House Panel Subpoenas Walz In COVID Fraud Probe

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the Democratic Party’s vice presidential nominee, has been subpoenaed as part of a Republican-led congressional investigation into the fraudulent use of COVID relief funds.

The House Education and the Workforce Committee is seeking documents related to the Minnesota Department of Education’s (MDE) administration of federal child nutrition programs (FCNP).

At issue is how the Minnesota-based nonprofit Feeding Our Future (FOF) was implicated in what the Department of Justice (DOJ) described as a $250 million fraud scheme that “exploited” an operation meant to feed hungry kids in need during the COVID pandemic.

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“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,” Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) wrote in a cover letter to Walz.

“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,” she added.

The committee also sent subpoenas for documents to MDE Commissioner Willie Jett, Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack, and Agriculture Department Inspector General Phyllis Fong. Walz and the others received a September 18 deadline.

Vice President Kamala Harris picked Walz as her running mate in the 2024 presidential race in early August, but the House GOP’s inquiry into FOF and efforts to obtain documents from Minnesota officials dates back to last year.

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In 2022, federal prosecutors announced charges against dozens of defendants linked to FOF in what the DOJ described at the time as being “the largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the nation.”

In June of this year, U.S. Attorney Andrew Lugar announced that five defendants had been convicted by a federal jury, and a total of 23 individuals had been “held accountable” for their roles in the $250 million fraud scheme.

Foxx’s letter to Walz noted that the governor, when asked about not holding agencies accountable and whether MDE employees would be disciplined, replied, “This wasn’t malfeasance.”

Walz also stated, “There’s not a single state employee that was implicated in doing anything that was illegal. They simply didn’t do as much due diligence as they should’ve.”

The Office of the Legislative Auditor in Minnesota released a report this summer that said MDE’s oversight of FOF had been “inadequate” and listed ways in which it “created opportunities for fraud.”

A spokesperson for Walz told Axios his administration “made many of the corrective actions suggested by the OLA [Office of the Legislative Auditor] and taken ‘strong steps to find and eliminate any remaining vulnerabilities in government programs.'”