By Brian Mullahy
(KUTV) First it was Attorney General John Swallow. Now, Lt. Governor Greg Bell is also said to be under federal investigation.
Circumstances are different, but like Swallow, Bell is also denying wrong-doing.
It’s alleged the lt. governor launched an ‘audit‘ or ‘informal review’ of the Utah Division of Child and Family Services, after a complaint from a friend or associate. The person making the complaint was concerned about a loved one, who apparently was suspected by state DCFS workers of abusing children.
“In 2011, a family contacted me to complain about the way DCFS had treated them,” said the lt. governor in a statement late Friday. “Their accusations against DCFS were serious, and if true, had to be addressed.”
So Bell said he contacted Palmer DePaulis, director of the Department of Human Services, which oversees DCFS. Bell said DePaulis, a former mayor of Salt Lake City, looked into the concerns, and reported back to him that the case was being handled correctly.
But the lt. governor said the accounts from DCFS and the family were “widely divergent” and bore further investigation, so a team of auditors was assembled to review DCFS “policies and procedures.”
“My motivation was not to tilt the outcome, and this review did not do so,” said Bell in his statement. “We are legally authorized to conduct such a review. I stand by my actions.”
Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings said, in correspondence with the City Weekly newspaper, said Bell is facing an allegation that “government power and public monies were abused, outside the scope of legitimate authority, to thwart the outcome of a singular child abuse case.”
Rawlings said the FBI is “providing support and assistance” in the investigation, while at the same time, emphasizing a “presumption of innocence.”
Still, the audit raises questions.
The lt. governor’s auditing ‘team’ was seemingly separate from the Office of the Legislative Auditor General or the State Auditor’s Office. Why weren’t those offices tasked with assessing the performance of DCFS?
Second, the audit was completed and forwarded to the Department of Human Services. Friday evening, it was also emailed to 2News, but the audit has numerous redactions. Marking out names in black, whether manually or electronically, is common to protect identities, especially those of children. But in this report, at least two whole pages, and other full paragraphs were redacted. If the review was legally authorized, and centered on policies and procedures, why isn’t more of it available to see?
At the Capitol on Friday, Senate President Wayne Niederhauser called allegations against Lt. Governor Bell and Attorney General Swallow distractions. In a press briefing, Sen. John Valentine, R-Utah County, said he is planning to move legislation this session to set up an independent ethics panel, charged with looking into ethical breaches by state elected officials. It would not reach back into the Bell and Swallow cases, but only investigate complaints from the point of its creation.
Sen. Stuart Adams, R-Davis County, vouched for Bell’s character, saying Bell is “so straight you could use him as a template to stripe the freeways with.”
To read Lt. Governor Greg Bell’s Statement, click here.
To read the DCFS audit from the team assembled by Lt. Governor Bell, click here.
To read Troy Rawlings response to City Weekly’s Stephen Dark about the audit, click here.
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