The ‘Walz’ Are Closing in as Karoline Leavitt Drops 8 Major Updates on Minnesota Fraud [WATCH]

Karoline Leavitt addressed questions about Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s decision to withdraw from the gubernatorial race while outlining what she described as an extensive, multi-agency federal effort to investigate and combat large-scale fraud in Minnesota and beyond.

During an exchange with reporters, Leavitt was asked directly whether the administration believes Walz exited the race due to potential criminal exposure.

“Does the administration believe that Tim Walz potentially dropped out of the governor’s race because he could be under criminal investigation?” a reporter asked.

Leavitt said she could not comment on any possible investigation but suggested Walz’s political standing had deteriorated significantly.

“I don’t know if there’s a criminal investigation. If there was, I wouldn’t be able to comment on it from up here, to be honest with you, but I think Tim Walz probably dropped out of the race because he realizes he no longer has the support of the people of his own state, which is a remarkable downfall, considering he was the number two on the Democrat party’s ticket just about a year ago,” Leavitt said.

Leavitt then turned to what she described as widespread fraud uncovered in Minnesota, encouraging journalists to examine the situation firsthand.

“When it comes to Minnesota, the fraud that we have seen, the wide scale of fraud, is really remarkable. It’s egregious. I would encourage every single journalist in this room to go to Minnesota and to cover it yourselves,” she said.

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Leavitt outlined a series of actions taken by the Trump administration, saying senior officials and multiple federal agencies have been actively engaged on the ground.

“As for the Trump administration, we have officials who have been on the ground almost every day. Secretary Noam was there yesterday. Secretary Besant will be traveling there later this week to talk about the fraud and to do a round table on this very topic,” she said.

Providing detailed figures, Leavitt cited Department of Justice statistics related to Medicaid and related fraud cases.

“And I would just like to leave you with an update to date, the Department of Justice has charged 98 total defendants in several Medicaid fraud and related case programs. 64 were convicted, and 85 of the 98 charged were of Somali descent,” she said.

She added that federal investigators have dramatically expanded their enforcement efforts.

“The DOJ has also issued over 17,000 1700 subpoenas executed, over 130 search warrants, and they have now added more attorneys to their office there to absorb the case flow,” Leavitt said.

According to Leavitt, the Department of Homeland Security is conducting extensive investigations tied to both criminal activity and immigration enforcement.

“DHS is on the ground, going door to door, conducting large scale criminal and HSI investigations. They have also sent approximately 2000 agents to Minneapolis to assist with law enforcement and immigration enforcement, as I said. Secretary Noam was on the ground yesterday,” she said.

Leavitt said additional agencies are tightening oversight and withholding funds tied to suspected fraud.

“The Department of Health and Human Services has also begun requiring a justification and photo evidence for all child care related payments nationwide, and they required Minnesota to conduct a full audit of all child care centers. They also froze $185 million in funding to Minnesota,” she said.

She added that further audits are underway across multiple programs.

“And Doctor Oz, who was just here, also notified Governor Walz they’re going to begin auditing Medicaid recipients and deferring payments on claims based on waste, fraud and abuse. The Department of Labor is also conducting a targeted review of Minnesota’s unemployment program. Department of Agriculture requiring Minnesota to conduct recertification for SNAP recipients,” Leavitt said.

Leavitt said housing and small business programs are also under scrutiny.

“And HUD has launched investigations into the public housing SBA has also suspended nearly 7000 borrowers amid suspected fraudulent activity,” she said.

Leavitt concluded by stressing that the administration’s response extends far beyond Minnesota and is aimed at protecting taxpayers nationwide.

“So with all of that, rest assured, this is an all hands on deck effort from the entire administration to get to the bottom of this and ensure that the ripping off of taxpayers in the state of Minnesota, and it won’t just be Minnesota, it will be any state across this country where fraud has taken place and we are protecting law abiding tax paying American citizens,” she said.

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