‘Who provides oversight and accountability?’: Legislative audit finds former Utah AG Sean Reyes was not transparent

SALT LAKE CITY – When Sean Reyes took office as Utah attorney general, he promised to restore transparency and public trust. More than a decade later, he left the office mired in controversy and resisting transparency till the end, according to a report released Friday.   

More than two dozen lawmakers requested a legislative audit to investigate parts of the Utah Attorney General’s Office and Reyes’ relationship with Operation Underground Railroad founder Tim Ballard in November.

Friday, the Legislative Audit Subcommittee met to discuss the results of the inquiry, which auditors chose to divide into two audits: One focused on the position of the attorney general, and one focused on the performance of the office. 

According to the report from the audit of the position of the attorney general, Reyes’ administration resisted auditors’ efforts to gain sufficient information to answer specific questions lawmakers had sought answers to. 

Reyes’ administration wouldn’t turn over information it deemed classified as personal or privileged. However, through other sources, auditors found some of the information withheld did not appear to be personal or privileged, and some of it did appear to pertain to his duties as Utah’s attorney general. 

Examples include redactions to calendar entries and communications the office provided, an apparent effort to conceal the amount of time Reyes spent working out of a private barbershop, and several instances of travel Reyes’ administration did not disclose, including trips to Puerto Rico, Washington D.C., Ireland, England, Ghana, Spain and Ohio. 

“The AG has not been transparent with the public. The AG has also not been transparent with us when asked to examine the governance of the office,” auditors wrote. “We question who provides oversight and accountability over the AG if both the electorate and the Legislature are not provided with transparency into the activities of the position.” 

Reyes’ resistance at transparency with auditors mirrors his efforts to keep the KSL Investigators from finding out how he spent his time on the job. His office fought the release of his official calendar for nearly two years, even taking the KSL Investigators to court, before settling the case in November. 

As for Reyes’ time spent managing the office, his direct involvement appeared limited, according to the audit. Reyes only began attending the office’s monthly division directors’ meetings once the legislative audit was prioritized in November. Prior to that, his appearance was documented twice in more than 18 months’ time. 

“Most division directors report that they have had little contact or involvement with the AG during his tenure,” the report states. 

As for Reyes’ dealings with Tim Ballard, the embattled founder of the nonprofit Operation Underground Railroad, auditors were “unable to determine the full extent of the involvement due to a lack of transparency from the AG.” 

Investigators found much of Reyes’ involvement with nonprofits was withheld. “Even so, we found that the AG appeared to leverage the authority of the position to support some nonprofit organizations such as OUR,” the report states. 

Auditors noted several policy options lawmakers could take to create “guardrails” for the position of attorney general and force transparency in the future. 

“The lack of transparency regarding involvement with an outside nonprofit, combined with the AG’s oversight authority, could be perceived as a conflict of interest, and is concerning to us,” auditors wrote.  

The KSL Investigators attempted to reach Reyes for comment but have not heard back. 

This is a developing story, please check back for updates. 

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