Congress Drops Hammer, Accuses Walz Of Lying About Knowledge Of Minnesota Fraud

A key congressional committee has released a bombshell report, accusing Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison of lying about their knowledge of widespread fraud in federally-funded programs administered by the state, and of silencing whistleblowers.

The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform reported in a statement it held a hearing titled “Oversight of Fraud and Misuse of Federal Funds in Minnesota: Part II.” 

“The Committee is continuing to investigate how criminals in Minnesota have ripped off an estimated $9 billion in taxpayer funds meant to feed children, provide housing for low-income and disabled Americans, and deliver critical healthcare to the vulnerable,” the committee reports.

During the hearing, the committee reports “lawmakers emphasized that whistleblower testimony and information gathered by the Committee now shows that Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison were aware of widespread fraud in Minnesota’s social service programs, lied about their knowledge of the fraud, and retaliated against state employees who bravely raised concerns.”

“Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison testified today and repeatedly failed to provide lawmakers and the American people with a clear explanation of how such rampant fraud was allowed to flourish under their watch. As the Trump Administration continues its efforts to hold those responsible accountable, lawmakers stressed that Congress must also pursue legislative safeguards to protect American taxpayers,” the committee reports.

According to a committee report:

Testimony and information obtained by the Committee reveals that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison were aware for years of widespread fraud in social service programs, lied to Americans about their knowledge of fraud, retaliated against state employees who raised concerns, and failed to take meaningful action.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) stated in his opening remarks: “For years, Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison presided over one of the most extensive breakdowns of oversight this Committee has ever examined. Federal prosecutors estimate that as much as $9 billion may have been stolen from just fourteen Medicaid programs administered by the State of Minnesota. As our investigation has shown, it happened because state leadership failed, repeatedly, to intervene. We have spoken with over thirty whistleblowers, many of them current employees and Democrats, who say they were ignored, retaliated against, and even surveilled for raising concerns. Instead of protecting the whistleblowers, the Walz administration protected the system that enabled fraud. Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison were warned repeatedly. Auditors raised red flags. Employees sounded alarms. Invoices didn’t make sense. And still, the money kept flowing.”

Chairman Comer submitted for the record an interim staff report released today titled “The Cost of Doing Nothing: How Tim Walz and Keith Ellison Fueled Minnesota’s Fraud Explosion.” The interim report, based on transcribed interviews with nine current and former Minnesota state employees and documents obtained to date, includes new explosive testimony revealing that senior officials in Minnesota state government — including Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison — were aware for years of widespread fraud in federally funded social services programs, deliberately misled the American people about their knowledge of the fraud, possessed clear authority to safeguard taxpayer dollars, and repeatedly failed to take meaningful action.

By failing to act, Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison allowed billions of taxpayer dollars to be stolen by fraudsters.

Despite contrary claims to media, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison were aware of credible fraud concerns as early as 2019 at the Minnesota Department of Human Services and by April 2020 at the Minnesota Department of Education.

State agencies had clear legal authority to suspend or terminate payments to providers suspected of fraud, yet officials continued funding them, citing litigation threats and concerns about being perceived as racist rather than any actual legal barrier.

Despite Governor Walz’s claims, the Federal Bureau of Investigation never instructed Minnesota officials to continue payments to Feeding Our Future or any other provider under federal investigation for possible fraud. In the case of Feeding Our Future, the Minnesota Department of Education voluntarily continued payments despite identifying serious program deficiencies and no court order requiring payments to resume.

As a result of these failures, an estimated $300 million in federal child nutrition funds and potentially $9 billion in Medicaid-related funds were lost or placed at significant risk.

Oversight Committee Democrats have failed to take fraud seriously. 

At today’s hearing, Democrats failed to ask questions about the widespread fraud in Minnesota.

During the Committee’s nine transcribed interviews with Minnesota state health officials, Republican staff asked questions over a combined total of 36 hours and 46 minutes while Democratic staff only asked questions for a combined total of just 3 hours and 14 minutes.

While the Trump Administration prosecutes criminals, the House Oversight Committee will continue to investigate massive waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer funds in Minnesota and examine legislative safeguards to protect hardworking American taxpayers.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) concluded: “We are working with the Trump Administration, which is taking a whole-of-government approach to stop fraud before more money is stolen. Accountability shouldn’t begin only after federal prosecutors step in and clean up the damage. Accountability should compel leaders to act and here, they didn’t.”

To date, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged 98 defendants in Minnesota fraud-related cases – 85 of whom are of Somali descent. Sixty-four have already been convicted. The DOJ has also issued over 1,750 subpoenas, executed over 130 search warrants, and conducted over 1,000 witness interviews. Other federal agencies are freezing funding, halting grant programs, investigating public housing fraud, and strengthening program eligibility requirements.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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