Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., told Newsmax on Wednesday that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison "absolutely knew what was going on" with massive fraud in federally funded social service programs in their state and failed to act.
Donalds, a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, told "Rob Schmitt Tonight" that the Democrat leaders were unprepared to answer basic questions during a committee hearing earlier in the day.
"They absolutely knew what was going on. They watched it happen," Donalds said. "Tim Walz and Keith Ellison came into committee not prepared to answer questions about what they knew, when they were notified, and what the corrective measures were."
The hearing focused on allegations that billions of federal taxpayer dollars flowing through Minnesota social service programs were lost to fraud, including Medicaid-funded initiatives such as Housing Stabilization Services, Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention for Autism and Integrated Community Supports.
Federal prosecutors and investigators have described the schemes as widespread and "industrial-scale," with some officials warning the total fraud could reach into the billions.
Housing Stabilization Services alone ballooned from an estimated $2.6 million program to more than $100 million in annual claims within a few years, while other programs saw similar rapid growth that investigators said made them vulnerable to fraud.
During the hearing, Donalds said testimony indicated state officials were warned but failed to intervene.
He also alleged intimidation of whistleblowers.
"In my questioning, we established the fact that whistleblowers were intimidated, that the lieutenant governor, Peggy Flanagan, she was intimidating whistleblowers," Donalds said. "They did not want to get to the bottom of this."
According to Donalds, Walz only moved to address the issue after public pressure intensified.
"It was only until social media exploded about this fraud that Tim Walz decided he was going to act. That was six years too late," Donalds said. "Millions and billions of dollars were stolen."
Donalds also pointed to testimony indicating Walz had been briefed about problems earlier.
"It's pretty clear from all the testimony we received from officials in the state of Minnesota before today's hearing that Tim Walz fully knew what was going on," he said. "He was briefed on what was going on.
"His former chief of staff was fully briefed on it, and they dithered and did nothing."
"The only logical conclusion is that they were colluding to make sure that the fraud continued," Donalds added.
Walz has previously said Minnesota is working with federal authorities to investigate fraud and has taken steps such as suspending payments to providers suspected of abuse and launching audits of vulnerable programs.
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