House Committee Subpoenas Walz in Probe of Minnesota Nonprofit Embroiled in Covid Aid Fraud Scheme

In what could be an embarrassing moment for the Harris campaign, a House committee has subpoenaed Governor Walz for information related to a pandemic-era program that was rife with fraud under the Democratic vice presidential nominee’s leadership. The chairwoman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, Congresswoman Virginia Foxx, wrote to Mr. Walz Wednesday to tell him he was being subpoenaed. He is being asked to turn over information related to his state’s administration of a nutrition relief program set up during the Covid pandemic. At least five leaders of one of those nonprofits that benefited from the program have already been convicted of orchestrating a scheme to steal hundreds of millions of dollars from the government. The panel has been seeking answers about the program since 2023. The Minnesota Department of Education has also been subpoenaed for its role in administering some aspects of the Federal Child Nutrition Programs. “As the chief executive and the highest ranking official in the state of Minnesota, you are responsible for the MDE and its administration of FCNPs,” Ms. Foxx writes. “Statements in the press by you and your representatives indicate that you and other executive officers were involved, or had knowledge of, MDE’s administration of the FCNP and responsibilities and actions regarding the massive fraud.”More than $250 million were stolen from government programs by a Minnesota nonprofit, Feeding Our Future, during the course of the pandemic, which federal prosecutors called a “depraved and brazen” scheme. “Criminal charges allege that individuals, including FOF’s leader, conspired to fraudulently claim $250 million in federal meals funds that were allegedly spent instead on luxury vehicles, real estate, and other unlawful purchases,” the committee writes in its press release. Five individuals have already been convicted for their roles in the fraud. Ms. Foxx is demanding that Mr. Walz turn over “documents that will show the extent of the actions taken by you and your administration relating to MDE’s administration of the FCNP and the extent of your responsibilities and actions addressing the massive fraud that resulted in the abuse of taxpayer dollars intended for hungry children.” The deadline to turn over that information is September 18. The Minnesota governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Education and Workforce Committee also subpoenaed Mr. Walz’s state education commissioner, Willie Jett, who has provided some information to the committee, but not at a level that is satisfactory to the panel. The investigation was first launched in November 2023. This isn’t the only investigation Mr. Walz is facing from his old colleagues in the House. In August, the House Oversight Committee launched a probe into the governor’s “extensive engagement” with Communist China. While working as a teacher, Mr. Walz took a number of trips to China, including to teach English. While he was serving as a member of the House, he said America should not seek a competitive relationship with the Communist regime, but rather a cooperative one. “Mr. Walz has visited China dozens of times, served as a fellow at a Chinese institution that maintains a devotion to the CCP, and spoke alongside the President of a Chinese organization the State Department exposed as a CCP effort to influence and co-opt local leaders. FBI briefers recently informed the Committee that the Bureau’s Foreign Influence Task Force investigates CCP activity that is similar to China’s engagement with Governor Walz,” the chairman of the committee, Congressman James Comer, said. He added that the American public deserves “to fully understand how deep Governor Walz’s relationship with China goes.”

House Committee Subpoenas Walz in Probe of Minnesota Nonprofit Embroiled in Covid Aid Fraud Scheme

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