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A House Ethics probe into bribery allegations against Rep. Mark Walker, R-Sandy, screeched to a halt Monday - within minutes of its inception - after the two-term lawmaker tendered his resignation the night before.
"Because Representative Walker is no longer a member, this committee lacks jurisdiction and cannot adjudicate the complaint," Legislative General Counsel John Fellows said during Monday's aborted House hearing.
Walker consistently denied allegations brought forward by Richard Ellis, his Republican rival in the state treasurer's election, that Walker had offered Ellis a job and a big pay hike if he would withdraw his candidacy.
Walker, who lost the June 24 primary election, continued to assert his innocence in his resignation letter to House Speaker Greg Curtis, but spoke of the toll the political battle had taken on the 32-year-old's pregnant wife and four children.
"Because I cannot in good conscience continue to put my family through the attacks and turmoil that have been associated with my recent bid to become the state treasurer, I have decided not to serve out the remaining five months of my elected term," Walker wrote.
"I must resign because I find myself in the crossfire of a political battle that seems to have an intensity completely unrelated to me, or anything that I have done," he said.
Critics had a very different view of the abrupt resignation.
"The House leadership made a decision to sacrifice a pawn to save a king," said David Irvine, an attorney representing five lawmakers who had signed a complaint against Walker. "It's clear that this allegation has a lot more amperage than the Ethics Committee feels comfortable in pursuing."
Utah Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Holland said in a news release, "I sense heavy handed back room political deals here."
The House Ethics investigation would have been the first since 1998, when then-Speaker Mel Brown, who held the same seat as Walker, faced allegations of having an improper discussion with a lobbyist about a future consulting job. Brown was cleared by the all-lawmaker committee.
Former Rep. Dave Ure, R-Kamas, was the chairman of the Ethics Committee in that previous case. Asked about Walker's resignation Monday, Ure said, "It's a whole lot of relief for those people" on the committee.
He spoke of the conflict between protecting the institution of the House while "dealing with a person's life, his reputation and that person's future."
Walker's attorney James Bradshaw, who also represented Brown in 1998, characterized the House Ethics process as unfair and politically motivated.
"He had 2 1/2 working days from when he received notice and when he had to appear to face these allegations," Bradshaw said.
He said he will continue to represent Walker in an investigation by two county attorneys appointed by the Utah Attorney General's Office to look into a possible misdemeanor criminal case.
"When all the facts are revealed, it will show that Mark made some bad decisions but that nothing he did was illegal or unethical," Bradshaw said.
But some claimed the Ethics Committee dropped the ball.
"I'm very disappointed it did not do its duty in holding the hearing," said Rep. Roz McGee, D-Salt Lake City, one of the five lawmakers who signed the ethics complaint.
"There are other matters to be pursued in the complaint and I think this committee may be back in business sooner rather than later," she added.
Ellis, in a sworn affidavit, said that Walker had talked to a person who could make an offered $54,000 pay increase happen. The two Republican and three Democratic lawmakers who advanced the complaint had hoped for a thorough probe of colleagues who could wield that clout.
Ure, the former ethics chairman, agrees more still needs to be known about the unnamed powerbroker referred to in the complaint.
"I would really like to know whether that conversation took place," Ure said. If it did, "I think ethics charges ought to be brought against him."
* Clark Aposhian, who heads House District 45, scheduled delegates to meet July 21 to select the individual to finish Walker's term. That name will be forwarded to Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. for appointment.
* Brian Monsen beat out three contenders at the Salt Lake County Republican Convention to win the nomination - and Aposhian expects him to be chosen to fill the now-vacant seat through the end of the year.
* Walker's replacement will face Democrat Laura Black in the Nov. 4 election.