On Tuesday, Townhall reported that Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison had a hand in the massive Somali fraud scheme that bilked state taxpayers out of billions of dollars. That money went lots of places, including into the hands of Somalia's Al-Shabaab terror group, but not to the people who needed the food, housing, and other services.
In an interview with CNN, Ellison was asked about the fraud and said he wouldn't do anything differently. Not a single thing.
MUST WATCH: Minnesota AG Keith Ellison says there is nothing he would have done differently after the state was warned about fraud that cost taxpayers over $1 BILLION, and they repeatedly ignored it.
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) December 4, 2025
CNN's Anderson Cooper: "Is there something you wish you had done… pic.twitter.com/3fcG18X3C0
"I do want to ask you about the fraud scandal," Anderson Cooper said. "The vast majority of the 70 defendants were Somali...critics have said that state officials, including you and the governor, did not act fast enough or quickly enough to investigate charges of fraud against Feeding Our Future and did little to flag their allegations to federal authorities."
"Is there something you wish you had done differently?" Cooper asked.
"No. First of all, the Department of Education denied claims...when questionable claims were made about these meals. My office went to court, explained that to the court. A judge actually found the department in contempt for denying claims," Ellison said. "And we cooperated fully and worked well with the FBI. We're glad we took the action that we did."
As leaked audio revealed, Ellison met with key figures in the Feeding Our Future program, and sounded sympathetic to delayed claims, even telling them that he was "in the middle of the battle with the agencies now" and that "[Governor Tim]Walz agrees with me that this piddly, stupid stuff running small people out of business is terrible."
He was also heard saying, "Let's go fight these people," possibly referring to those who were flagging or delaying applications for possible fraud.
According to Fox News contributor Paul Mauro, Ellison also reassured these groups that he would pressure agencies to resume payments to Feeding Our Future. The Department of Education halted payments in part because some groups were claiming they were distributing 5,000 or more meals a day, a number the County Highway newspaper called "implausible."
This is someone who knows the media is going to let this all skate. He won't even have to resign, much less be criminally investigated. https://t.co/C9ArqepUo7
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) December 4, 2025
This is, sadly, probably correct.
He has zero fear of being prosecuted. He might as well said ‘I did it, no one will do anything about it’
— Thirteen O'Clock - Todd (@o_thirteen) December 4, 2025
Where's the lie?
Ellison: "The federal government didn't act fast enough"
— John 🗽 (@ITVPod) December 4, 2025
Federal government: "Okay we'll indict a bunch of people from Somalia."
Ellison: "No, not like that" https://t.co/gvIW8xRqmJ
We also caught Ellison's attempt to throw the feds under the bus — that would be the Biden administration, by the way.
Editor’s Note: Help us continue to report the truth about corrupt politicians like Keith Ellison.
Join Townhall VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member