Reporter who broke Attorney General Scandal to give perspective at USU

Robert Gehrke, a political journalist for the Salt Lake Tribune, is coming to Utah State Tuesday to speak about his coverage of the scandal involving attorneys generals John Swallow and Mark Shurtleff.

“We wanted Robert Gehrke because he’s a great reporter for the Salt Lake Tribune and we just thought this would be a good topic too, with the stuff going on in the attorney general’s office because he is the guy who broke the story and has been writing about it for two years,” said Jashon Bishop, who works in the government relations office.

Gehrke’s talk is part of a series put on by the Institute of Government and Politics. The series has brought political figures such as Federal Judge Robert Shelby and Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox. However the perspective Gehrke will bring is that of a journalist in politics.

“The conversation politicians have with the public is influenced so much by the media,” Bishop said. “They have a huge role in politics by being a check on politicians, even with this instance with the attorney general’s office, being a check and bringing out things to the public’s attention. It’s such a substantial role in government, the media and journalism in general, you can’t really overlook it, we had to bring someone in for that journalistic aspect.”

Gehrke has been and still is reporting on the ongoing Swallow and Shurtleff scandal. Swallow was forced from office before finishing his first term as attorney general in December because of bribery allegations. Shurtleff served 12 years as attorneys general before appointing Swallow. Shurtleff faces 10 felonies, most dealing with bribes and tampering with evidence. Swallow also faces 11 felonies and two misdemeanors dealing with bribes and tampering with evidence.

“I think it’s important one, because this is one of the biggest scandals in Utah’s history,” Bishop said. “The second because it’s really good to hear the journalist’s perspective because, he will probably touch on this too, they kind of knew there was a story there before they had enough to bring it out to the papers.”

Gehrke’s talk will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Agricultural Sciences Building.