Fmr Minn. Gov to Newsmax: Fraud Auditors' Warnings Ignored

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Saturday on Newsmax that repeated audit warnings were brushed aside inside the Walz administration, contributing to what federal investigators believe could become one of the largest public fraud cases in U.S. history.

Pawlenty, who served as governor from 2003 to 2011, made the remarks during an appearance on "America Right Now" as federal authorities continue investigating an estimated $9 billion fraud scheme involving more than a dozen Minnesota social service and child care centers.

Asked whether he shared the pessimism of Republican state lawmakers who doubt the fraud can be fully rooted out, Pawlenty said federal investigators are only beginning to uncover the scope of the alleged misconduct.

"I'm not as pessimistic," he said.

"For this reason, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minneapolis, which is the head of it, is appointed by the Trump administration, and all the federal agencies, as you're reporting has indicated, are digging into this big time.

"And while they may not find all of it, they're going to find a lot of it," Pawlenty said.

"And that U.S. Attorney's Office has indicated that it believes this fraud will amount to $9 billion or more, and they're just getting started in the investigations," he added.

If those figures are confirmed, Pawlenty said the case would be historically earthshattering.

"And if it is $9 billion, that will in fact be one of the, if not the largest, frauds and thefts of public money in American history."

The case is expected to draw further scrutiny on Capitol Hill.

The House Oversight Committee, chaired by Rep. James Comer, is scheduled to hold hearings next week featuring Republican state lawmakers from Minnesota.

A second hearing, planned for early February, is expected to focus on Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison, both of whom have been invited to testify.

When asked what he would question Walz about, Pawlenty pointed to a long record of ignored warnings from nonpartisan officials.

"Well, in addition to the whistleblower complaints that the chairman [James Comer] just mentioned in that report, we also have years' worth of auditors' reports," he said.

"And these are respected, nonpartisan, nonpolitical people who are raising red flags about the lack of financial controls and the potential for fraud for these kinds of problems over the years.

"And so, walking the administration, Governor Walz, and his team through those audit reports and saying, why didn't you pay attention to this earlier? Why didn't you take action earlier?," Pawlenty commented.

Pawlenty highlighted one warning in particular.

"And in fact, in one dramatic moment, the legislative auditor said that she felt that the Walz administration had a 'shoot-the-messenger' mentality and wasn't taking their recommendations seriously."

"We have other instances of investigators going back to 2018, indicating that the administration wasn't cooperating with their investigation and, therefore, stymied investigations into some of this fraud."

"And the list goes on and on. So there's a treasure trove if you want to cross-examine Keith Ellison or Governor Walz or his team members on what the red flags were and why they didn't follow up on them," Pawlenty added.

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