U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the investigation Monday, saying the probe aims to determine whether Minnesotans’ tax dollars were diverted to a terrorist organization.
The post on X reads:
“At my direction, U.S. Treasury is investigating allegations that under the feckless mismanagement of the Biden Administration and Governor Tim Walz, hardworking Minnesotans’ tax dollars may have been diverted to the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab. Thanks to the leadership of [President Donald Trump], we are acting fast to ensure Americans’ taxes are not funding acts of global terror. We will share our findings as our investigation continues.”
The probe follows reports, including one from The New York Times, estimating that $1 billion in fraud occurred under Gov. Walz’s watch. A viral post on X amplifying these allegations gained more than 37 million views.
The post came from an anonymous X account claiming to represent about 480 Minnesota Department of Human Services employees. The account frequently targets the governor and Minnesota Democrats. X suspended the account Monday, but it returned with a new name and did not respond to FOX 9’s messages.
Gov. Walz on MN fraud: ‘You commit fraud, you’re going to prison’
Gov. Tim Walz addressed questions Tuesday about federal involvement in the fraud probe. He said he welcomes any help, adding, “You commit fraud in Minnesota, you’re going to prison.”
What they’re saying
Gov. Walz said he welcomes the investigation but argued, “it’s not a coincidence that they’re targeting Minnesota” after Trump’s posts on social media.
“My message is simple on this. You commit fraud in Minnesota, you’re going to prison. I don’t care what color you are, what religion you are. Anybody who wants to help us in that, we welcome that,” Walz said. “But sitting on the sidelines and throwing out accusations, and let’s be very clear, demonizing an entire population and lying to people about the safety and security of this state, is beneath that.”
Sens. Jordan Rasmussen (R-Fergus Falls) and Paul Utke (R-Park Rapids) voiced support for the federal investigation, saying in part:
“Whether fraud was being used for personal enrichment, or being siphoned by terrorist organizations overseas, the reality is that no other state has seen these brazen fraud schemes stealing more than a billion dollars from public funds. Minnesotans deserve to know exactly where these fraudulent dollars were going and what they were being used for.”
Walz responds to ‘illegal’ CDL licenses
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blasts Gov. Walz on CDL’s
During President Trump’s White House Cabinet meeting Tuesday morning, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy criticized Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, claiming he unlawfully issued 33% of non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) to people who shouldn’t be driving big rigs on American roads.
Dig deeper
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy released a statement Monday saying an audit found one-third of non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) issued in Minnesota were illegal. The state has 30 days to comply and revoke the illegal licenses or risk losing up to $30.4 million in federal highway funding.
Walz criticized the federal actions, saying, “Once again, nothing they did there improves the lives of Minnesotans, but potentially makes our highways less safe, puts our folks at risk.”
“And coincidentally, today they decided to keep piling these things on,” Walz added. “My expectation is today we will probably see an increased presence of immigration folks in our city. We will probably see the president threaten to use the National Guard again. This is a president in spiral doing nothing to make life cheaper for Minnesotans or Americans. And, we understand who he’s targeting.”
Walz said the state has been following the law, will continue to implement the law as written, and will prioritize the safety, security, and well-being of Minnesotans.
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