A judge should dismiss a federal election-fraud case brought against former Utah Attorney General John Swallow because the rule he’s accused of breaking violates his right to free speech and shouldn’t even exist.
That’s the argument made by Swallow’s new defense team in a motion filed late Monday in Salt Lake City’s U.S. District Court.
The Federal Election Commission has accused Swallow and former Utah businessman Jeremy Johnson of breaking a campaign finance law that bans the use of so-called straw donors to bankroll campaigns. (Straw donors try to dodge legal limits on political contributions by funneling money into campaigns using other people’s names.