Utah Republican Rep Jon Stanard Used Taxpayers' Money To Hire Prostitute

Utah Republican Rep. Jon Stanard, who resigned abruptly Tuesday, was accused Thursday of using taxpayers’ dollars to hire a prostitute.

A Daily Mail report published Thursday highlighted the hypocrisy of the lawmaker, who voted for stricter laws against prostitution. In the report, a woman named Brie Taylor claimed she had sex with Stanard on multiple occasions during his business trips to Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2017.

Subsequently, the House officials reviewed campaign finance reports of the state lawmaker to see if the money was used to pay for his tryst with the prostitute during his business trips. The officials confirmed Stanard’s culpability in using taxpayers’ money to fund his affair.

The conservative politician, who has three children with his wife LeeAnne, was elected to the Utah House of Representatives in 2012, and on his website he stated: “I am a strong advocate for conservative family values. I am prolife, as well as for traditional marriage.”

In the wake of the allegations, the website was removed along with his twitter account.

The Utah lawmaker resigned abruptly Tuesday, maybe fearing backlash from the then soon-to-be-public reports of his trysts with the prostitute, Daily Mail reported. He cited personal and family reasons for his resignation.

However, Daily Mail published a story with detailed accounts from prostitute, who claimed she had slept with Stanard on two occasions. The report said Daily Mail approached Stanard for comment Tuesday night, but did not get a response. However, it was revealed Wednesday the lawmaker had resigned from his post.

The publication reviewed text messages from Taylor to gauge the veracity of her story and concluded Stanard did engage in sexual activities with her. The text messages were sent from a number which matched with that in Stanard’s profile on the Utah House of Representatives website.

House Chief of Staff Greg Hartley told the Associated Press the Legislature reimbursed Stanard for hotel stays in June and August 2017, and that the dates coincided with the details provided by Taylor.

Reports said Taylor viewed the resignation by the lawmaker as an inevitable consequence for his action. She added she was appalled to hear he had voted for stricter laws against prostitution

“I was surprised when I found out that he voted in favor of stricter laws. … This is a Republican state so you have to stick with your buddies otherwise it will hurt your career but on the other hand, he is a john. … It is hypocritical because he is supporting laws that make it stricter for other men who do what he does,” Taylor said.

A statement from Standard’s attorney, Walter Burden, said “Given the current climate in this country with misconduct allegations and the way things are happening in the media right now, there isn’t any explanation that my client could give that would overcome the shadow of these allegations.”