Washington • Can he survive?

This became the central issue in American politics late Tuesday afternoon. It's also the only subject President Trump cares about.

With Michael Cohen implicating his former client in a potential felony, the president's strategy of diversion and evasion collapsed. Compounding his troubles was the nearly simultaneous conviction on eight charges of Paul Manafort, his former campaign manager.

Trump will continue to bask in the faithful's chants of "Lock her up," as he did at a West Virginia rally Tuesday night, but Hillary Clinton is no longer his adversary. His enemies now are the facts and the truth. They cannot be jailed and have no personal shortcomings to exploit. Trump and his defenders are reduced to arguing that truth doesn't exist.

There has been a habit since Election Night of 2016 to assume that revelations that would destroy any other politician will never touch Trump. The fealty of his base became a journalistic totem.

The manifest corruption of his associates and his administration won modest notice as Trump jammed the system with incendiary public comments and frightening tales of immigrants as "vicious predators and violent criminals," his formulation on Tuesday.

Trump's speech was a catalogue of antipathies and a gauge of his fight-back plan: He will make his survival synonymous with the aspirations of voters who despise liberals, fear cultural change and see Trump as their last-ditch defender in a hostile world.

“The Democrat Party is held hostage by the so-called resistance: left-wing haters and angry mobs,” he declared. “They’re trying to tear down our institutions, disrespect our flag, demean our law enforcement, denigrate our history and disparage our great country — and we’re not going to let it happen.”

Through the sheer force of his malevolence, Trump hopes to bait his foes into engaging on matters far more favorable to him than a discussion of the payoffs he ordered to women who said they had affairs with him, in violation of campaign finance laws (not to mention the morals and sensibilities of many who are the president's most loyal champions).

Yet Trump's usual approach will be difficult to execute now. He's aimed most of his fire at Robert Mueller's inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election. This effort took a major hit with the success of Mueller's team in convicting Manafort. But Cohen's plea inflicted damage of a higher order because it tied Trump to a crime. This was not a bank shot. It was a direct hit.

The limp and tone-deaf response to Cohen from Trump and his lieutenants suggested they are floundering.

"If anyone is looking for a good lawyer," Trump tweeted at 8:44 a.m. on Wednesday, "I would strongly suggest that you don't retain the services of Michael Cohen!" Weak stand-up humor belied the seriousness of what Trump is accused of and the threat he faces.

He dug the hole even deeper with another tweet 37 minutes later. He channeled the ethics of a mob boss, praising Manafort for refusing to “break” and being “brave,” and trashing Cohen for taking a different path.

Those seeking to hold Trump accountable will need to combine relentlessness with discipline. Democratic candidates are coming to see an attack on corruption as the theme that will unite their party, appeal to less partisan voters — including at least some in Trump’s 2016 “drain the swamp” constituency — and highlight the broad range of misdeeds by the president, his advisors, and his administration.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts was the latest Democrat to put forward an anti-corruption program with an announcement Tuesday that was well-timed in light of the news. The timidity of congressional Republicans in responding to the twin blows to Trump's integrity will strengthen the Democrats' case.

The argument for impeaching Trump suddenly became very strong, but this does not mean that turning 2018 into an impeachment election is prudent. Most voters see impeachment as a last resort, and it is not a battle cry that will play well in every state or congressional district.

The adage that one should not interfere with an enemy who is destroying himself certainly applies here. Insisting on accountability and letting the ongoing probes go forward unobstructed by a lawless president are, for now, enough.

As the peril to Trump grows, the danger that he will behave ever more recklessly increases. Might Republicans in Congress and at least some members of his administration try to contain him? It is a measure of our dysfunction that there is little reason to be confident that they will.

E.J. Dionne’s email address is ejdionne@washpost.com. Twitter: @EJDionne.

Thank you so much for printing Patti Davis' op-ed. As a Democrat and less-than-enthusiastic fan of Ronald Reagan, I have frequently recalled his presidency over the past few months wistfully.

Please may we return to a time of respect, honor, truth and dedication to the people.

Lorna M. Hardy, Salt Lake City

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I was greatly disturbed to read in Thursday’s Tribune editorial that 48 percent of Republicans believe that the news media are the “enemy of the people.” I was even more horrified to read that 43 percent believe that President Donald Trump should have the authority to shut down media outlets that engage in “bad behavior.”

This is the Republican Party that has total control of Utah politics and controls most of the other state legislatures, both houses of Congress and the White House.

Where have we failed? Did we focus so much on STEM courses that we neglected our children’s education in civics, government, history and the arts? Everyone in those 48 percent or 43 percent groups should be required to read the classic work by William Shirer, “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,” to see how easy it was for a despot to grab power from a democratically elected government.

It was not that hard when one had the support from a few ultra-rich and powerful people and when the general populace believed the continual lies they heard that the media, various ethnic groups, and people with opposing views were the real enemies of the people.

Thor Nilsen, Sandy

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My response to President Russell M. Nelson's latest crusade to eliminate "Mormon" and "LDS" monikers:

It's interesting that God let this thing go for so long. He seemed to like the monikers "Mormon" and "LDS" just fine for most of the past 191 years.

This new directive is not going to change the simple nicknames that allowed both clarity and brevity when talking and writing about the church. Falling into the same league as allowing blacks the priesthood, changing temple garments to make them more compatible with modern styles, and claiming that becoming gods isn't really part of Mormon doctrine, the new edict is simply a way of facilitating a more complete masquerade of Mormonism as a traditional Christian denomination. It is an attempt to distance the church from both its old teachings and its curious and questionable roots.

One can only surmise that the next revelations will likely address name changes for Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, since they are the targets of most of Mormonism's detractors. Yes, folks, pretty soon you'll be hearing stories about how Wilbert Humphrey went into the Palmyra woods to pray and was visited by God and Jesus, and how William Godsend, a passionate advocate for sacred monogamy, led the Mormons to the Great Salt Lake Valley. Believe me, it's coming.

Michael Robinson, Riverton

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Washington • It warms the heart to see the newfound concern that Georgia has for its disabled residents.

Election overseers were worried sick that the disabled in Randolph County, a rural hamlet where 60 percent of residents are black and nearly a third live in poverty, might arrive at their polling place and find they had to park on grass or, worse, that there was no railing next to the toilet seat.

And so, bless their hearts, the officials did the compassionate thing: They proposed to close seven of the nine polling places in Randolph. Now disabled people wouldn't have to worry about tripping on turf. They'd simply have to haul themselves up to 30 miles round trip to one of the two remaining precincts.

"Folks, I will tell you right now, your polling places are not ADA-compliant, period," Mike Malone, a consultant hired by the county at the suggestion of Secretary of State Brian Kemp's office, explained at a public meeting last week. The county had run afoul of the Americans With Disabilities Act! "You have to have compliant polling places," Malone said.

Many of those present expressed suspicion that the election officials' motive was concern for the disabled, rather than, say, suppressing African-American voters. Malone assured them this was the "farthest thing from the fact."

Indeed, why would anybody suspect this?

