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Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison lashed out when asked about his handling of the Minnesota fraud scandal following Vice President JD Vance’s threat to refer him to the Justice Department, while pushing back on a widely cited $8 billion figure as only mentioned by those “aligned with the Trump Administration.”
“That is a false number,” Ellison said. “The fact is, is that fraud is always wrong.”
“Why don’t you give me a break, man?” he continued.
The comments come as Vance, the head of the Trump administration’s new anti-fraud task force, threatened to press the Justice Department to open an investigation into Ellison’s alleged knowledge of the widespread fraud scheme in Minnesota.
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When asked about the common estimate of Minnesota fraud ballooning to about $8 billion, Ellison grew visibly frustrated with the reporter and ended the interview, claiming the number is only used by those of a certain political affiliation.
“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,” Ellison told Fox News Digital.
“So, I’m done talking to you. Bye-bye,” he said as he began walking away.
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When the reporter stated he had wanted Ellison to clear up the number and was citing a variety of reports, Ellison continued to question the claimed biases of his reporting.
“It’s wrong though. And if you’re a real reporter, you should know that,” he said, pointing to the Fox News Digital reporter.
The estimate has been widely cited by both the House Oversight Committee and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson, who have argued that potentially billions of dollars were lost to fraud in Minnesota’s public assistance programs.
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Thompson said investigators have reason to believe that roughly half of the $18 billion paid through 14 Medicaid programs since 2018 could have been part of a major fraud scheme.
The scandal drew national attention through congressional investigations and a series of high-profile fraud cases involving federally funded nutrition, education and Medicaid-related programs. Prosecutors have alleged that multiple nonprofit organizations diverted millions of taxpayer dollars through fraudulent schemes, many of which expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Several of the most prominent cases, including the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, were connected to Minnesota’s Somali community.
House Oversight Committee investigators have also argued that Ellison was aware of fraud concerns years before the scandal surfaced, citing interviews with education, human services and executive-office officials.