The committee also determined that although a meeting was held in Judd's home on March 14, its purpose was to train individuals to conduct caucus meetings on March 21, and the meeting was conducted by acting legislative district chair Dean Hawker. Judd allowed the meeting to be held in his home because Hawker's was too small and Tinsley declined to host it, the committee found, but Judd only spoke at the meeting to introduce Tinsley.

Furthermore, the committee said, Tinsley's staff was not allowed to display campaign materials because his opponents in the race, Judd and Keith Grover, had nothing on display. The only materials on display at the meeting, the committee said, were for Senator Orrin Hatch, who was running unopposed at the time.

In its conclusion, the executive committee found Jaussi's claims to be "frivolous and wholly without merit."

"The Executive Commitee . . . agreed that the complaint and the conduct of Mr. Jaussi in broadcasting such unfounded claims through the media appeared to be politically motivated to discredit fellow Republican Garr Judd," the statement said. "The Executive Committee found that Mr. Judd did nothing dishonest, unethical, illegal, or in violation of any Party bylaws."

Jaussi stuck by his claims Thursday, saying he was convinced that "the letter and spirit" of party laws had been violated when Judd hosted the meeting in his home and prevented another candidate from passing out literature.

"In light of such strong evidence as we presented, I cannot feel good about a decision to shirk the Party's responsibility to require its candidates to maintain a high standard of integrity in party politics," he said.

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E-mail: jtwitchell@desnews.com