SALT LAKE CITY — A new lawsuit filed by a Utah woman accuses Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes of using "unconstitutional suppression" of her rights to free speech after she tried to tell the truth about Tim Ballard and Operation Underground Railroad (OUR).
Suzanne Whitehead's lawsuit alleges Reyes "apparently believes" Ballard is the "chosen one" and, for that reason, Reyes treats Ballard as if he's above the law.
The Utah AG's Office is tasked with investigating nonprofits and protecting consumers.
The lawsuit also claims Reyes wrote a proposed scene that would appear in a sequel to the controversial film, "Sound of Freedom," which showcased Ballard and Operation Underground Railroad's alleged efforts to rescue children from sex trafficking operations.
The "Cry of Freedom" script is described in the lawsuit as "very self-aggrandizing."
Reyes describes himself in the scene as "energetic - Hawaiian/Hispanic/Asian of larger build - former MMA fighter now elected official - in conservative suit behind large rosewood desk in ceremonial office."
According to the lawsuit, the script reinforces how Reyes covers for Ballard and fails to disclose financial conflicts to his constituents.
"With you, the feds are not going to be able to come down on (Ballard) like a ton of bricks -- no matter what happens. Not with the former young lawyer of the year for the United States."
"It is believed that offering foreign officials as the Attorney General of Utah, a private screening of a movie in which General Reyes had a financial interest, may be a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act"
In her lawsuit, which also includes Ballard and OUR, Whitehead says Reyes' "political credibility" allowed the Attorney General to act as a "blocker, quashing complaints against Ballard and OUR with the cover of the top law enforcement officer in the state of Utah."
"As admitted to by Tim Ballard on his podcast with General Reyes, General Reyes acted as Tim Ballard’s personal counsel and OUR’s general counsel, all the while claiming to serve the people of Utah as the Attorney General."
The lawsuit begins with Reyes' own words used while rapping at the 2016 Republican National Convention.
"Get too close, my words will singe ya. Mess with me, I'll get revenge, ya," he sang.
Whitehead works for a non-profit organization that does work in countries like Nepal to stop child trafficking. The lawsuit alleges OUR used fake blog posts to improperly take credit for rescuing child victims after a 2015 earthquake in Nepal.
According to the lawsuit, a representative of OUR admitted that the organization had lied and blamed it on an "intern" or "volunteer." The lawsuit claims the OUR representative and two others admitted "that they were ready to quit because they were so frustrated with how much OUR lies and manipulates."
After returning to the United States, Whitehead used social media to call out OUR when it was mentioned on her social media feeds, saying the group had not rescued the children it said it had. An OUR representative sent an email to Whitehead, demanding her to stop "speaking ill" of the organization.
One girl in particular was identified in an OUR blog post in which the nonprofit allegedly "used the victims' real names without their consent, which was incredibly dangerous."
"Ballard offered the shelter $5,000 to cover up the fact that they re-exploited this young woman, to which the head of the shelter declined the money and responded, 'Sorry, our girls are not for sale.'"
Reyes allegedly got involved, calling Whitehead's supervisor, then texting the supervisor when he did not answer the phone. The lawsuit claims the supervisor tried to call Reyes back "a few times," but Reyes never called back.
The lawsuit goes on to say other OUR representatives continued to attack Whitehead to her supervisor, with one person claiming the White House was "involved and was aware of" her "antagonism to OUR."
Both Reyes and another OUR employee named Vess Pearson were implicated in the alleged threats. The lawsuit states Pearson threatened to stop her husband from being able to immigrate lawfully to the United States.
"Pearson contacted Plaintiff to emphasize that he had the White House (as also claimed by General Reyes) and Utah's Attorney General ready to crush Plaintiff and impede her using the legal process to bring her refugee husband to the United States."
Whitehead traveled with Ed Smart and a representative of OUR to Nepal, according to the lawsuit.
The Elizabeth Smart Foundation no longer works with OUR because Ed Smart felt OUR was "dishonest" and he felt "sick" after the film Operation Toussaint. He believes OUR lied about rescuing the girls in the film; "He knew someone else had rescued them."
In a phone call with FOX 13 News, Ed Smart said he believes Whitehead's lawsuit is legitimate and about the truth, not money.
"I personally just want to see them leave her alone," Ed Smart said. "She's a wonderful person. I've known her now since 2014. She has put herself out there to try and help people, I feel, more than OUR has."
Earlier this month, another lawsuit mentioned Reyes allegedly intimidating a witness not to testify against Ballard. Reyes was not named as a defendant in that case.
A video from a Davis County fundraiser in 2015 shows Reyes telling donors that OUR is legitimate. The video is now part of evidence in the lawsuit.
"I've sat on maybe over a dozen nonprofit boards during my career, and I know that there's a lot of corruption, there's a lot of fraud, there's a lot of ego in the nonprofit world," Reyes said to the crowd. "I saw none of that, and I really looked hard at Operation Underground Railroad. No way can you have the success that they've had. No way can you raise money like they have. No way can you have the media attention, unless they're doing something wrong. I looked long and hard, and I could find nothing wrong."
Whitehead's attorneys say Reyes often spends more time propping up Ballard than carrying out the duties of his elected office. This includes allegedly discussing issues with people "on a leather chair that Kanye West allegedly purchased" for him at his "unofficial office" in Salt Lake City, a members-only barbershop called Mac's Place.
"General Reyes is refusing to release his calendar to the press because it is believed that it will show how little time he spends in his Attorney General position and also the locations where he spends his time."
According to the lawsuit, Reyes' staff was tasked with helping Ballard discredit women who had accused Ballard of sexual abuse. The plaintiff says she has a copy of a recording proving her claims.
The lawsuit also states Reyes introduced Ballard to Glenn Beck and high-ranking leaders within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Reyes' office issued a statement Tuesday in response to the suit:
“As the complaint itself supports, the Attorney General sent a single text and made a few phone calls seeking to find common ground between two NGOs. He regrets if his communication was viewed in any other way and contributed to a feeling of undue pressure. He trusts the impartial court process to prove his motives and actions were appropriate and legal.”
OUR issued a statement on Thursday:
“The plaintiff’s sensationalized claims do not represent how OUR operates. We stand by the good work of our dedicated volunteers, staff and operators and will continue to defend the organization against these false narratives.”
