SALT LAKE CITY — State prosecutors in the Mark Shurtleff public corruption case say the Justice Department is stonewalling their efforts to get evidence federal agents gathered in an abandoned investigation of the former Utah attorney general.

Shurtleff's defense attorney, Richard Van Wagoner, also wants the information, and might join in Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings' strongly worded motion to force the DOJ to hand it over.

Lawyers for both sides told 3rd District Judge Elizabeth Hruby-Mills in a hearing Monday that the case can't go forward without the feds sharing what they know.

Van Wagoner suggested the government is withholding the evidence because it could implicate other people.

"Without disclosing much, I have reason to believe that's the case," he said. "I really can't say more than that."

In the motion, Rawlings wrote if the DOJ wants to control prosecutorial discretion, it should take the Shurtleff case itself, "and in the process, look at everyone who has criminal exposure."

"It appears the DOJ has built fences, with little gates that only they can lock and unlock, around related persons, events and investigations (or possibly lack thereof)," he wrote. "They control what state prosecutors know and with respect to whom."

Rawlings declined to comment after the hearing.

Hruby-Mills set a Dec. 1 hearing on the motion. She also scheduled a two-week trial for next May, which might be optimistic.

"I hope we never go trial, and I hope the case gets thrown out as I think it should," Van Wagoner said. "Are we going to make this trial date? I don't know."

Shurtleff is charged with five felonies — three counts of accepting gifts and one each of bribery to dismiss a criminal proceeding and obstruction of justice — and two misdemeanors of obstructing justice and official misconduct. He faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted. He has pleaded not guilty.

The charges against Shurtleff, a former three-term Republican officeholder, and his successor, John Swallow, stem from a nearly two-year investigation into relationships they had, including with indicted businessman Jeremy Johnson and imprisoned businessman Marc Sessions Jenson.

The DOJ's Public Integrity Section declined to prosecute Shurtleff and his successor John Swallow two years ago after conducting its own investigation. Still, several local FBI agents stayed on the case, working with state and county investigators.

Swallow faces a dozen felony charges, including pattern of unlawful activity, accepting gifts, bribery and money laundering, in state court.

Timothy Jafek, a special attorney to the U.S. attorney general, told the judge in the hearing the government needs a few weeks to respond to Rawlings' motion.

Van Wagoner said he needs the DOJ information for a series of motions he intends to file, including one in which he will contend that agents made false statements in search warrant affidavits.

"We're not afraid of what's out there. We want it," he said.

Shurtleff wouldn't speculate about the government's lack of cooperation.

"I'll just say this, I don't like the delays, but it's important we have this evidence for our motions," he said.

Related:

Mark Shurtleff told Jeremy Johnson how to 'blow up' plea hearing, prosecutors say

Former Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff gave indicted businessman Jeremy Johnson "unsound" advice to derail a court hearing three years ago in which he was expected to plead guilty, federal prosecutors say.

In a related issue, Van Wagoner said that he would not let Shurtleff testify in the Jeremy Johnson criminal trial scheduled for next February under any circumstances.

"I don't know what he would say, but he's not going to say anything under my instruction," he said, adding it would be "malpractice" if he didn't advise Shurtleff to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights.

Federal prosecutors filed an 86-count fraud indictment against Johnson and four associates in connection with his Internet marketing enterprise iWorks. Some of the state criminal charges against Shurtleff and Swallow stem from their association with Johnson.

"Frankly, we'll see if Johnson goes to trial in February based upon what appears to be a pattern of the Department of Justice subpoenaing attorney-client privileged communications," Van Wagoner said.

The statement references an issue in the Johnson case over 4,000 emails between Johnson and his attorneys that the government intercepted. A federal judge hasn't ruled on that matter, but it could throw a wrench into the prosecution's case.

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