Utah House Republican under investigation for allegations he used campaign funds on prostitute

The Utah House of Representatives is investigating whether a former Republican state lawmaker used campaign funds to arrange visits with a prostitute.

Utah House chief of staff Greg Hartley told The Associated Press on Thursday that he is reviewing state records to determine if former Rep. Jon Stanard (R) used a state-issued cell phone and taxpayer-funded hotel visits to meet with prostitutes.

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Stanard, who is married, abruptly resigned Tuesday night after a report in the British Daily Mail alleged he twice hired a prostitute in 2017.

In a statement Wednesday, Stanard mentioned  “personal and family concerns” as a reason for his departure but did not address the allegations.

“My father has terminal cancer and I am going to spend a few weeks with him out of state while I still can,” he told the AP in a text message.

The Mail reported that a prostitute, Brie Taylor, said that Stanard hired her twice for sex in 2017. The Associated Press reviewed his campaign finance records and found an expense on March 10 for $1,510 for “extra hotel expense session lodging” at the “Marriott Residence,” the same hotel named by Taylor in the Mail report.

Fellow Republican Rep. Mike McKell told the AP he was “shocked” by the allegations and Stanard’s subsequent resignation.

“I was absolutely shocked. I had never heard anything, there was nothing in my interaction — I sit next to him on the House floor — nothing in my interaction that’s ever suggesting anything even remotely close to what we’re seeing today,” McKell said.