SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Utah Legislature has formally approved a settlement with former state Attorney General John Swallow after he was acquitted of bribery.
The $1.5 million settlement was agreed upon in a special session Monday to reimburse the former attorney general for his legal fees.
Officials say lawmakers were told Swallow could seek more than $2 million if the settlement wasn't approved.
Officials say he cited The Reimbursement Act, a state law designed to exonerate wrongly charged public officials and reimburse legal charges.
State officials say continuing litigation would have inflated those fees.
Swallow resigned in 2013 after less than one year in office amid bribery and corruption allegations. The next year, prosecutors filed charges accusing Swallow of taking campaign donations and gifts in exchange for favorable treatment.