Tim Walz

"He'll unleash HELL ON EARTH"

"Federal prosecutors unveiled charges Thursday against another six people, accusing them of defrauding public assistance programs in Minnesota — including two men they allege traveled to the state for that express purpose. The latest indictments add fuel to a scandal that has now led to charges against more than 90 people who have been accused, and in many cases convicted, of bilking hundreds of millions of dollars from the Midwestern state, putting Gov. Tim Walz's administration in the hot seat and drawing attacks from President Trump. Thursday's charges focus on housing assistance and autism services. And the pandemic-era food aid fraud case that set off the scandal is still brewing."

"Minnesota is far from the only state that has grappled with allegations of public assistance fraud, especially scams targeting pandemic aid funds. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said Minnesota faces a particularly large problem, pointing to 14 different Medicaid programs that the state has flagged for "significant fraud problems." He suggested total losses could reach into the billions. "The fraud is not small. It isn't isolated. The magnitude cannot be overstated," Thompson said at a press conference Thursday. "What we see in Minnesota is not a handful of bad actors committing crimes. It's a staggering, industrial-scale fraud." Walz, whose administration has faced scrutiny for its handling of the issue, has vowed to crack down. Meanwhile, Mr. Trump has sharply criticized Minnesota — and he's lashed out at the state's large Somali-American community as most, but not all, of the defendants are of Somali descent."

"Walz launched a new fraud prevention program on Dec. 12, led by a former FBI agent. He applauded the new federal charges on Thursday. "This is exactly the type of strong action we need from prosecutors to ensure fraudsters are put behind bars," Walz said in a statement. "We will not tolerate fraud, and we will continue to work with federal partners to ensure fraud is stopped and fraudsters are caught." James Clark, inspector general of the Minnesota Department of Human Services, said in a statement Thursday the agency "has been moving more aggressively than ever to suspend payments where we see evidence of fraud." He also urged federal officials to share information with the agency, which oversees many of the programs that were hit by fraud allegations. "If there is evidence of Medicaid fraud, the state should be given the information so DHS can slam the door shut on payments to those individuals and businesses," Clark said."

"A straight, football-coaching national guardsman wasn’t the LGBT+ ally that Seth Elliot Meyer expected. But Meyer, who came out as queer in his freshman year of high school in 2000, admits he was wrong about Tim Walz. “I just sort of naively believed that someone who was a big, masculine dude with a deep voice was never someone who’s going to be on my side,” Meyer says. “As much as those younger students who were courageous enough to be out in those years, it was just as important to have those very kind of ‘normal,’ strong, straight, masculine allies backing us up.”"

"Before he was governor of Minnesota, before he was a member of Congress, and before he was a candidate for the next vice president of the United States, he was “Mr Walz,” a geography teacher at Mankato West High School, roughly 80 miles south of Minneapolis. In 1999, Walz agreed to be the faculty adviser for the school’s first ever gay-straight alliance (GSA). Walz and his wife Gwen, who also taught at the school, were a refuge for their LGBT+ students, alumni tell The Independent. Dozens of those former students are now campaigning for him to reach the White House."

"Like, I think that Tim Walz is a great guy and I think he's got a lot of good political instincts, and I think he did the best he could, given the situation he was in. But there is a huge difference between being an outsider who steps in to offer a populist message to the American people and being a, like, friendly Midwestern left-leaning governor Democrat who gets picked as a VP, but is still ultimately beholden to the messaging and policies of your neoliberal President-- or, Presidential candidate."

"If Governor Walz becomes our VP, I hope he could help bring some of this thinking [regarding permitting reform for renewable energy projects] to the federal level. . . . It would make an incredible difference in the nation’s progress on climate."

"Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota has faced fresh scrutiny over his military service, and how he has characterized his record, in the weeks since he was selected as Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate. The attacks, spearheaded by his rival for the vice presidency who himself is a veteran, JD Vance, have dogged him since he first ran for Congress nearly two decades ago. Mr. Walz has forcefully defended his time in the Army National Guard. “I am damn proud of my service to this country,” Mr. Walz said this month. “And I firmly believe you should never denigrate another person’s service record.”"