Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., told Newsmax on Tuesday that his House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform could ultimately recommend criminal charges against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and possibly state Attorney General Keith Ellison if whistleblower allegations about widespread social services fraud prove accurate.
Comer told "Finnerty" the committee is reviewing what he described as alarming accounts from government employees who claim Walz and Ellison, both Democrats, were alerted to large-scale fraud inside Minnesota's Department of Human Services but "made the decision not to do anything about it" to avoid political fallout.
"If what the whistleblowers are saying is true, and we can prove that, which shouldn't be hard, then I do see criminal charges being brought upon Gov. Walz and possibly Attorney General Ellison," Comer said.
The allegations mirror those reported on X by a group representing more than 480 employees from Minnesota's Department of Human Services, which has strongly rebuked Walz for what it has said is a massive social services fraud scheme under his watch, as well as efforts to retaliate against those who tried to expose it.
According to the group, bureaucrats were pressured to approve payments or overlook irregularities linked to contractors and organizations tied to political allies.
The group said it let Walz "know of fraud early on, hoping for a partnership in stopping fraud but no, we got the opposite response.
"Tim Walz systematically retaliated against whistleblowers using monitoring, threats, repression, and did his best to discredit fraud reports."
Comer said his committee and the Treasury Department are requesting audits, internal communications, and financial records from Minnesota agencies.
Although dollar estimates vary, Comer said investigators already see evidence of at least $250 million in improper or suspicious payments and expect the final figure to be far higher.
"We'll get our calculators out and try to tabulate how much money was defrauded," he said, adding that the total could reach "that huge billion-dollar or more mark."
The scale of alleged fraud, Comer argued, reflects broader vulnerabilities in social services programs administered by Democrat-run states.
He claimed many of those systems are strained by what he described as illegal immigration and political reluctance to enforce eligibility rules.
"They know there are huge amounts of illegals and fraud in their systems, but yet they turn a blind eye because this is the biggest, most vocal part of the Democrat Party now," he said.
Comer said the committee intends to hold Minnesota officials accountable if the evidence supports the whistleblower claims.
"At the very end of the day, the people that suffer the most are the American taxpayers and the people who depend on those social programs," he said.
"The Democratic governors, like Tim Walz, aren't doing anything about it. I hope we can set an example out of him and right a wrong here," Comer said
Newsmax reached out to Walz's office for comment.
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