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White House officials are intimately monitoring an alleged Utah scandal, leaning connected Republicans determination to delve further into morals concerns astir a narration betwixt 2 cardinal players successful a high-profile gerrymandering case, sources told CBS News.
It's different twist successful an ongoing conflict implicit Utah's court-ordered legislature map that made a GOP-majority territory overmuch friendlier for Democrats, and a caller maneuver successful the Trump administration's propulsion to clasp Republicans' slim bulk successful the U.S. House.
Lawmakers successful the authorities legislature are asking questions astir Utah Supreme Court Justice Diana Hagen's narration with David Reymann, the main counsel for the League of Women Voters of Utah, who was 1 of the plaintiff's attorneys asserting Republicans' projected legislature maps were illegal.
Hagen wrote the opinion successful a unanimous 2024 ruling that recovered GOP lawmakers had overstepped by changing Proposition 4, which prohibits gerrymandering.
Political reaction
It was unclear if the alleged struggle of involvement involving Hagen and Reymann could overturn the caller legislature boundaries and assistance Republicans claw backmost a GOP-majority district.
"There's conscionable a batch of unknowns astatine this point," Kirk Cullimore, the Utah Senate bulk leader, told CBS News.
Cullimore noted Hagen successful a missive recused herself from considering matters connected to Reymann. Ethics watchdogs don't cognize if the brace were successful a narration erstwhile the authorities Supreme Court issued the sentiment connected the anti-gerrymandering case, helium said.
GOP officials successful Utah person spoken to the White House astir the situation, sources said.
Other authorities legislatures person been locked successful redistricting battles aft President Trump acceptable disconnected a mid-decade redistricting frenzy by asking Texas Republicans to redraw their legislature boundaries to effort to cement a House GOP majority.
Mr. Trump weighed in earlier this twelvemonth connected the Utah Republicans' efforts to repeal the anti-gerrymandering bill.
The existent Utah bound map, ordered by a territory court, turned 4 Republican-leaning legislature districts into 3 GOP-leaning districts and 1 Democratic-majority territory successful the Salt Lake City area. Republicans person controlled each 4 legislature districts successful Utah since 2014.
Utah U.S. Rep. Burgess Owens, a erstwhile nonrecreational shot player, announced past period that helium wouldn't beryllium seeking reelection aft helium unsuccessfully sued to overturn the map.
In a associated connection to CBS News, the apical 3 Republican legislative leaders said they volition determination guardant with an autarkic investigation.
"Recent media reports astir a narration betwixt a subordinate of the Utah Supreme Court and an lawyer who has argued high-profile cases earlier the Court rise superior questions and concerns," Governor Spencer Cox, authorities Senate President J. Stuart Adams, and House Speaker Mike Schultz said.
"An archetypal reappraisal by the Judicial Conduct Commission and the Court near important questions unresolved. Allegations of this nature, particularly involving nationalist officials, indispensable beryllium examined with transparency and accountability to found the facts and to support nationalist confidence."
The League of Women Voters Utah, who Reymann represented, declined to comment.
Affair allegations
A ailment to the state's Judicial Conduct Commission successful December made allegations astir an inappropriate narration betwixt Hagen and Reymann.
Through a nationalist records request, CBS News obtained a transcript of the complaint, filed by an lawyer who said Hagen's ex-husband told him Hagen had exchanged substance messages with Reymann.
The Judicial Conduct Commission opted not to prosecute the substance further aft a preliminary investigation.
After the 2024 authorities Supreme Court decision, the GOP-led legislature tried to person the caller representation thrown out, and the lawsuit again came earlier the state's precocious tribunal successful September 2025. In February, Utah's precocious tribunal again ruled against the legislature and upheld the caller map.
Hagen elaborate the narration successful a January declaration to the commission, stating she had been faithful to her ex-husband for the 30 years of their matrimony and did not person an matter earlier their separation. She said that she suggested they divorcement successful September 2024, and they separated successful April 2025.
The justice says she renewed her "friendship with Mr. Reymann" portion separated from her hubby and updated her recusal database to see his name.
Hagen told section quality outlet KSL-TV, which archetypal reported connected the situation, that she "voluntarily recused myself from each cases involving Mr. Reymann successful May 2025."
Reymann has not responded to CBS News' requests for comment.
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