In yet more awesome news from the Trump Administration, which has come into the new year swinging, embarking on a slew of epic policies, from cutting off taxpayer funding for California to stopping institutional investors from buying up single-family housing, Vice President JD Vance announced that a new Assistant Attorney General position is being created to target fraud.
As background, the matter of fraudsters stealing taxpayer dollars has come to the fore thanks to the Somali migrants in Minnesota, who have been caught stealing nearly inconceivable amounts of taxpayer dollars from state and federal taxpayers, pillaging everything from daycare programs to programs meant to provide free meals to hungry kids. Overall, perhaps $18 billion in taxpayer funding was stolen by the primarily Somali fraudsters in Minnesota.
One criticism that was levelled at the Trump Administration as the scandal started to unfold, particularly from the more hardline elements of the MAGA base, was that the administration wasn’t acting quickly enough to crack down on the fraud and handle the fraudsters. It is seemingly that criticism that the administration was trying to fight with the new DOJ post, which will streamline its ability to target fraudsters.
Announcing as much in a White House press release, the administration said, “To combat the rampant and pervasive problem of fraud in the United States, the DOJ’s new division for national fraud enforcement will enforce the Federal criminal and civil laws against fraud targeting Federal government programs, Federally funded benefits, businesses, nonprofits, and private citizens nationwide.”
Continuing, it noted that the new position will handle fraudsters who steal from the federal government, saying, “The Assistant Attorney General for this new division will be responsible for leading the Department’s efforts to investigate, prosecute, and remedy fraud affecting the Federal government, Federally funded programs, and private citizens.”
Still not done, the statement went on to give examples of what that work will look like, noting, “This role will oversee multi-district and multi-agency fraud investigations; provide advice, assistance, and direction to the United States Attorneys’ Offices on fraud-related issues; and work closely with Federal agencies and Department components to identify, disrupt, and dismantle organized and sophisticated fraud schemes across jurisdictions.”
Further, it noted that the new Assistant Attorney General will be involved in reforming the law and regulatory apparatus to tamp down on such fraud before it can occur, writing, “The new Assistant Attorney General will also help develop and set national enforcement priorities, and propose legislative and regulatory reforms as necessary to close systematic vulnerabilities and prevent future abuses.”
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Then, noting that the rest of the DOJ will remain involved and help crack down on fraud where necessary, it said, “The Assistant Attorney General will also advise the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General on issues involving significant, high-impact fraud investigations and prosecutions and related policy matters.”
Announcing the new position in a press event alongside White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, VP JD Vance said, “This is the person who is going to make sure we stop defrauding the American people.” Further, he noted that the crackdown will be a “nationwide effort, because unfortunately, the American people have been defrauded in a very nationwide way.”
Watch him here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video