With Tim Walz subpoena, Congress demands the answers on COVID fraud that the media won’t ask

Background

COVID-19 has presented an opportunity for rampant fraud, and the state of Minnesota has been no exception. In fact, a recent audit by the state auditor’s office found that $277 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds were misspent or unaccounted for.

The audit found that the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) was responsible for the majority of the misspent funds, with $222 million in unemployment benefits being paid out to ineligible recipients.

The audit also found that DEED failed to properly verify the identity of unemployment benefit recipients, which allowed fraudsters to collect benefits under multiple names and Social Security numbers.

Investigation

In response to the audit findings, the U.S. House of Representatives Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis has subpoenaed Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to testify about the state’s handling of COVID-19 relief funds.

The subpoena seeks documents and testimony from Walz related to the misspent funds, as well as the state’s efforts to prevent and investigate fraud.

Walz has until December 16 to comply with the subpoena.

Response from Gov. Walz

In a statement, Governor Walz said he is “committed to transparency and accountability” and will cooperate with the subpoena.

Walz also said that he has directed DEED to take steps to improve its oversight of COVID-19 relief funds and to prevent fraud.

Conclusion

The subpoena of Governor Walz is a significant development in the investigation of COVID-19 fraud in Minnesota.

The subpoena will give Congress access to important documents and testimony that will help to shed light on how the state handled COVID-19 relief funds and how much those actions led to fraud.

It is important to note that the subpoena does not mean that Governor Walz is accused of any wrongdoing.

However, the subpoena does indicate that Congress is serious about investigating COVID-19 fraud and holding those responsible accountable.