Well, maybe because voters in African-American-majority Randolph went for Hillary Clinton by 11 points. Maybe because in a county where there is negligible public transportation and nearly a quarter of households don't have a car, eliminating 78 percent of polling places (including one where nearly 97 percent of voters are black) pretty much guarantees people won't vote.

And maybe because the proposal's author, Malone, was suggested for the job by the office of Secretary Kemp -- who just happens to be the Republican gubernatorial nominee against Democrat Stacey Abrams, who just happens to be black.

Oh, and maybe because Malone showed Randolph residents a slide saying "consolidation has come highly recommended by the secretary of state" -- before retracting that claim.

Come to think of it, maybe this isn't about toilets. Maybe this is a flagrant example of the expansion of voter suppression nationwide, aggravated by the Supreme Court's 2013 weakening of the Voting Rights Act.

Andrea Young, head of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, which is fighting the Randolph proposal, said poll consolidation is one item "in the voter-suppression tool kit" that includes purging voter rolls and voter-ID laws.

Why are Republicans getting so brazen? Their political survival depends on it.

Consider: Clinton won the popular vote nationwide by 2.1 percentage points. But non-voters favored Clinton by 22 points in a Washington Post-Schar School post-election poll and seven points in a similar Pew Research Center poll.

The ost's polling guru, Scott Clement, reweighted election results for me and found that if all eligible voters cast ballots (instead of the 59 percent who did), Clinton would have won by between four percentage points, using Pew data, and 10 percentage points, using Post data. (Some, such as political scientist John Sides, say the difference would be smaller but still potentially decisive in close elections.)

Kemp has said that he had nothing to do with Randolph's move, that counties have wide latitude in elections and that he "strongly urged local officials to abandon this effort." The state GOP blames Democrats, saying, "The county is run by a Democratic-majority county commission." (A two-member county elections board will rule on the proposal Friday.)

But the county had no plans to cull polling places before Malone. Several months ago, when county elections chairman Scott Peavy had an opening for an elections supervisor, he called the secretary of state's office, and elections director Chris Harvey, a Kemp lieutenant, "gave me Mr. Malone's information," Peavy said at a public meeting. (Malone has made a $250 contribution to Kemp's campaign.)

Malone, at a public meeting, told residents that "I recommended to the board that they seriously consider the consolidation of the polling places." He justified this based on cost ("a lot of precincts with very low turnout") and disabled access.

Curiously, officials didn't fret about ADA compliance during the May primaries and the runoffs last month.

Curiously, emails show officials were working on the precinct-elimination plan for months, but they now say there's no time to fix ADA violations.

Curiously, Atlanta's WXIA reports, Malone previously reduced polling places in two majority-white counties, by 20 percent and 33 percent -- vs. Randolph's 78 percent.

But be assured: The hardy few who would still trek to the polls in Randolph would enjoy up-to-spec toilets.

Dana Milbank is a columnist for The Washington Post. Twitter: @Milbank

Nashville • The easternmost bit of Tennessee is east of Atlanta, the westernmost bit is west of New Orleans, and all of this horizontal state is the epicenter of 2018 politics. Its U.S. Senate race will reveal whether, for Republicans, fealty to the president is not only necessary but sufficient, and whether a seasoned, temperate Democrat can be palatable to voters who are distant from the left and right coasts of the country and of today’s politics.

If you cobbled together a Republican suited to this year in this state — Donald Trump won 92 of 95 counties when carrying the state by 26 points — the result would resemble Rep. Marsha Blackburn: female, feisty and pleased as Punch with the president. If you asked central casting to find a Democrat with a contrasting political temperament, you would get Phil Bredesen. He is as exciting as oatmeal, which is said to be better for us than bacon.

Pistol-packing Blackburn — a Smith & Wesson .38 is her preferred accoutrement — in 2009 co-sponsored a bill that would have required presidential candidates to prove they are “natural born” citizens, a propitiation of “birthers.” She promises to be a Trump stalwart, which is dandy if you think that congressional Republicans are insufficiently servile. Legislators in lockstep with the president might be —James Madison be damned — what most Tennesseans want.

It is what many congressional Republicans feel duty-bound to be: A Republican congressman (Florida's Ted Yoho) said in defense of a fellow Republican, a committee chairman accused of excessive subservience to the president: "You have to keep in mind who he works for. He works for the president and answers to the president." This team-loyalty-over-institutional-responsibility politics vitiates the separation of powers by reversing Madison's objective: "Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place."

Both Blackburn and Bredesen have contributed to Tennessee’s remarkable success with “entrepreneurial federalism” — luring businesses by not making other states' mistakes. As a state legislator, Blackburn helped stop Bredesen’s predecessor as governor, a Republican, from removing Tennessee from the list of nine states without a tax on non-investment income. As governor (2003-2011), Bredesen reformed TennCare, removing hundreds of thousands from this state health plan whose runaway costs were making an income tax seem inevitable.

Raised in upstate New York, a physics major at Harvard, he became wealthy from a health care company he started in his home. A former two-term mayor of this city and former two-term governor, he is experienced in politics as well as governance, so he stresses local worries (e.g., protecting Tennessee waters from Asian carp) more than national Democrats' current ideological flights of fancy (e.g., rehabilitating socialism's reputation).

Blackburn understandably wants the race nationalized: A vote for Bredesen will make Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer happy. Bredesen says: I expect Democrats to be in the minority. Besides, "I'm a Democrat ... but it's not a religion. ... I don't believe that if Chuck Schumer gets mad at me I will go to hell automatically." His problem is that the national Democratic Party -- "Abolish ICE!"; "Medicare for all!" (and, sotto voce, no employer-provided health insurance for the 55.7 percent of Americans who have it and like it) -- seems determined to repeat in 2020 its 2016 role in electing today's president. For a while, the Tennessee Democratic Party's website greeted visitors with a militant shout: "Join the resistance." Now it has a less combative invitation: "Rebuilding Tennessee Together."

Speaking after Blackburn, who is 66, at a forum sponsored by business interests, Bredesen made a virtue of the fact that at 74 he would be the oldest freshman senator since World War II: He would be immune to the senatorial disease (presidential dreaming) and he would not board planes to Washington on Monday evenings thinking about re-election. He hopes to be the first Tennessee Democrat elected to the Senate since 1990 (the 42-year-old Al Gore). If elected, Bredesen probably will learn that senators are not a happy cohort and the most miserable are ex-governors, who have known the exhilaration of executive power.

He got many Republicans to vote to make him mayor and then governor, but he has not been on the ballot since 2006 and politics has become much more tribal since then. The president will come clomping into this tight race to remind his tribe that although Tennessee's first congressman did not use a Smith & Wesson .38, he killed a man in a duel: Andrew Jackson was not oatmeal.

George F. Will’s email address is georgewill@washpost.com.

Since the LDS Church (aka The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) has disassociated itself from the Boy Scouts of America that meant so much to me, nothing is sacred. Now the word "Mormon" has become tainted. At least it is one simple word; I need to take a breath in the middle when I speak the official name.

