The top law enforcement officer in the state of Minnesota suddenly walked out of an interview when a journalist pushed him on the issue of taxpayer fraud being uncovered in his neck of the woods. Attorney General Keith Ellison halted an exchange and bolted from in front of the camera after the reporter turned to the topic of the scandal rocking the North Star State.
Ellison told the reporter, “So, I’m done talking to you. Bye-bye.” The whole interaction was captured on video and is now making its way around social media and news outlets across the country. The attorney general scoffed at the dollar figure that has been shared in media coverage of the fraud, referring to it as “a false number” going on to tie it to political opponents.
“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,” he said in comments delivered to Fox News. The reporter then noted that Ellison was citing several reports and asked him to clarify what the actual dollar amount of the fraud.
According to a report from The Daily Caller, rather than answer the question, Ellison called the reporter’s integrity into question. “It’s wrong though. And if you’re a real reporter, you should know that,” he said, pointing a finger at the Fox News reporter. The spicy confrontation took place just after Vice President JD Vance decided earlier in the month to refer both Ellison and Democratic Gov. Tim Walz to the Justice Department for a criminal fraud investigation.
That particular report has estimated a staggering $300 million in federal child nutrition money and possibly up to $9 billion in Medicaid-related funds were either lost or placed at serious risk. Investigators said that almost half of the $18 million paid through 14 Medicaid programs since 2018 might have been fraudulent. One of the most widely known cases, involving Feeding Our Future, drained $250 million that was supposed to go toward feeding children during the COVID pandemic.
The operation ran a total of 250 different websites and falsely reported serving over 125 million meals before the ringleader of the program was slapped with a 41-year prison sentence in May 2026. Ellison waved off the referral, calling it a “political stunt from an administration that uses the machinery of government to target its perceived opponents while extending leniency to those aligned with its interests.”
Comments on The Daily Caller story shared disgust and contempt for Ellison and his refusal to acknowledge the fraud that has essentially robbed Americans of needed funds intended to be used to help those who are dependent on them. “The dirtbag Ellison needs to go down with ‘No Balls’ Wallz for tolerating and covering up the fraud,” one user said.
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“Well, at least he acknowledges that there is a financial fraud scandal. He is just trying to argue and minimize the acknowledged amount of Taxpayer Money stolen by his friends,” another wrote. Someone else pointed out, “You wouldn’t get questions you don’t like if you weren’t involved in the fraud.” Someone then commented, “Height of arrogance. The DOJ needs to put him in an orange jumpsuit so we can say, ‘bye-bye’ to HIM.”
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video