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John Swallow (born November 10, 1962) is an American lawyer and politician who served as Attorney General of Utah. Just prior to serving as attorney general, he served as Chief Deputy Attorney General overseeing all civil litigation for the state of Utah.
Swallow has been a lawyer since 1990 and was a member of the Utah State House of Representatives from 1996 to 2002. In December 2009, John Swallow was appointed Chief Deputy Attorney General for Utah. While serving as Chief Deputy, some of his most prominent projects included the fights to overturn the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and to gain state control of Utah's federally controlled lands. In November 2012, Swallow easily won the election for Utah Attorney General by a 64 to 30 percent margin." Utah Election Results Retrieved August 8, 2013
In November 2013, following federal and state investigations into alleged improprieties, Swallow resigned, after less than a year in office,'[2] Retrieved Nov 22. 2013 while proclaiming his innocence and denying all wrongdoing. Swallow and his predecessor, Mark Shurtleff, were arrested in July 2014 on corruption charges. In March 2017, a jury acquitted Swallow of all charges. Jury finds former Utah AG John Swallow not guilty on all counts Retrieved March 2, 2017 Thereafter, following an extensive review of all evidence in all investigations and according to a letter dated July 16, 2017, the Utah State Bar absolved John Swallow of any ethical violations. In September 2019, the Utah State Legislature, by nearly-unanimous votes, approved a $1.5 million damages payment, reimbursing Swallow for his legal fees. Thereafter a licensed private investigator asserted publicly that all investigations of John Swallow's conduct had been orchestrated by politicians who benefitted from the false allegations.
Swallow served a Spanish-speaking mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Los Angeles, California. Before July 2012, he had also served as a Bishop in the Church. He earned an undergraduate degree in Psychology and then a J.D. degree from Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School, where he was a member of the Law Review. In 1985, Swallow married Suzanne Seader; after his graduation they moved to Sandy, a suburb of Salt Lake City. They have five children.
Swallow gave up his state house seat in 2002 to run for against freshman Democrat Jim Matheson. The district had been located entirely within Salt Lake County, but redistricting after the 2000 census pushed it into a large swath of rural territory in southern Utah, where Swallow had lived as a boy. The national party spent very little money on Swallow's behalf, but “in spite of little assistance from outside groups and parties and with serious financial constraints, Swallow was able to wage a very competitive campaign.” Ultimately, Swallow lost to Matheson by a margin of only 1,600 votes, largely because he could not overcome a 25,800-vote deficit in Salt Lake County.
In 2009, Swallow was appointed as the Chief Deputy Attorney General of Utah over seven civil divisions. A major focus was the state lawsuit to overturn U.S. President Obama's healthcare law. Swallow also sued Barack Obama and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to unlock federal land within Utah for oil and gas exploration, and to help fund education for Utah children.
Swallow announced his candidacy for Attorney General in January 2012. During his race, he was endorsed by his predecessor, Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and U.S. Senator Mike Lee. Swallow was also endorsed in his candidacy by the NRA and received an "A+" rating from the 2nd Amendment organization, because of "his dedication to gun owners," and "his defense of the second amendment." Swallow was elected and sworn on January 7, 2013.
In May 2013, Marc Sessions Jenson (who was convicted in 2008 of defrauding millions from investors) turned receipts over to the FBI, claiming to show that in 2009 he gave Swallow free meals, massages, golf outings and rooms at a gated Newport Beach villa. At the time, Swallow was a private lawyer and not a public official; thus, there was no improper receipt of benefits.
In September 2013, the United States Department of Justice closed its investigation and gave notice that they would not file charges.
On August 7, 2013, the Utah House special investigative committee held its first meeting. Chairman Rep. Jim Dunnigan expected the investigation to take months.Dennis Romboy (August 6, 2013) " Attorney General John Swallow 'blown away' by Utah House investigation" Deseret News. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
On June 16, 2017, after a full review of all of the investigative reports, including the House Report, the Governor's Report, and all trial evidence related to all allegations, the Utah State Bar's Office of Professional Conduct cleared Swallow on all matters related to professional ethics.
A year later, a federal district judge dismissed a federal lawsuit that had been filed by the Federal Elections Commission alleging missteps relative to campaign finance issues. “I did not do what they said I did,” Swallow is reported to have said. He added: "This is the end of the state and federal government's actions against me. In every single instance I have been found innocent," he said. "I have been absolutely now vindicated and I am moving forward with my life."
in September, 2019, the Utah legislature nearly unanimously approved a payment of $1.5 million in damages owed to Swallow for the wrongful prosecution by the State, which Swallow described as an exclamation point on his innocence.
Swallow is now practicing law and writing a book on government investigative abuses.
While serving as Chief Deputy Attorney General, Swallow doubled the size of the Public Lands litigation team. The office also filed suit over the Wild Lands Policy, filed notices of intent to litigate against the government over more than 12,000 RS-2477 roads, and worked to keep the Sage Grouse from being listed as an endangered species. Swallow alleges that expansive federal policies that cut off access to public lands are killing jobs, hurting Utah's economy Deseret News and robbing children's classrooms of greatly needed funding.
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