The word Mormon is from the Book of Mormon, a tale purported to be the story of American Indians arriving from the Holy Land. Later the LDS Church softened that claim to "some" Indian arrivals. Now with the new science of DNA, ancestry can be traced to where people came from and about when. American Indians did not come from the Holy Land, and they arrived in the New World well before Bible times. Some were in Bountiful, Utah, by 9,000 years ago.

The "Latter-day Saints" part of the official name and recommended usage is not unique. Most Judeo-Christian-Muslim religions are waiting for and soon expecting the Messiah.

What is different about the "Mormon" church (aka The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) is it is American in origin, not an offshoot of European or Middle Eastern churches. Perhaps a better name would be the American Christian Church. After all, the "church" by whatever name was and is a significant part of America, especially Western America.

Just as the LDS Church is distancing itself from the Boy Scouts, it should remove itself from the word "Mormon" post-haste.

Jerry Crouch, Salt Lake City

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For some time, Democrats have struggled to come up with a way to tap into anger at President Donald Trump without appearing as though they have no argument beyond personal disgust with the president. They want to find a campaign theme that can fully exploit his unpopularity but is also a substantive critique that points toward actions they will take if they're able to win control of Congress this year and the White House in 2020.

One idea that they have been toying with is a renewal of the theme that helped them win control of Congress in 2006: that Washington was in the grip of a "culture of corruption" that had to be changed. After a series of scandals including those involving the Republican super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff and Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., who was having inappropriate communications with underage congressional pages, Democrats rode the idea to a sweeping victory.

Needless to say, the Trump era provides an embarrassment of supporting evidence if they choose to make that argument again. So on Tuesday, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren - who not only might run for president in 2020 but is also more adept than almost any Democrat at weaving dry, complex issues into understandable and persuasive narratives - unveiled a new piece of legislation, the Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act, which takes a number of steps to reduce corruption in both Congress and the executive branch.

Among other things, the bill would strengthen restrictions on the "revolving door" between industry and government; bar foreign governments from employing Americans to exercise influence on their behalf (as former Trump aides Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn did); ban the ownership of individual stocks by judges, members of Congress and senior administration officials; and require the release of tax returns for the prior eight years by presidential and vice presidential candidates.

Here's part of the speech she gave announcing it:

"Government can be a powerful force for good - but only when it works for the people. And the American people understand that today, it doesn't. Our national crisis of faith in government boils down to this simple fact: people don't trust their government to do the right thing because they think government works for the rich, the powerful and the well-connected and not for the American people. And here's the kicker: They're right. . . .

"Our government systematically favors the rich over the poor, the donor class over the working class, the well-connected over the disconnected. This is deliberate, and we need to call this what it is - corruption, plain and simple. Corruption has seeped into the fabric of our government, tilting thousands of decisions away from the public good and toward the desires of those at the top. And, over time, bit by bit, like a cancer eating away at our democracy, corruption has eroded Americans' faith in our government."

The thing about "corruption" as a political concept is that it's big and broad, and can encompass many things. It includes actions that are illegal, like a government official taking a bribe or collaborating with a hostile foreign government to swing an election. It can include things that are legal but problematic, like a politician raising money from the corporations he's regulating or a lobbyist getting an administration job in which he helps out his former clients. And it can involve abuses of power that are not about self-enrichment, such as a president punishing former officials who have been publicly critical of him by taking away their security clearances.

In short, you can take "corruption" to mean almost anything you don't like about the way government is operating. It's similar to how Trump successfully argued in 2016 that "the system" was "rigged." What is "the system," and how exactly was it "rigged"? One day he might use the phrase to claim that Democrats would somehow manage to illegally change vote totals to ensure his defeat, the next day he might use it to argue that NAFTA had reduced the number of manufacturing jobs, and the day after that, he might use it to say that government was populated by liberals enacting policies he didn't like. Whatever grievance you might have about powerful forces who didn't have your interests at heart, when Trump said "the system is rigged," you could nod in agreement.

The other benefit of summarizing the Democratic critique of the Trump administration as "corruption" is that almost every kind of corruption you could think of can readily be found there. This is a president who unashamedly monetizes the Oval Office, who has hired a stunning number of aides who have left in disgrace, and who openly says that he will punish former officials who criticize him by yanking their security clearances but won't do so to former officials who are "nice to me." And that's before we even get to whatever kind of malfeasance the Mueller investigation uncovers.

When Trump ran in 2016 and said he'd "drain the swamp," he was onto something important: Most Americans think Washington is a fetid cauldron of corruption, so if you say you're going to clean it up, at a minimum the goal will be hard to disagree with. But there's a downside: Actually cleaning things up is extremely difficult, and once you're in office, even if you've been acting ethically there are a lot of voters who will decide you're part of the problem simply because you're in charge. And in Trump's case, you'd be hard-pressed to find even many Republicans who could say with a straight face that Trump hasn't made Washington more corrupt than it was before.

A proposal such as Warren's would be hard to pass, and even if it did, it's hard to know how successful it would be at solving the fundamental problems it's meant to address. But Trump has shown us that corruption isn't simply inevitable; it can wax and wane depending on how corrupt the person in the Oval Office is and what kind of tone he sets for the rest of government. So if Democrats want to give the public a sense of what would change if they were in charge, they could do a lot worse than focusing on corruption.

Paul Waldman is an opinion writer for The Washington Post’s Plum Line blog.

This is in response to Kent Topham's comments regarding the proposed development of property at the old Cottonwood Mall site.

He stated that the development is out of character for Holladay as a community. He said Holladay is, and has always been, a special place.

Holladay is no more "special" than any other community in the Salt Lake Valley, including Kearns, West Valley City, Murray, Midvale or Magna.

He went on to say that Holladay has managed to maintain its unique character while other areas have changed dramatically.

I recently took a drive through the heart of Holladay at Murray Holladay Road and Holladay Boulevard. The whole area has been bulldozed and rebuilt with no character whatsoever in my opinion. I didn't even recognize where it was.

Kenneth Johnson, Salt Lake City

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Here's what is really going on when President Donald Trump rescinds the security clearances of former senior intelligence and law enforcement officials. There's no need to delve into the legalities of whether the president has the authority to revoke clearances. No need to dive down the rabbit hole of whether anything former CIA director John Brennan or former director of national intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. said or wrote merits lifting of the clearances. It's not even worth spending much time analyzing whether canceling the security clearances of former senior intelligence officers will hurt the security of the United States.

This is all you really need to know: Trump is using presidential power to retaliate against the critics who have the best understanding of his relationship with Russia.

Just go down the list of now-former government officials who had unique insight into Trump's connections to Vladimir Putin's Russia: James B. Comey, former FBI director (fired); Andrew McCabe, former FBI deputy director (fired); Sally Yates, former acting attorney general (fired); Peter Strzok, senior FBI counterintelligence officer (fired). The people Trump is now threatening are the ones he can't fire, because they have already left their positions.

Silencing critics is one of Trump's strongest skill sets, and now that he has been in the presidency for a while, he understands how to use the bully pulpit in very literal terms. Revoking security clearances is code, a dog whistle, for all former and some current intelligence professionals: Criticize the president, especially about Russia, and bad things will happen to you.

