FBI Director Kash Patel called out Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) for taking credit for federal raids targeting fraud in Minnesota.
Federal authorities raided 22 locations in Minnesota on Tuesday in relation to allegations that billions of dollars were defrauded from the state. Soon after, Walz posted a series of messages on X appearing to take credit for the raids, prompting a callout from Patel.
“Come again? This FBI and DOJ with our DHS partners drafted and executed every search warrant today. But go ahead and take credit for our work while we smoke out the fraud plaguing Minnesota under your governorship,” he said, quoting Walz’s post saying Minnesota state agencies reported the fraud.
The Tuesday raids mostly targeted Somali-linked businesses, according to Fox News, including Minneapolis’s Quality Learning Center, which gained national fame after onlookers noticed the sign was misspelled to read the “Quality Learing Center.”
“Today, the FBI, with federal, state, and local law enforcement, is involved in court-authorized law enforcement activity as part of an ongoing fraud investigation,” a Department of Justice spokesperson told the Washington Examiner earlier on Tuesday.
Walz urged state and federal cooperation shortly after the raids began when he claimed credit for them.
FBI RAIDS NEARLY TWO DOZEN MINNEAPOLIS FACILITIES AS PART OF SWEEPING FRAUD INVESTIGATION
“If you commit fraud in Minnesota you’re going to get caught — and that’s exactly what we saw today. We catch criminals when state and federal agencies share information. Joint investigations work, and securing justice depends on it,” he said in a post on X.
Meanwhile, the city of Minneapolis said it was not involved in the federal operations.
