Minnesota: Land of "Industrial-Scale Fraud"

During Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson's Thursday press availability, he coined a phrase that might be written on Tim Walz's tombstone. During his press availability, Thompson said that Minnesota had become home of "industrial-scale fraud." I've credited KARE11's Lou Raguse and A.J. Lagoe for their reporting on the fraud story. Frankly, they've earned it. Bill Glahn of both Powerlineblog and the Center for the American Experiment has done exemplary work, too. After examining their work on the fraud issue, I need to add Minnesota Reformer to the list, too. After reading this article, I realize more scrutiny needs to be paid to the work independent journalists have done on the Minnesota fraud issue.

The thikg I enjoy about blogs (I mean this sincerely) is that they aren't bashful about shameless self-promotion. That's what Minnesota Reformer did when they wrote "As is so often the case, the dark clouds were visible during Walz’s 15-month honeymoon if you knew where to look; e.g., our reporting in the summer of 2023 that roughly half of the people charged in the Feeding Our Future case had other state contracts. In 2024, this time as Walz was being feted by national Democrats, we detailed the likelihood of widespread fraud in the autism program.

When Gov. Tim Walz says that he appreciates the federal government's help in prosecuting fraudsters, he means he appreciates their help the way an arsonist appreciates the help of firefighters. Here's a telltale sign:

Asked about it roughly six months later, Walz was oblivious.

It's difficult to be believed when you tell people you're on top of the situation while you're being oblivous to the situation. Actually, I think Gov. Walz knew about the crisis. I think he looked the opposite direction at the appropriate times. I think that because he didn't want to see a vital voting block, aka Somalis, committing fraud.

For whatever his politics — my sense is that he’s a career prosecutor genuinely outraged by what he’s found — Thompson’s Thursday press conference was an anvil falling on Walz’s reelection campaign for a third term. In asserting that as much as half of the $18 billion spent in Medicaid waiver programs was stolen since 2018, Thompson introduced another phrase for GOP ad writers: "Industrial scale fraud."

This crisis isn't going away. If the DFL kicks Gov. Walz to the curb, it still won't go away. That's because too many people throughout the party knew the not-so-secret secret. Further, the people won't forget this crisis/scandal. That's because the DFL can't be trusted. As worrisome as these things are, this might turn into the DFL's biggest headache:

After the great work of independent journalists and legacy media folks, President Trump added his megaphone to the scandal. Now, even CBS is chiming in on the matter:

Federal prosecutors unveiled charges Thursday against another six people, accusing them of defrauding public assistance programs in Minnesota — including two men they allege traveled to the state for that express purpose. The latest indictments add fuel to a scandal that has now led to charges against more than 90 people who have been accused, and in many cases convicted, of bilking hundreds of millions of dollars from the Midwestern state, putting Gov. Tim Walz's administration in the hot seat and drawing attacks from President Trump.

If you're wondering where Gov. Tim Walz is these days, the answer is simple: east of the rock and west of the hard place.