The Department of Justice says the Utah Attorney General’s office is stonewalling its subpoenas, as it repeatedly promises but fails to turn over documents as part of an investigation into whether state officials lied to obtain federal grants.
The office of Attorney General Sean Reyes disputes that but adds it can’t say much because of a secrecy order in the case.
The fight is over whether state officials falsely claimed that budget cuts during the Great Recession eliminated many state jobs, and fraudulently sought Obama-era grants from 2009 to 2013 to restore them. The grants were awarded to the attorney general’s office, state courts administration, Utah Juvenile Justice Services and the Utah Department of Public Safety.