Pete Stauber, R-Minn., said the fraud schemes coming from his state represent either "incompetence or dereliction of duty" from the governor's office. (John McCreary/NHLI via Getty Images)
Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., told Fox News Digital he had a high level of confidence that the committee would find out whether the governor’s office should have been aware of the mountain of fraud and whether the state’s climbing losses could have been prevented, citing whistleblowers' testimony he hopes to confirm.
"We want to know how much fraud. Is it still ongoing? Were people aware [and] turned a blind eye? That’s pretty much the purpose of our investigation," Comer said on Friday.
The House Oversight Committee launched its investigation earlier this month after recent reports revealed that the state had been hemorrhaging funds through fraud schemes in its social benefit programs.
The most prominent example, the Feeding Our Future scheme, resulted in a $250 million loss when fraudsters received payments from the state for services that went unfulfilled, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
But the documented problems stretch well beyond the one example.
Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., told Fox News Digital he had a high level of confidence that the committee would find out whether the governor’s office should have been aware of the mountain of fraud and whether the state’s climbing losses could have been prevented. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
He said the committee would send investigators to Minnesota in the near future but didn't give a timeline for how long he expected the investigation to take. Comer also declined to say exactly how many whistleblowers had spoken with the committee so far.
"Multiple," Comer said.
When asked about the committee’s investigation and whether Walz’s office would comply with committee requests, the governor’s office said yes.
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"We look forward to working together. While the governor has been working to ensure fraudsters go to prison, the president has been letting them out," Walz’s office said.
Leo Briceno is a politics reporter for the congressional team at Fox News Digital. He was previously a reporter with World Magazine.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/incompetence-dereliction-minnesota-lawmaker-rips-tim-walz-state-fraud-losses-mount