House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., used an appearance Tuesday on Newsmax to argue that congressional investigations can increase transparency even when prosecutions are up to the Justice Department.
He also pointed to a planned March 4 committee session involving Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison as a key next step in the committee's Minnesota fraud inquiry.
Asked about public frustration with accountability on "Finnerty," Comer said it is "a big frustration of mine" that Congress does not have the authority to prosecute cases.
"All we can do in Congress is investigate and make criminal referrals," he said.
"It's up to the Department of Justice to actually take those referrals and prosecute them and hold them accountable."
Lawmakers are "a little frustrated in the overall accountability," he said, but committee work can still produce results through disclosure and public pressure.
"We're leading this Minnesota fraud investigation March 4. Next week, we're bringing in Tim Walz and Keith Ellison," Comer said.
"We've been bringing people in for depositions. I'm pretty confident we're going to see some accountability there," he said, describing the matter as "the fraud that was happening in Minnesota, especially within the Somali community."
A House Oversight Committee release said Walz and Ellison had confirmed their appearance at a March 4 hearing titled "Oversight of Fraud and Misuse of Federal Funds in Minnesota: Part II" at 10 a.m. ET.
The same committee release said the panel launched the Minnesota inquiry in December 2025 and linked it to fraud uncovered by the U.S. attorney in Minnesota.
In one major Minnesota fraud case tied to child nutrition funds, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota said a federal jury in March 2025 convicted two defendants in a $250 million Feeding Our Future scheme.
The Feeding Our Future case involved dozens of defendants and additional convictions and sentencings, including a Minnesota man sentenced to 28 years in prison in a related fraud prosecution.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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