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All of the stories surrounding the allegations surrounding Utah Attorney General John Swallow.

House chooses Special Counsel for Investigation of John Swallow

Brian Grimmett

The House Special Investigative Committee is naming Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP as the outside counsel they’ll use in their investigation of Utah Attorney General John Swallow.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld is one of the world’s largest law firms known for its strength in white-collar criminal matters and government ethics investigations. The specific team that will be assisting the House special investigative committee will be led by Steven Reich. In 2004 Reich served as the special counsel to the Connecticut House of Representatives in their investigation of Governor John Rowland who ultimately resigned. Reich also served as counsel to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee during the impeachment of Bill Clinton. Most recently he served as associate deputy attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice before joining Akin Gump. Representative Jim Dunnigan is the chairman of the House Special Investigative Committee. He says Reich’s experience was a big reason why they choose his firm.

“I would say he came across extremely well as we vetted him and asked him questions and potential strategy," he says. "It was very impressive, extremely impressive.”

Akin Gump will begin collecting documents at the completion of contract negotiations. Dunnigan says he does not know yet what the total cost will be but that the process will be transparent as Akin Gump will be required to report their costs to the committee every two weeks.

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