Vice President J.D. Vance has submitted a criminal referral to the Department of Justice calling for immediate investigation into Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison following a devastating House Oversight Committee report alleging they enabled billions in federal welfare fraud while silencing whistleblowers who tried to stop it.
House Report Details Massive Fraud Scheme
The House Oversight Committee released a 205-page report revealing senior officials in the Walz administration and Ellison’s office knew about credible fraud concerns as early as 2019 in the Minnesota Department of Human Services and by 2020 in the Department of Education. At least 79 defendants face federal charges in the $250 million Feeding Our Future COVID fraud scheme alone. The report alleges state officials voluntarily continued payments for eight months after identifying serious deficiencies, stopping only when the FBI finally raided.
State agencies possessed clear authority to suspend payments to suspected fraudsters without court orders or FBI direction but refused to use it. Officials repeatedly cited litigation threats and fear of racism accusations as reasons they continued approving payments, according to the committee’s findings. The report details how employees attempting to report fraud faced retaliation including intimidation through high-level check-ins, surveillance threats, and other tactics designed to silence whistleblowers.
Political Cover-Up Allegations
Oversight Committee Chairman Jim Jordan questioned Walz on evidence suggesting he and Ellison suppressed information about fraud rings because the Somali community represents a significant voting bloc in Minnesota. Representative Brandon Gill previously confronted Walz about retaliation tactics during a March committee hearing. Walz denied knowledge of the intimidation tactics but admitted responsibility for the massive taxpayer fraud. Vance stated officials refused to take fraud seriously and dismissed concerned employees as racist or xenophobic for questioning where taxpayer money went.
Criminal Investigation Demanded
Vance sent a letter to Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald describing the report’s findings as shocking allegations about senior Minnesota officials failing to address widespread fraud in federally funded programs. The vice president demanded answers to critical questions: Who in Walz’s and Ellison’s offices knew about systemic fraud? Did Walz lie in public statements claiming ignorance? Did his administration retaliate against whistleblowers? Were officials aware fraudulently obtained funds may have reached foreign terrorist networks? Vance emphasized that if state officials facilitated fraud, looked away while theft occurred, prevented investigations, or intimidated whistleblowers, they must face prosecution under federal criminal or civil law.