by Frank Holmes, reporter
If the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination has shown America anything, it’s that the party is not exceptionally selective.
The nominee can be an unaccomplished senator from Illinois who gives a good speech, or a first lady known for a life of crooked deals, or a man suffering from severe cognitive deterioration, or a woman so unpopular and incoherent she can’t even win the nomination in an open primary.
Once the DNC names its candidates, the legacy media treat them like geniuses with the charisma of an entire rock group—regardless of their shortcomings or criminal activities—and the same holds true of its vice presidential nominees.
Enter the political success story of this summer, Tim Walz.
Ten weeks ago, no one outside the state of Minnesota knew his name. With little vetting and no background reporting, Walz has become a media hero and may soon be one heartbeat away from the presidency. Every “news” story presents the native Nebraskan as a “regular guy,” a tough “coach,” an honorable “war veteran,” and “America’s dad.”
But investigators say there’s another word Americans should associate with the governor and former congressman: fraud.
A tireless member of Congress is asking Walz a simple question: What happened to more than $250 million in taxpayer funds your state received from a federal COVID-19 relief program?
The money came from the Federal Child Nutrition Programs (FCNPs). It flowed through the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) under the leadership of Walz, a former school teacher. But where it has gone is a mystery.
The last known recipient is a Minnesota-based group called Feeding Our Future (FOF)…but the web is as tangled as weird as Walz himself.
During the COVID lockdowns—which Walz supported to the hilt—needy children and adults stood at risk of losing hot lunches provided by schools or other public organizations.
The U.S. government tried to relieve this through two federal programs aimed at boosting child nutrition: the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). Local charities and providers made hot meals for children, then submitted their costs to the federal government for reimbursement.
To be eligible for this money, you have to be approved…and in this case, Walz has happy to oblige.
The state department of education certified that the FOF was a legitimate charity ready, willing, and able to help the feds feed hungry kids locked out of the public schools.
But then, FOF shook down the federal government for every penny it could get–$250 million in all.
Massive fraud marked every government program during the pandemic, when officials were panicked, the economy teetered on the brink, and the federal government was handing out money to anyone vouched for by a state agency.
It’s being called the “largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the nation,” and Tim Walz was in the center of it.
“You and other executive officers were involved, or had knowledge of, MDE’s administration of the FCNP and responsibilities and actions regarding the massive fraud.” wrote Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-S.C., in a letter sent to Tim Walz on Wednesday.
Like Watergate, the issue isn’t just the corruption—it’s the cover up.
Once the scandal broke, Walz insisted there was no problem…but his actions seem to indicate he was speaking out of both sides of his mouth.
“This wasn’t malfeasance” in the fraudulent rip-off of hundreds of millions of dollars overseen by MDE, Walz insisted. Later, he said, “There’s not a single state employee that was implicated in doing anything that was illegal. They simply didn’t do as much due diligence as they should’ve.”
But the media reported that, behind the scenes, Walz knew he had a huge problem with his own people.
Local reporters said Walz “has already made many of the corrective actions suggested by” his auditor and taken “strong steps to find and eliminate any remaining vulnerabilities in government programs.”
Remaining vulnerabilities? So, there were problems from the get-go, Walz knew it, and fraudsters walked away with $250 million scot-free.
Members of Congress wrote two previous letters to state officials, demanding MDE and the Walz administration explain how one organization with the state’s seal of approval could walk off with hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. taxpayer funding.
But Foxx told Walz the state’s responses to its requests—sent on November 14, 2023, and June 14 of this year—“were insufficient to address the massive fraud” FOF carried out on his watch. “The Committee has been unable to obtain substantive responsive materials in the many voluntary requests made in this matter.”
They’re tired of waiting, so the Republican-controlled House Education and the Workforce Committee—chaired by Foxx—has sent a subpoena to Walz and to MDE Commissioner Willie Jett demanding an explanation no later than September 18.
Somehow, the criminal cover up has not made front-page news, thanks to the Fake News media.
But unlike the Fake News media, which let Kamala Harris skate for month than a month without an interview, The Horn is following this development, because we think you deserve to have the facts—and all the facts—about the man who could become vice president of the United States.