Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison lashed out at Fox News on Friday when pressed about all the fraud that’s occurred under his nose.
About a week and a half earlier, the House Oversight Committee released a report alleging that widespread fraud measuring in the $8 billion to $9 billion range had occurred in Minnesota.
In response to the report’s publication, Vice President JD Vance called on federal prosecutors to specifically probe Ellison and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz over allegations that they’d failed to stop all the fraud:
I’ve referred these allegations to DOJ’s new Fraud Division for criminal investigation. Minnesota state officials are not above the law, and if they facilitated fraud, lied under oath about what they knew, or harassed and intimated whistleblowers, they must face justice. https://t.co/EatSBh9Gh6 pic.twitter.com/7JeFcgkTV0
— JD Vance (@JDVance) June 9, 2026
Questioned on Friday by Fox News about Vance’s request, Ellison basically implied he doesn’t care.
“He can do whatever he wants, and I don’t really have anything to say about it,” the Minnesota AG told the network.
Ellison was then asked about the House Oversight Committee’s evidence-backed conclusion that $8 billion to $9 billion of fraud occurred under his watch.
“That is a false number,” he alleged without a shred of evidence. “The fact is, is that fraud is always wrong. Why don’t you give me a break, man?”
“If you ask the newspapers for a forensic accounting, the number you mentioned is tightly identified with people of a very unique political persuasion aligned with the Trump administration. So, I’m done talking to you. Bye-bye,” he added before trying to rush away from the Fox News interviewer.
"I'm done talking to you."
Minnesota AG Keith Ellison storms off during an interview after facing questions about his handling of the state’s fraud scandal.
Ellison pushed back when asked about allegations tied to billions in taxpayer fraud and VP Vance’s threat to refer him to… pic.twitter.com/CKwSc9puHA
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 20, 2026
Ellison was being misleading. The blatantly left-wing-biased newspapers have not claimed the numbers are wrong. But they have seized on quotes from Walz (one of the very people who’s allegedly responsible) and his allies to dismiss the numbers as speculative, albeit without any evidence.
“State officials dismissed the idea of $9 billion in fraud as speculation,” The Minnesota Star Tribune reported on June 8.
The Minnesota Reformer pulled the same dishonest stunt.
“Walz, who is running for a third term, said the estimate is motivated by politics, and it’s a number created by the Trump administration, which has attacked the governor on multiple fronts in recent weeks,” the paper reported.
The paper also included a direct quote from the embattled governor.
“You’re seeing a weaponization,” one Walz quote read. “We’ll continue to fix [the fraud]. They’re going to continue to come up with numbers that don’t have it there, and it’s sensationalized. I don’t expect anything different from this administration.”
This is the same guy who dismissed reports about massive fraud by the Somali community by pointing to white people.
Two women from Minnesota’s Somali community were arrested over a $21,000,000 Medicaid fraud scheme.
Tim Walz was asked whether the Somali community should start holding its own accountable.
Walz deflected and said, “White men should be holding White men accountable.” pic.twitter.com/lihigLOPzI
— Christian Collins (@CollinsforTX) May 28, 2026
Note that the House Oversight Committee’s $8/$9 billion figure actually comes from First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson, who was the lead prosecutor on the fraud case when he announced the number during a Dec. 18 press conference.
“Minnesotans and taxpayers deserve to know the truth of the fraud,” Thompson said during the presser. “The fraud is not small. It isn’t isolated. The magnitude cannot be overstated.”
“What we see in Minnesota is not a handful of bad actors committing crimes. It’s staggering industrial-scale fraud. It’s swamping Minnesota and calling into question everything we know about our state,” he added.
BREAKING: Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson exposes the true level of fraud in Minnesota. “Every day we look under a rock and find a new $50 million fraud scheme.”
“[Minnesota] is an outlier in a bad way. You don’t see fraud on this scale in other states.”
“Traditional… pic.twitter.com/nLhapuyv4N
— MN House GOP Rapid Response (@MNHRCWarRoom) December 18, 2025
Before Ellison could walk away from the Fox News interviewer, he was pressed one last time, with the interviewer citing a number of reports to back up the valid $8 to $9 billion figure. However, the AG remained obstinate.
“It’s wrong, though, and if you’re a real reporter, you should know that,” he said.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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