The Utah Attorney General's Office cracked open its investigative file on first-term Salt Lake County District Attorney Lohra Miller this week -- but not without some resistance.

It took an open-records request and later an appeal to sneak a peek at the A.G.'s findings about allegations of teen drinking, drug use and illegal day-care operations at the South Jordan home of the Republican D.A.

Funny thing is, the file only bolstered the A.G. case that Miller had done nothing criminal. Take a look at this excerpt written about a confidential source who once worked for Miller:

"It was obvious during the interview that the source did not like the Millers. During the interview, the source made comments such as, 'I have a personal vendetta' and 'I gave my life to that b----.

"...Source expressed disapproval as to how the Millers stored and kept alcohol in their home. For example, the Millers would keep beer in the garage where kids could get to it. Source also said they would not always keep the alcohol and liquor that was stored in the home under lock and key."

But here's the kicker:

"Source said they knew Lohra did not supply or allow minors to have alcohol. Source answered 'no' when asked if they had any specific knowledge of minors taking alcohol from the home without Lohra's consent."

The Republican-led A.G.'s Office initially denied releasing the records to avoid revealing the identity of a confidential source -- presumably the one listed above. Those papers later were made public (after a month's wait) by simply excluding a recorded interview with that individual and redacting any information that might disclose his or her identity.

-- js