Cannon won't foot attorney bill

Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, won't have to pay attorney fees to a former congressional staffer for a public comment he made about the settlement of a sexual harassment lawsuit the woman had filed against Cannon's former chief of staff.

Third District Judge Robert Hilder refused Monday to award attorney fees to Crelley Mackey after a hearing where Cannon testified, according to the court docket.

Mackey had been seeking attorney fees in addition to the $10,000 she received for settlement of a complaint she made against Cannon. In 1998, Cannon told The Salt Lake Tribune that neither he nor taxpayers "paid a nickel" to settle her original sexual harassment claim — a remark she contended violated a confidentiality clause in the settlement.

The year before, Mackey sued Chuck Warren, Cannon's former chief of staff, claiming he had pressured her into a lengthy sexual relationship.

Mackey has said the relationship started while both were employed at Cannon Industries and continued as they became campaign aides for Cannon's first election in 1996 and then members of his congressional staff. Cannon wasn't accused of personal wrongdoing but was named a defendant in the lawsuit as an employer with duty to supervise his staff. He also told the Tribune in 1998 that Cannon Industries didn't pay anything to settle Mackey's lawsuit, though he refused to say how the case was settled. Neither Mackey nor her lawyer, David Scofield, returned phone messages left Thursday by The Associated Press. Cannon's attorney, Richard D. Bradford of Provo, also didn't return a message.