Never in my life did I think this Minnesota fraud story would take on a life of its own the way it has, but the narrative continues to spiral in many different directions.
From claims of widespread fraud to potential malfeasance by Gov. Tim Walz to the investigative journalism of Nick Shirley, it all gets more interesting by the day.
Another twist involves a local Minneapolis Somali woman who was trying to defend the daycare system in her state, but wound up nearly having a nervous breakdown when she appeared to have mistakenly made reference to fraud.
With the way this story has continued to evolve, it was no surprise to see President Donald Trump jump all over it to hit Democrats.
Referring to the apparently massive fraud problem in Minnesota, Trump stated, “That’s peanuts. California is worse, Illinois is worse and, sadly, New York is worse — a lot of other places. So, we’re going to get to the bottom of this.”
A recent report from California's inspector general revealed millions in existing waste and a budget that was ripe for fraudsters.
The situation revealed was so dire that even Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) called for a budget audit.
Shirley's recent video exposé was explosive, but in the spirit of truth and transparency, let’s talk about what we know to be fact.
So far, there have been more than six dozen indictments issued related to fraud in this realm and nearly five dozen convictions, with all but a handful of them implicating members of the Somali immigrant community.
Shirley’s video visited numerous businesses with arguably sketchy set-ups. In some cases, multiple such entities were housed in the same facility.
It did all look suspicious, but we cannot definitively say that the enterprises Shirley highlighted are fraudulent until a full investigation is done. His 43-minute video, however, was a great place to start. I would have thought that the major media outlets would have taken the ball from there, but they seemed more interested in going after Shirley than the potential fraudsters.
A press conference was called in an attempt to show support for the local Somali community and business owners, but the effort kind of backfired when one woman fell apart at the podium.
Deko Nor is a medical student who uses one of the daycare centers in question, and she said she would not be able to attend classes if her child did not have access to the facility. She explained, “I rely on child care. I work. If child care is cut, I am unable to work or go to school. I understand fraud is bad...”
Then she broke down, near tears on the podium, with it later being reported that she did not attend classes in the wake of the press event because she was so upset over what she said.
This is like a daytime soap opera right now, as everything the media and the left try to do to make this better for Democrats just keeps backfiring on them. Personally, I cannot wait to see what FBI Director Kash Patel learns in his investigation.
