutor may no longer need a court order forcing the FBI and other federal agencies to hand over evidence gathered as part of an investigation of former Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff.

Nor does Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings, who is prosecuting Shurtleff, want to proceed with a Wednesday hearing to argue the issue before 3rd District Judge Elizabeth Hruby-Mills.

"The parties have made measurable progress on resolving the discovery requests and hope to be able to resolve the few, yet important, categories of items remaining," the prosecutor wrote in a motion, filed late Monday, seeking to vacate the hearing.

According to the filing, the government recently has provided "a voluminous quantity of documents," which meet many of Rawlings' requests.

Additional documents are expected to be delivered on or about Monday, court papers say, and Rawlings has asked Hruby-Mills to schedule a status conference soon after that day.

The Department of Justice and Shurtleff's attorney Richard Van Wagoner have agreed to canceling the Wednesday hearing, court papers say.

The hearing was canceled Wednesday morning by the judge, who set a telephonic status conference for March 4.

Rawlings has been pushing for access to the materials since last fall, arguing that it is vital as a tool for his office in building its case.

DOJ attorneys from Colorado — handling the case because Utah is recused — had said the government had already met its obligation to Rawlings and claimed the FBI had turned over "hundreds of thousands" of relevant documents or electronic records.

Shurtleff's lawyers have backed Rawlings' effort to get the materials, believing the evidence may contain information that would exonerate the former Republican officeholder from criminal charges.

"A defendant stands at a considerable disadvantage vis-a-vis the government," Van Wagoner said in an email to The Salt Lake Tribune. "The government has virtually unlimited resources to investigate and means to compel the production and seizure of evidence and to compel the 'cooperation' of witnesses which resources and means defendants and their counsel simply do not possess under the law."

It is unfortunate, Van Wagoner added, that Shurtleff and Rawlings have had to expend additional time and resources to secure cooperation from the federal government to guarantee Shurtleff's right to a "fair and speedy trial."

Shurtleff and his successor, former Attorney General John Swallow, were the subjects of a multiyear investigation by state police and the FBI after allegations of a pay-to-play climate in the state's top law enforcement office exploded in 2013.

The DOJ's Public Integrity Section, which investigates public corruption, declined to prosecute, but Utah-based FBI agents stayed on the case, working with state and county investigators.

County prosecutors filed charges against Shurtleff and Swallow in 2014. Both have pleaded not guilty to multiple felony and misdemeanor counts and are awaiting separate trials.

Swallow's attorney, Scott C. Williams, has sought the same information and evidence from federal agencies as Rawlings and Van Wagoner have. Because Swallow was investigated by the FBI and state police alongside Shurtleff, Williams believes the evidence is likely equally relevant to the former attorney general's case and may also provide proof of his innocence.

In January, Williams asked Hruby-Mills to order Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill to provide the information. That is something Gill's office has said it would not do, claiming it is not needed in Swallow's case, which differs from Shurtleff's.

On Tuesday, Williams said he believes the evidence trove Rawlings is now receiving proves that the cases are inextricably entwined.

"It's evidence in favor of my position and my motion," Williams said. "I want Mr. Swallow's legal rights invigorated in relation to what has turned out to be a massive production of evidence."

Williams said he now plans to ask Hruby-Mills to set a date for oral argument on the issue.

In his motion, Rawlings also said he expects to receive a "significant quantity" of data in the electronic files held by a court-appointed receiver in a Federal Trade Commission case filed against St. George businessman Jeremy Johnson, who donated to the political campaigns of Shurtleff and Swallow. The receiver plans to transfer the files to Rawlings "as soon as practical," on six external hard drives, court papers state.

"As for any remaining categories of items: In separate forums, the state of Utah may be able to obtain any relevant material information still outstanding through means such as a federal administration action or a state grand jury proceeding," Rawlings wrote in his motion.

If needed, those processes will be pursued with cooperation of Shurtleff's legal team, court papers say.

jdobner@sltrib.com