I cannot say for sure how this is playing out inside the CIA, my old agency, or in other parts of the community. But I can say that the president's attack on the First Amendment rights of retired intelligence officers has a chilling effect. The threats can tamp down criticism. As McCabe found out, losing federal retirement benefits is no laughing matter. I personally have had to consider what I would do if this administration decided to go deeper into the ranks of retired officers and target people like me. As Clapper rhetorically asked during a recent CNN interview, where will it stop? Will former intelligence officers who speak out against the president and his policies see their health benefits and annuities canceled? It can be harder to be brave when one's own family might be put at risk.

While in the Clandestine Service, I served for more than 30 years in countries that were far from Jeffersonian democracies. Many of them tried open society on for size, but they struggled with corruption, freedom of speech and association, and the idea of a loyal opposition. In such countries, it was commonplace for recently elected heads of state to threaten the chiefs of their intelligence and law enforcement services, because those agencies often had the dirt on how the new president really got elected. Often, those elections were not free and fair. And often, those with the evidence to prove it ended up imprisoned or worse.

But I served in developing nations, not the United States, the world's oldest and (until recently, perhaps) most venerated democracy. To see America devolve into what Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) recently described as "a banana republic" is heart-wrenching. As one former CIA colleague asked me recently, "I feel utterly helpless. Is there anything we can do to right this wrong?"

Revoking security clearances will not affect the daily lives of people like Brennan. When senior intelligence and law enforcement officials leave service, they mostly move on, taking up positions in universities, accepting jobs in private firms and occasionally serving on ad hoc government commissions. Some simply retire and pursue private interests. Their clearances do not benefit them. They do not have access to classified information unless somebody from the intelligence community calls them in to ask for their views.

But something has made these men and women speak out. Something has caused them to do one of the most unnatural and uncomfortable things for an officer trained to keep secrets, trained to be discreet and, when necessary, clandestine: Address the American public directly via the press. Under normal circumstances, these people would not put themselves out there. Why take the chance? Why go against your training and the intelligence community's culture of discretion? The goal of intelligence officers is to avoid the media and any public attention, to operate in the shadows. This is almost a job requirement when you are an active officer. If what you are doing comes to light, in most cases, you have failed. Avoiding public attention used to be de rigueur for retirees, too, because even when an intelligence officer leaves service, we are still bound by the oath of secrecy we took when we first entered duty. Classified information is classified, and sources and methods require protection, even after an officer has retired or moved on to another job.

So why would anyone trained in such a fashion speak up? Only extraordinary circumstances would justify it. What are those circumstances today? Mostly, it's Russia, and Trump's connection to that country and its leader, Putin.

In the wake of the news conference in Helsinki, when the American president seemed to side with the authoritarian Putin and called the idea of turning over American citizens to Russia for questioning "a great offer," I tweeted that I was sickened. I cannot formally speak for my former colleagues, but I would wager that many felt the same way. And now, more and more former U.S. government employees are publicly criticizing the president's politically motivated revocation of Brennan's clearances. This is not the "deep state" rising up, but rather a commonsense, apolitical cry of foul.

Of course, many Americans are unhappy with our current president. He is a serial liar. He has debased the national dialogue with his gross inanities, especially in his late-night/early-morning tweets. Undoubtedly, he is an immoral actor, self-interested and self-important. And there can be little doubt that all of us will be paying for many of his policies for years to come. Already, we are weakened in the eyes of our allies. At home, race relations are more strained than they have been in decades.

But as a former intelligence officer, I know these are not the prime reasons my former colleagues are speaking out against Trump.

Americans can legitimately disagree with a president’s policies. We can reasonably criticize a president’s morals and actions. But it’s hard to find an argument beyond bizarre conspiracy theories (of the sort developed by people who believe in the deep state and think child sex rings are being run in the basement of D.C. pizza joints) that can reasonably justify the contacts and behaviors of Trump and his team with Russia. As Brennan wrote recently in The New York Times, it is no longer a question of whether the Trump team colluded with Russia. It is simply a question of whether the collusion — or contact, or cooperation, or whatever you want to call it — rises to the level of criminal conspiracy.

This is why an unprecedented number of former intelligence and law enforcement officers — including myself — are ignoring the discomfort of breaking with our culture and tradition of silence by speaking out. For those who claim we are “monetizing” or enjoying significant remuneration for our work, I’d be happy to release my tax returns — as soon as our commander in chief does. Now is not the time to remain silent. Even when faced with threats from the White House.

These are especially dangerous times. The facts we can see already are grounds for concern. The former intelligence and counterintelligence officials with access to the most sensitive intelligence on Russia seem to be the most worried of all. What don't we know yet that's making them speak up? And what don't we know yet that's making Trump so furious at them?

Steven Hall retired from the CIA in 2015 after 30 years of running and managing Russian operations.

I read Luke Dalton’s column on Sunday with great interest.

Dalton’s comments are spot-on, but that is only the half of it. I work in the pharmaceutical industry, in particular Medicare Part D. Every day, I am forced to explain to my clients why their costs for Tier 3 and 4 medications have gone up. I am talking about mainly insulin, inhaler and any other medication that is advertised on TV.

They are wondering why something that had cost $131 or so for a 90-day supply now will cost them $450 or more. They are speechless, to say the least. I tell them about the coverage gap, better known as the doughnut hole.

The new cost is a percentage, currently 35 percent, of the whole cost that Medicare must pay to the pharmaceutical manufacturers. I tell them that the total cost for such medications typically is $1,200, $1,300, $1,400 or more, based upon the way that the prescription is written, for a 90-day supply. And that is just this year. God knows what they will charge next year.

When I am asked, “How can they charge so much for my drugs?” I tell them they do so because they can! I also remind them that it is awful, but lawful.

The worst part for me is to listen to older people literally cry on the phone because they must choose between food, rent, heat or medication. This is the real obscenity of the situation. These circumstances exist simply because we the people have allowed it to happen. This gouging of the public for private profit will stand only until we the people make it stop!

So, the next time any conniving, spineless politicians tell us that there is no health care crisis, or that the high costs of life-saving drugs cannot be changed, ask them how much money they received from big pharma for their campaigns.

William E. Hewitt Jr., Salt Lake City

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Salt Lake City’s redevelopment agency has chosen artists to create nearly a dozen murals in an increasingly popular downtown neighborhood.

Officials said Tuesday that 15 artists have been commissioned for the large-scale artwork on the exterior of privately owned buildings in the Granary District.

The agency is putting about $147,000 toward the 11 murals, which are expected to be completed by mid-September.

Salt Lake City Councilman Derek Kitchen says the project will help promote the area's unique character and identity, and it could help spark more private investment in the largely industrial neighborhood.

Located roughly between Interstate 15 and 300 West, and 600 South and 1000 South, the Granary District is home to a growing number of restaurants, coffee shops and breweries.

This week, Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid al-Adha, one of the holiest days of the year honoring Father Ibrahim’s willingness to slay his son Ishmael at Allah’s request.

