Pawlenty to Newsmax: Walz Ignored Fraud Warnings

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty said a yearslong trail of audit warnings and whistleblower complaints showed that Gov. Tim Walz’s administration was slow to respond to alleged fraud involving Minnesota child care and social service programs.

The news from the former governor sounded rejected Walz’s claim that scrutiny of the case is rooted in racism.

"The paper trail here, as it relates to nonpartisan audits that have been done over a long period of time, dating back to 2018 and all the way to more recently, clearly indicates the auditors were saying lack of financial controls and a potential for fraud," Pawlenty said on Newsmax's "Sunday Agenda."

"There were whistleblowers highlighting actual fraud and this administration was undeniably slow to respond," he added.

Pawlenty said auditors believed the Walz administration had a "shoot the messenger mentality" and said there were "many examples" of officials failing to cooperate with investigations and "looking the other way."

Walz has said he did not know about the alleged fraud and is working to get to the bottom of it, but he has also suggested the scrutiny is tied to racism.

Pawlenty said accountability should apply evenly, regardless of the community involved.

"And as to racism claims, look, we shouldn't stigmatize people because they're in a particular group, but we also shouldn't excuse or look the other way because they're in a particular group," Pawlenty said.

"There's pretty clear allegations that that's what this administration did because they wanted to be politically correct, not be accused of racism, and the Somalis are a big part of [Democrats] voting bloc and political constituency in Minnesota," he said.

The case is expected to be examined in two House Oversight Committee hearings.

The first is scheduled for Wednesday and is expected to feature three Republican Minnesota state representatives.

A second hearing is planned for early February, when Walz and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison have been invited to testify.

Minnesota state Sen. Mark Currin, who appeared with Pawlenty, said lawmakers and state officials were alerted to concerns involving the Child Care Assistance Program years ago, but he said the state failed to act.

"When these things were brought to them, they still failed to act," Currin said, adding that he believes political considerations shaped the response.

Pawlenty said attempts to discredit those raising concerns are a distraction from the underlying allegations and the potential scope of the losses.

"And so let's just focus on what we know. And what we know so far is there's a lot of fraud," Pawlenty said.

"The total number they're tracking is $18 billion, but they believe the number will be $9 billion," he commented. "To try to do jazz hands and say, Look over here! look over there. This messenger is flawed is total nonsense."

"Let's just look at the real problem, which is there's a heck of a lot of fraud in my state, Minnesota, which makes me sad and makes me furious," he added.

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 brandas 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!