Utah prosecutors charged a former attorney general candidate with bribery on Wednesday, alleging that he offered a job to a political opponent in exchange for the candidate’s endorsement.
Frank Mylar was charged with bribery in elections after requesting the endorsement of fellow Republican Trent Christensen in exchange for a job in his office if elected.
A Murray detective stated in a court document Tuesday that Christensen told the local police department in May that Mylar had texted him seeking for his endorsement ahead of the state’s Republican nominating convention on April 27th.
Mylar allegedly stated in the text message that his campaign had “picked up more steam” before urging Christensen to support him.
“If you could endorse me before the convention, I would include you in my office. Prosecutors say Mylar wrote, “Think about it for a few days.”
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Christensen did not answer the text message, and the same day, Mylar sent a follow-up message requesting him to disregard his earlier text, claiming that he had not intended to send it and that “It is not an offer, etc.,” according to court filings.
Mylar’s attorney, Nathan A. Crane and Rick Van Wagoner, said their client refuted the claims and would not plead guilty.
“Frank vehemently denies the claims brought against him. Frank did not bribe or seek to marry anyone. “Frank was simply looking for support for his campaign,” they claimed in the statement. “Shortly after sending the text message, Frank followed up with the recipient to ensure his original text was not misunderstood.”
In an interview, Christensen stated that the text message “speaks for itself” and that he would not have done differently if the results of the convention and primary had been different.
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“When I ran my campaign, it was based on trust and accountability, how I think Utah needs an attorney general that is more focused on trust and accountability to the public, and that means accountability on all sides,” according to Christensen. “I trust that the system will do its job correctly and that justice will be had.”
Christensen failed not progress to the June 25 primary after being eliminated in the April nominating convention. Derek Brown defeated Mylar in a three-way primary, winning 43.59% of the vote NBC NEWS Stated.
Rudy Bautista is the Democratic nominee in the November election.
In December, Republican State Attorney General Sean Reyes dropped his reelection bid.