According to the Quran, when Ibrahim — or Abraham — had a blade to his son’s neck up on Mount Arafat, the angel Gabriel appeared to stop him, telling him that he had demonstrated his willingness to be obedient. Instead of Ishmael, a goat was laid on the altar and sacrificed. Today, depending on the region of the world, a goat, sheep, cow or camel is sacrificed in honor of the angel delivering Abraham’s son.

After an animal is sacrificed, it is cut into thirds, with one portion going to the poor and needy, one portion going to friends and family and the final third being kept and eaten by the family. Faithful observers of the holiday also donate to charities that benefit the poor.

The point of the Eid al-Adha sacrifice is to make an offering to God of something important as a reminder to avoid becoming preoccupied or overly focused on material possessions and losing sight of the most important things in life. In many ways, it is similar to the idea of Lent for Christians, or even fasting once a month. It is a time to give up something you love and refocus on what really matters.

Eid al-Adha is connected to the Hajj, or annual pilgrimage to Mecca. One of the five pillars of Islam, the Hajj is a sacred duty that every Muslim is expected to do at least once in their lifetime, if they are physically and financially capable. It commemorates the Prophet Muhammad’s own pilgrimage from Medina to Mecca, ridding the Kaaba of pagan idols and reconsecrating the holy site to Allah.

When Abraham’s wife Hajara and her son Ishmael were left in the desert of ancient Mecca as an act of faith, she was desperate to find water. She searched between the hills of Safa and Marwah seven times, finding none. Then, a fresh spring of water sprang out of the ground from underneath Ishmael’s foot.

In thankfulness for the miracle of water, Abraham constructed the Kaaba on the spot. The Kaaba, or “cube” is the holiest site in Islam and is often called the House of God. The modern Kaaba still includes the Black Stone said to have fallen to earth to be used as an altar by Adam and Eve and then given to Abraham by the angel Gabriel.

The pilgrimage to Mecca is to remind the devout of the miracle of water in the desert and how all are alike unto God. To perform Hajj, Muslims must enter the sacred state of Ihram by a ritual washing of the head, mouth, nose, arms, hands, and feet with water. In a state of Ihram, a man must not tie any knots or wear any stitched items and wear plain white, seamless robes. Women must wear long, loose gowns and have their faces uncovered, while their hair remains covered.

Pilgrims then walk seven times counterclockwise around the Kabaa. Additional parts of the ceremonial Hajj include saying two prayers at the Place of Abraham, reenacting Hajara’s hunt for water and drinking from the Zamzam Well, or the well that sprang forth from the ground under Ishmael’s feet. Pilgrims also spend a day praying and standing vigil at Mount Ararat and spend a night on the plains of Muzdalifa. They cast stones at three pillars, a symbolic act representing the casting out of evil from men’s hearts, and finally, they too must slaughter a goat.

As I have learned more about Islam, it adds depth to my own spiritual beliefs and worship. Truth, I believe, can be found in many quarters. To my Muslim friends: thank you for sharing your faith and your traditions with me. What a gift. Eid Mubarak.

Holly Richardson is a regular contributor to The Salt Lake Tribune and loves learning about other people, cultures and traditions.

With less than eight weeks before ballots are mailed out, opponents of Utah’s medical marijuana initiative still are struggling to get their feet under them, much less run a serious campaign against the measure.

So far, the Drug Safe Utah Coalition has grappled with anemic fundraising, messaging breakdowns (including a wildly off-base lawsuit) and elected officials who balked at throwing their support behind the opposition movement.

The latest setback, reported this week by my colleagues Taylor Anderson and Benjamin Wood, came when members of Utah’s congressional delegation and other elected officials were not interested in signing a statement opposing the initiative, coordinated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The statement read, in part, that the initiative “does not strike the appropriate balance in ensuring safe and reasonable access for patients while also protecting youth and preventing other societal harms.”

Sen. Orrin Hatch “was pretty adamant he was not going to sign” the statement being coordinated by church public affairs offices in Washington, D.C., and in Salt Lake City, sources familiar with the discussions told me on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue publicly.

Hatch resisted, I was told, out of respect for the initiative process and because he views it as a state issue.

County officials, congressional candidates like Ben McAdams and Senate candidate Mitt Romney were also approached, but response was lukewarm. They cast a wide net, one source said. “No rhyme or reason. … They just wanted a list of people.”

Likewise, Gov. Gary Herbert has been reluctant to throw his full weight behind the opposition movement. The governor was among the first to publicly express his reservations about the initiative, citing a string of concerns, including public health and safety fears, the potential for users to grow their own plants if no dispensaries are permitted and his fear that it could pose a first step toward recreational marijuana.

Recently, I was told, state departments, including the Department of Finance and the treasurer’s office, have voiced concerns to the governor about how purchases would be transacted, since banks are reluctant to deal with marijuana money for fear of losing their federal charter — creating the possibility of a quarter-billion-dollar cash-only business in the state.

But Herbert is not known for risking his political capital, and the polling on the issue is daunting. A recent poll showed two-thirds of Utahns support the measure and opponents have not found an effective message to dent that figure.

There’s another component to this: Herbert has a niece who suffers from seizures and could benefit from medical cannabis, and he has said he would support legislation that gets people help, provided it has the safeguards he believes are needed.

Whether or not the initiative passes, Herbert will have to play dealmaker, either revising the new law or crafting a different one — a difficult pivot if he goes all-in to defeat it.

Then there’s Walter Plumb. The leading financial backer of Drug Safe Utah has frustrated members of the coalition by going off-script, most notably last week when he filed a lawsuit arguing the initiative shouldn’t be allowed on the ballot because, if it passes, it violates Mormons’ religious right to not associate with pot users.

The lawsuit was unexpected, and the Utah Medical Association issued a statement stating (in bold print) that it “is not involved” in Plumb’s outlandish argument.

Within the governor’s office, as well, there were “strong reservations” about Plumb’s lawsuit that were expressed to the coalition, a source familiar with the discussions told me. “That lawsuit really threw everybody off message for a couple days.”

The coalition has also been struggling to raise the several million dollars it is expected to take to fund a successful anti-marijuana campaign. It has reported raising just $167,000, according to its latest filing, with Plumb personally bankrolling all but about $20,000. (It has almost certainly raised more, but has not reported any donations since mid-June; state law requires donations to be reported within 31 days.)

Wealthy developer Kem Gardner is reportedly being hit up to support the cause. Time is running out, though, to produce television ads and buy air time leading up to the election.

All of these problems, however, could turn around, starting Thursday. Opponents have scheduled a news conference aimed at highlighting various opposition voices and flaws in the ballot initiative. And the LDS Church is expected to weigh in more aggressively.

So if opponents stop flailing and get their act together, there is still time for them to stop the medical cannabis initiative — although that time could be running out.

South Jordan • A Utah-based business has jumped on the strawless bandwagon, selling reusable straws that allow consumers to look fashionable while sipping a pop and saving the planet.

Enjoy your soda, iced coffee or water with the iridescent stainless steel “unicorn” straws, available at XStraw.com.

There is even a straw that can be folded and stored into a recyclable keychain carrier.

