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SALT LAKE CITY — House Speaker Greg Hughes provided a list Thursday of his activities in Utah during the time a key witness in the John Swallow criminal case claims the Draper Republican attended a secret meeting in California eight years ago.
Marc Sessions Jenson testified at a court hearing Tuesday that Hughes and then-U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, attended a meeting involving Utah Transit Authority officials and developers in his Corona Del Mar office on an unspecificied day between June 3 and June 8 or 9. Hughes was not speaker, but was a legislator and UTA board chairman at the time.
Hughes has adamantly denied the allegation.
"Thank goodness in 2009 we create digital footprints of ourselves," he told the Deseret News and KSL editorial boards
His list covering each of those days includes a trip to a Draper car wash, a Zions Bank deposit, a church meeting, a legislative meeting at the Capitol, hosting his Read Meat radio show and an Eagle Scout court of honor.
"Pelicans, flamingoes, aviaries, zoos, Disneyland, the moon, I've never met with these individuals on any of the topics that have been discussed. Everything that came out of that man's mouth after he said my name was a falsehood," Hughes said.
Jenson's allegations came during an evidentiary hearing in the public corruption case against Swallow, the former Republican attorney general. Jenson claims Swallow and former Attorney General Mark Shurtleff shook him down for money and favors on trips he paid for to the exclusive Pelican Hill resort where rented several villas.
Jenson, a businessman who served time in prison for selling unregistered securities, claims he saw Hughes with Shurtleff on one of the trips. Jenson said he did not attend the meeting he alleges took place.
Swallow is scheduled to go trial Feb. 7. Prosecutors dropped all charges against Shurtleff.
