Rep. Comer to Newsmax: Gov. Walz Won't Fix Minn. Fraud He Once Ignored

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., told Newsmax on Tuesday he has zero confidence that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is willing to address the massive, long-running fraud in the state — accusing Walz of ignoring whistleblowers and protecting a key Democrat voting bloc.

Speaking on "National Report," Comer said credible whistleblowers inside Minnesota state government — many of them Democrats — have warned for years about widespread fraud tied to federal government assistance programs, particularly involving Minnesota's large Somali population.

"Fortunately for us, we have whistleblowers," Comer said. "These are good state employees of the state of Minnesota who have been begging for assistance from the attorney general and the governor of Minnesota for years to step in and prevent this fraud."

Comer said those warnings were ignored because, in his view, Democrat leaders did not want to alienate a politically important constituency.

"This Somali population has become a massive part of the Democrat base in Minnesota," Comer said. "It's the whole key to the business model of success for the Democrat Party in Minnesota — and on the presidential scale to win the state of Minnesota and get those Electoral College votes."

According to Comer, Walz and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison "turned a blind eye" as fraud expanded across multiple programs.

"They allowed this fraud to continue," Comer said, adding that state employees saw the abuse "every day."

Comer said the scope of the fraud could reach into billions of dollars, dismissing Walz's efforts to downplay the total amount.

"The governor wants to say, 'Well, we don't think it was billions,'" Comer said. "Let's say it was hundreds of millions — that's still too much."

Comer also accused Democrats of shutting down scrutiny by labeling questions about fraud as racist.

"Anyone like me who tries to question that is a racist or whatever," he said. "We're not going to be bullied in this."

Comer pointed to what he described as alarming dependency levels tied to Minnesota's Somali population, saying early figures he has reviewed show roughly 75% are receiving full government assistance.

"That's full welfare," Comer said. "The overwhelming majority of that population is on Medicaid and other types of government programs."

He tied the issue to broader Democrat policies on immigration, saying promises that open borders would fill labor shortages have not matched reality in Minnesota.

"You've got a massive population in that one state, and the overwhelming majority of that population is on government assistance," Comer said, adding that claims there are no illegal immigrants on Medicaid "are going to be proven false in Minnesota."

The Oversight Committee, Comer said, is now working to determine how much money was wasted, who was responsible, and whether Walz and Ellison knew about the fraud and failed to act.

Comer said he hopes the investigation results in criminal referrals — not only for those who committed fraud, but also for officials who allowed it to continue — and criticized Walz for telling Republicans to "stand down."

"For Gov. Walz to say Republicans on the Oversight Committee should stand down, he'll fix it — I don't think anybody in America believes that," Comer said. "He's not going to do anything."

GET TODAY NEWSMAX+:

NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America with more than 30 million people watching!

Reuters Institute reports NEWSMAX is one of the top news brands in the U.S.

You need to watch NEWSMAX today.

Get it with great shows from Rob Schmitt, Greta Van Susteren, Greg Kelly, Carl Higbie, Rob Finnerty – and many more!

Find the NEWSMAX channel on your cable system – Go Here Now

BEST OFFER:

Sign up for NEWSMAX+ and get NEWSMAX, our streaming channel NEWSMAX2 and our military channel World at War.

Find hundreds of shows, movies and specials.

Even get Jon Voight's special series and President Trump's comedy programs and much more!

Watch NEWSMAX+ on your smartphone or home TV app.

Watch NEWSMAX anytime, anywhere!