For those with Earth-minded children — or those with muscle weakness or swallowing problems who need something softer — there is a set of six colorful silicone straws that are longer and wider, making them good for smoothies and milkshakes.

“They’re cute and trendy," says Jason Brailow, founder of L7 Labs — the direct-marketing company in South Jordan that launched XStraw.com. “But you’re also doing something better for the world.”

Brailow and his business partner, Chad Beals, estimate that just one reusable straw can replace 584 plastic ones. They also will be selling their reusable straws Thursday at the Salt Lake Air Protectors Matching Grant Celebration at The Gateway.

Because the anti-straw, anti-plastic movement “is catching on like wildfire” across the country, Brailow isn’t afraid that XStraw.com is going up against larger online retailers such as Amazon and other suppliers.

“I don’t feel like it’s a trend,” he said. “I feel like it’s permanent. "

Exactly how many single-use plastic straws are used each day in America is up for debate. Some environmental groups say the number is as high as 500 million — or 1½ straws per day, per person. Others say it’s likely half that amount.

Starbucks may have provided the best evidence of the U.S. problem, however, when it announced that it gave out 1 billon straws annually.

This much is known: Most plastic straws come from restaurants and businesses that provide them for drinking smoothies, juices, water and cocktails.

These plastic straws end up in landfills, where they never degrade, or rivers, oceans and other waterways, where they can harm the environment and marine life.

In fact, it was a viral video of a sea turtle, with a plastic straw up its nose, that brought widespread attention to the issue, which has resulted in numerous cities across the country banning plastic straws.

“You don’t have a pulse or a soul if that video didn’t affect you,” said Brailow, who first saw the business potential for reusable drinking straws during a trip to San Francisco six months ago.

Nearly all the restaurants and bars he entered had signs letting customers know they were ditching plastic straws as a way of saving the marine life and improving the health of the environment.

Then, in March, the campaign launched in his home state. Strawless in SLC asked food businesses to stop handing out plastic straws and instead encouraged them to switch to paper or biodegradable straws.

Brailow, a self-described “serial entrepreneur," thought people might prefer to have their own reusable straw and contacted an oversees manufacturer to produce straws to his specifications. The straws are safe for the dishwasher and include a small cleaning brush.

“I always try to be on the cusp of groundbreaking products,” said Brailow, who has launched several business startups over the past decade, including a line of sunglasses and a cuddly stuffed animal with a removable packet that can be warmed in the microwave.

“It’s great to see a problem in the market and see local business respond with solutions,” said Michael Cundick, executive director of Salt Lake Air Protectors.

Since beginning the Strawless in SLC campaign more than five months ago, Cundick said 110 businesses — from bars and bakeries to pizzerias and sushi restaurants — along the Wasatch Front have pledged to stop handing out plastic straws, preventing possibly thousands of the one-use plastic utensils from going into landfills.

To date, more than 1,800 people also have signed a petition of support at change.org.

Cundick said doing away with plastic straws is just the first step in a larger drive to reduce all single-use plastic products, including plastic grocery bags, plastic water bottles, plastic utensils and Styrofoam food packages.

“It’s one whole problem,” he said. “But you have to start somewhere.”

Hopefully, he said, the plastic straw issue opens the “floodgates about being more conscious of our resources."

If it does, entrepreneurs, like Brailow, will be watching to see if there’s a moneymaking solution for consumers.

In the wake of a court ruling reinstating a tribal member’s San Juan County Commission candidacy, Navajo Nation officials are pressuring the Utah attorney general’s office to investigate and prosecute county officials in connection with their decision to boot Bears Ears activist Willie Grayeyes from the ballot.

Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge David Nuffer concluded that County Clerk John David Nielson improperly backdated an official complaint to support his finding that Grayeyes did not live in Utah despite the Navajo Democrat’s longtime voter-registration record in the Beehive State. For tribal representatives, the case is further proof that county officials have rigged the political system against Navajos.

Grayeyes is seen as a strong Navajo candidate for one of the county’s recently redrawn voting districts. His victory could upend San Juan’s long-standing political domination by conservative white Mormons.

Navajo Nation Attorney General Ethel Branch is accusing San Juan County Sheriff Rick Eldredge of trampling on tribal sovereignty by sending a deputy onto the reservation to investigate whether Grayeyes was a Utah resident.

“I sent him a letter reminding him he does not have the authority to enter Navajo lands pursuant to our treaty,” Branch said on Native America Calling, a talk show dedicated to tribal issues. “We are able [to] block access to our reservation.”

In an interview, Eldredge rejected Branch’s characterization, arguing that federal statutes and case law enable his officers to enter the reservation. Deputy Colby Turk spent a day on the reservation back in March looking into an allegation that Grayeyes provided a false address on his candidacy declaration, which would constitute a class B misdemeanor, the sheriff said.

“If they commit a crime off reservation, we have the right to go on the reservation. Can we arrest the individual? No, that has to be done through the proper channels," Eldredge said. “It is no different than U.S. law enforcement going into a foreign county to investigate crimes that occurred here.”

Branch sent a letter asking Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes to explore a criminal case against county officials.

“At a minimum, it appears the county clerk falsified governmental documents,” Branch said. “It’s potentially liable for abuse of office as well. The [Utah] attorney general can send a strong message that Navajo citizens’ rights mean just as much as any other citizens of the state.”

Branch did not respond to emails and phone messages, but, on Aug. 16, the Navajo Utah Commission passed a resolution calling on Reyes and Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, Utah’s top elections official, to prosecute Nielson and remove him from office

“We’ve heard the complaints and seen the depositions,” said Justin Lee, an elections official in Cox’s office. "We are having talks with the [Utah] attorney general to determine the best course of action.

Reyes’ office confirmed it received Branch’s letter but would not say whether an investigation is underway.

Grayeyes’ lawsuit against the county remains pending before Nuffer, who has instructed the county to submit a memo by Friday explaining why he should not issue a final ruling in Grayeyes’ favor. Meanwhile, his lawyers have filed a motion seeking $335,000 in legal costs, largely associated with the 835 hours Grayeyes’ legal team spent on the case through Aug. 7.

The lawyers, who were billing their time at $450 an hour, blamed the county for running up their costs. They complained the county and its lawyers “deliberately misled” them about the facts underlying Nielson’s decision to disqualify Grayeyes from running.

The judge ruled that the sheriff’s involvement showed the county was not acting as a neutral referee in a voter-eligibility challenge as required but rather as a prosecutor — violating Grayeyes' rights.

In his remarks to The Salt Lake Tribune, however, Eldredge said the deputy’s participation was appropriate and allowed under a cross-commission agreement, which he helped broker back in 2013 as way to improve public safety and response times to emergencies.

On March 23, Turk roamed Utah’s Navajo Mountain in search of a home on remote Paiute Mesa that Grayeyes listed as his residence. According to court filings, Grayeyes' family owns a home on Paiute Mesa, where he runs cattle and the family buried his umbilical cord. While struggling to figure out which home was the one Grayeyes listed, the deputy spoke with residents who said Grayeyes hadn’t lived there in awhile.

