Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., said that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison may have been "derelict in their duty" over alleged fraud involving taxpayer funds.
On Wednesday, Perry told Newsmax that their actions, or lack of, warrant serious investigation.
Appearing on Newsmax’s "Carl Higbie: FRONTLINE," Perry said the Democratic officials "knew all along" about the alleged wrongdoing and suggested their conduct could rise to the level of criminal activity.
"Quite honestly, I’m just very frustrated because it seems to me that there ought to be at least a pretty robust investigation leading to indictments of both the governor and the attorney general," Perry said.
According to Perry, the situation could involve either direct participation or failure to act while taxpayer money was being misused.
"Not only did they know, they either committed crimes of commission, which means they aided and abetted the fraud, or they committed crimes of omission, meaning they didn’t bother to do anything about it," he said, "while the American taxpayers were being ripped off."
Perry also argued the alleged failures had broader public safety implications.
"People were being made to be unsafe because of their policies and their administration," he said. "That’s dereliction of duty."
The Pennsylvania Republican questioned why the matter has not already resulted in criminal proceedings.
"If you know those things are going on and don’t do anything about them or are assisting in them, that is unlawful activity," Perry said.
"And I wonder why they’re not sitting in front of a jury instead of the oversight committee," he said.
Asked whether the information presented at the hearing was sufficient for a criminal referral to the Justice Department, Perry said the evidence appears significant but still requires further review.
"I think it’s probably there," he said. "I only had a certain amount of time to dig through it."
Perry also accused Walz of misleading lawmakers during testimony.
"The governor certainly perjured himself regarding what the court’s action was," Perry said. "I don’t think the court’s lying."
He added that Americans expect accountability from public officials.
"People expect accountability," Perry said.
"If you did this, Carl, or if I did this somehow, I guarantee you we’d be on trial if not already rotting in jail right now," he said.
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