The Somali migrant fraud scandal in Minnesota continues to get worse and worse for Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who has been exposed as not just seemingly hushing up and ignoring the massive scandal, but also cracking down on and attempting to intimidate whistleblowers who spoke out about it.
Such is what Minnesota House Fraud Prevention Committee Chair Rep Kristin Robbins exposed when sounding off on Governor Walz in a recent hearing, alleging that he had engaged in targeting and attempting to silence whistleblowers. Robbins further alleged that the committee was finding it difficult to satisfactorily investigate the fraud scandal because whistleblowers were facing such harsh reprisals from the governor.
Speaking about the matter, Robbins noted that the committee could not share information with the state AG because of fears from those who have exposed the fraud that speaking out about it will lead to their facing consequences at the hands of the state. She said, “So we did receive your letter Inspector General, asking us to share information with you on credible whistleblower reports. And to date, we have not, because there is no trust.”
Continuing, she noted that those who have exposed fraud feel that they will be retaliated against for doing so, saying, “As you might understand, this fraud has been perpetuated on your watch, and the whistleblowers who reach out to us within the department are terrified, and they feel that they’ve been retaliated against already.”
Further describing that fear and how it has harmed the investigation, along with how she is trying to get around it, she said, “They feel that they are very afraid. They’re afraid to reach out to us, and if they thought we were then turning around and giving it to you, we would not have whistleblowers. So we initiated a whistleblower portal last spring in response to people who are afraid to come to you, and that has received hundreds of tips, belatedly.”
Further adding to that, she noted how that lack of whistleblower trust has gotten in the way of the investigation because her committee’s power is limited, saying, “You all also put out a whistleblower report portal this fall, which I think hopefully is also generating tips. But when I get credible allegations of fraud from whistleblowers, we meet with them, we interview them, we ferret it out as much as possible. But as you know, legislators do not have access to bank records, health records, subpoena power, the SWIFT payment system that the state uses to pay things.”
Still not done, she noted how federal resources have to be relied upon because of the atmosphere of fear the Walz government has created, saying, “So I can only get an investigation so far, but when we get it, we go to the US attorney, the FBI and the Office of Legislative Auditor, who have access to all those records.”
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Concluding, she said, “So our whistle blowers are being protected and they are also being reviewed for further investigation. And I would like to have a more collaborative relationship with you, but I have to say, if whistleblowers thought we were turning everything over to you, it would stop.”
Watch her here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video