Turk’s dense five-page narrative concluded Grayeyes spends much of his time on the road, shuttling between a friend’s trailer in Tuba City, Ariz., and his sister’s home at Navajo Mountain.

House Democrats try to avoid any impeachment talk of Trump ahead of the election. Hatch says Trump allegations are ‘serious’ but don’t ‘yet’ rise to the level of impeachment. LDS Church lobbyists tried to get Utah’s delegation to oppose a medial marijuana initiative.

Happy Thursday. When President Donald Trump’s former lawyer was pleading guilty in federal court, House Democratic leaders were offering advice to their fellow members on how to respond: Talk about the need for Congress to provide a check on the president or play up how Republicans are turning a blind eye to scandal after scandal. But, whatever you do, don’t talk about impeachment. That argument could hurt mid-term election chances. [Politico]

Topping the news: Reacting to allegations that President Donald Trump was involved in violating campaign finance laws during the 2016 presidential election, Sen. Orrin Hatch called the charges “serious” but not “yet” rising to the level of impeachment proceedings. Senate candidate Mitt Romney said the developments confirmed his faith in the justice system. [Trib] [DNews]

-> The Tribune learned that lobbyists for the LDS Church approached members of Utah’s congressional delegation in hopes they would show their opposition to Proposition 2, a medical marijuana initiative headed to November’s ballot. [Trib]

-> Brigham Young University filed three separate lawsuits challenging a State Records Committee ruling that an interview between a BYU police officer and a former Missionary Training Center leader accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the 1980s should be made public, arguing that the private school’s police department is not subject to Utah’s open-records laws. [Trib] [KSL]

Tweets of the day: From @realDonaldTrump: “If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don’t retain the services of Michael Cohen!”

-> From @jonlovett: “Trump’s just the kind of guy who sees the glass as half innocent.”

Trib Talk: Tribune reporters Erin Alberty, Courtney Tanner and Benjamin Wood discuss the role that ecclesiastical endorsements play at Brigham Young University campuses, and the power of lay religious leaders to level academic punishment for violations of church standards. [Trib]

In other news: Fifteen months after the original deadline set by federal prosecutors, the Utah Transit Authority Board hired an outside monitor, the San Francisco law firm of Coblentz Punch Duffy & Bass. [Trib] [DNews]

-> Citing the need to replace coal as an energy source in the future, the Murray City Council voted 4-1 to continue investment in a small nuclear reactor being built in Idaho Falls that would power cities in Utah. [Trib]

-> Lawyers for a subsidiary of Ivory Homes Ltd., Utah’s largest homebuilder, are seeking to block a public vote this fall on a high-density residential and retail development at the former Cottonwood Mall site in Holladay, arguing that the company’s legal and financial stakes in the project are substantial enough to justify it intervening. [Trib]

-> Utah County currently ranks No. 2 in the country for job growth. According to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report, job growth in the county was 6 percent between March 2017 and March 2018, compared with a national average of 1.6 percent. [Trib]

-> Gov. Gary Herbert visited a Tooele County elementary school Wednesday to try out new security doors with a fortress-like feature meant to stop an active shooter. “We’re trying to be proactive,” the governor said. [Trib] [DNews]

-> Pat Bagley wonders why Rudy Giuliani doesn’t want Trump to testify in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. [Trib]

Nationally: On Twitter, President Donald Trump praised Paul Manafort, his former campaign chairman who was just convicted of tax and bank fraud, for being “unlike Michael Cohen” and refusing to “break" and cooperate with federal prosecutors. [NYTimes] [WaPost]

-> In wake of the Cohen and Manafort convictions, the White House is grappling with how to deal with fallout from what the federal trials revealed, including allegations that Trump was a co-conspirator in violating campaign finance laws. [WaPost] [TheHill] [CNBC]

-> The U.S. Department of Education under Betsy DeVos is said to be considering whether to let states use federal funding to purchase guns for educators, a move that would undermine efforts by Congress to restrict the use of federal funding on guns. [NYTimes]

Got a tip? A birthday, wedding or anniversary to announce? Send us a note to cornflakes@sltrib.com.

-- Thomas Burr, Connor Richards and Cara MacDonald

Twitter.com/thomaswburr, Twitter.com/crichards1995 and Twitter.com/carammacdonald

After Utah’s win over Arizona last September, a Ute assistant coach told Khalil Tate he was happy his team didn’t have to face the Wildcats' backup quarterback that night.

That challenge awaits the Utes' defense in October. BYU’s experience comes even sooner — next week.

Tate appeared at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Arizona's loss to the Utes in 2016, but he stayed on the bench as Brandon Dawkins' backup last season when Utah won in Tucson. Sports Illustrated's college football preview issue profiled Tate this month; the story of the unnamed Ute coach's compliment presumably came from Tate.

In any case, Dawkins was injured early in the Wildcats' next game vs. Colorado, and Tate immediately started running like crazy. He rushed for 327, 230, 137 and 146 yards in four October victories. And now he belongs to coach Kevin Sumlin, who was fired at Texas A&M and landed happily at Arizona, inheriting a dynamic quarterback.

Sumlin once coached Johnny Manziel during a Heisman Trophy season. Asked during the Pac-12 Media Day how Tate compares with any of his previous quarterbacks, Sumlin said, “He’s really fast, how’s that?”

As for what's next in Tate's development, Sumlin said, “Moving from an athlete that's a quarterback to a quarterback that's an athlete. … That growth is taking place, because as great as his numbers are, he's really a young player that hasn't played a lot. So there is a lot of room for improvement for him.”

Tate's progress will be gauge by three Utah programs in the first seven weeks of the season: BYU, Southern Utah (Sept. 15) and the Utes (Oct. 12).

Arizona is picked third in the Pac-12 South, coming off a 7-6 season (5-4 Pac-12).

The Wildcats will succeed if:

The defense improves at all. The Wildcats' personnel is decent; Athlon Sports gives their defensive line, linebackers and secondary an average ranking of 6.3 in the Pac-12. That’s favorable, after a season when Arizona allowed 37 or more points seven times. Thanks mostly to Tate, the Wildcats won three of those games. Not having to play Washington and Stanford will help Sumlin.

The Wildcats won’t succeed if:

Defenses succeed in gearing themselves to stop Tate’s running, and he’s unable to thrive as a passer. The defense, led by linebacker Colin Schooler, also can’t expect the offense to repeatedly respond in high-scoring games. That’s how the Wildcats lost their last three games of 2018

The head coach of Real Monarchs, Real Salt Lake’s USL affiliate, had domestic violence charges filed against him from May dropped on Wednesday.

Mark Briggs was originally charged with multiple misdemeanors counts of domestic violence and reportedly trying to persuade his accuser to stop discussing the allegations with police and prosecutors. In Draper County Justice Court Wednesday, prosecutors dismissed all charges in the case.

The motion was made on the grounds of “after reviewing evidence provided by the defendant, the City does not have enough evidence to proceed at this time.”

Briggs, who was named the 2017 USL Coach of the Year, still remains suspended indefinitely.

