"I believe that when all of the facts are presented they will show that although I may have made some mistakes in judgment I have done nothing which would warrant ethical sanction or a criminal charge," Walker wrote.

Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings said Monday the ethics committee's dismissal of the complaint "has no impact on what we have been asked to look at by the attorney general's office."

There apparently already has been political fallout from the ethics complaint.

Last week, reports surfaced about an incident with a female legislative intern and Rep. Steve Mascaro, R-West Jordan, one of the five lawmakers who filed the ethics complaint. Mascaro said he did nothing wrong and blamed retribution by his party leaders.

"I sense heavy-handed backroom political deals here," said Utah Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Holland. He said the situation demonstrates the need for an independent ethics commission.

"We can only hope Walker's resignation will not derail the attempt of a few courageous lawmakers to force our GOP-dominated Legislature to work for us instead of lobbyists and their cronies."

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Contributing: Ben Winslow

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E-mail: lisa@desnews.com