“We have received notification that criminal charges against Real Monarchs SLC Head Coach Mark Briggs have been dismissed,” said a statement from Real Salt Lake. “At this time Coach Briggs remains suspended until the completion of our internal investigation.”

Briggs initially faced two counts of domestic assault, domestic violence in the presence of a child and witness tampering, court records showed earlier this summer. All are class B misdemeanors. The allegations stem from two alleged disputes between Briggs and his ex-partner in August and November of 2017.

The case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning it can still be re-filed. Draper City prosecutor David Lassiter directed requests for comment to the city spokeswoman, who hasn’t yet responded.

Briggs’ attorney, Greg Skordas, said Briggs' career was jeopardized by the case, which he says was founded false allegations.

“Especially in this day and age, the person who is even accused of this type of thing, people assume the worst, even if the allegations are untrue, which is what happened here,” Skordas said.

Skordas said he and Briggs are hopeful RSL will bring Briggs back on as the Monarchs head coach now that the case as been dismissed. Since Briggs was suspended by the club after charges were filed, assistant coach Jamison Olave has served as the Monarchs interim head coach.

This story will be updated.

This week’s release of the AP Top 25 drove home the point that the Utah Utes have the most attractive home football schedule in school history.

No. 6 Washington, No. 15 USC and No. 24 Oregon are coming to Rice-Eccles Stadium. Arizona is No. 31 overall, using the others-receiving-votes category, and in-state opponents Weber State and BYU bookend the schedule.

The Utes also hosted Washington, USC, Arizona and Oregon in 2016, but the Wildcats and Ducks were not as good as they'll be this year – never mind that Oregon upset the Utes. In any case, it should Utah received enough votes to be ranked No. 28. If they beat Weber State, Northern Illinois and Washington in their first three games, the Utes undoubtedly will move well inside the Top 25. The AP's Ralph D. Russo pointed out that Utah five times has started the season outside the Top 25 and ended up being ranked in the final poll.

With the Washington game booked for an 8 p.m. kickoff Sept. 15, the Utes have made that their annual “Blackout” game. The “Ute Proud” observance is Oct. 12 vs. Arizona and the Utes will wear their throwback jerseys and helmets for homecoming vs. USC on Oct. 20.

Personnel updates

Coach Kyle Whittingham keeps promising to issue a depth chart Friday, although the school's weekly news release says that won't happen until Monday. In any case, with next Thursday's opener approaching, the two-deep roster is taking shape.

Maybe it's just my intrigue about how freshman quarterback Jack Tuttle's career will unfold, but my eyes will go immediately to the No. 2 QB spot to see whether Tuttle or redshirt freshman Jason Shelley has emerged. The other offensive position of interest is left guard, where Nick Ford or Orlando Umana will be named the starter. Coaches have said both of them likely will play a lot in the first couple of games to extend the competition.

Whittingham, who rarely discusses injuries, said fourth-year junior Johnny Capra has not practiced this month, after being a projected starter on the offensive line.

Kickoff returner also will be interesting; Britain Covey has been in the mix with Demari Simpkins, Julian Blackmon and junior college transfer Derrick Vickers.

We’ll also find out where BYU transfer Francis Bernard fits into the linebacking corps. He might be listed as Chase Hansen’s backup at rover.

Team leaders

I thought it was significant for the Ute players to vote junior quarterback Tyler Huntley as one of the team’s co-captains last week, as I explain in this story. In addition, nine players were named to the team’s leadership council: Jackson Barton, Jameson Field, Simpkins, Bradlee Anae, Leki Fotu, Blackmon, Terrell Burgess, Covey and Tuttle, who’s the only freshman in the group.

Big recruit

Anyone who has fretted about Utah's troubles inside the 20-yard line should like this development. Picture the Utes having a 6-foot-8 receiver catching passes lobbed into the end zone. Darren Jones is a four-star prospect who committed to Utah this week. He's from Cajon High School in San Bernardino, Calif.

Jones' commitment is an endorsement of offensive coordinator Troy Taylor, a sign of belief that the Utes are developing a respectable passing game.

Catching up

One of the subjects I wanted to be sure to pursue in August was Australian tight end Thomas Yassmin. He’s interesting to me, as a rare case of an Aussie who’s trying to play an offensive or defensive position (not punting, in other words) in American football. It’s an education process for Yassmin, who has the athletic ability to become a good player. Right now, there’s a lot to learn. (Tribune)

Fans usually exhort coaches to try for a fourth-down conversion in the opponent’s territory. In Utah’s case, they may be clamoring for field-goal attempts. All-America kicker Matt Gay will force Whittingham to make some difficult decisions this season, with a range that extends beyond 60 yards. Remember, if a field goal is missed, the other team gets the ball at the line of scrimmage. (Tribune)

And I’m not the first person ever to do a “Hallandale Trio” story, but now that the Utes' Florida guys wear Nos. 1, 2 and 3, I thought the subject was worth revisiting. It’s remarkable to think about how big this threesome will be in Utah’s offense. (Tribune)

Other voices

Utah’s specialists will be a a big story again this season. Sports Illustrated visited the campus in July to profile punter Mitch Wishnowsky. (SI)

And the Deseret News' Mike Sorensen found out the given name of freshman long snapper Maddie Golden. (DNews)

Elsewhere on campus

Ute men’s basketball coach Larry Krystkowiak appeared Tuesday at Vivint Smart Home Arena, helping promote ticket sales for the second Zions Bank Beehive Classic. The Utes will meet BYU at in a noon tipoff Dec. 8, followed by Utah State vs. Weber State. Larry K. usually is good for a wry comment or two in any interview setting. (Tribune)

Krystkowiak also spoke energetically about his 2018-19 team, with a bunch of newcomers. “It's a lot of fun to work with this group and there's a lot of eager guys,” he said.

The Utes' influx of talent has “got to turn into wins at some point,” he said, noting that his roster of capable players should go 10 deep, enabling the Utes to play pressure defense and run more. He also knows that a nonconference schedule with the likes of Minnesota, BYU, Kentucky and Nevada will create urgency in the program, with practice starting Sept. 27. “We’ve got to do a better job from a coaching staff perspective to be better, earlier,” Krystkowiak said.

• Former Ute softball star Hannah Flippen, now an assistant coach, has been selected to play for the U.S. Women’s National Team in the Japan Cup, Nov. 2-4.

Flippen was the star of the U.S. Blue team that finished third in the International Cup in July.

• The Utes' No.-19 ranked volleyball team will open the season Friday (7 p.m.), facing UC Irvine at the Huntsman Center in the Utah Volleyball Classic. On Saturday, the Utes will meet Saint Mary’s at noon and Denver at 7 p.m.

• The Ute soccer team (1-1) plays at Utah State on Friday. Utah opened the season last week with a 1-0 loss to Minnesota, then beat Weber State 2-0.

Looking Ahead

The Tribune will publish its annual College Football Preview section Sunday. I’ll just say Whittingham will be a prominent figure. If you’re not a print subscriber, this would be a good weekend to look for a copy to savor. All of the stories will be on sltrib.com, of course.

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