Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz definitely doesn’t need another scandal a month before Election Day, but he’s getting one anyway.
While Walz had enough to deal with after his mediocre vice-presidential debate performance opposite Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance on Tuesday, CNN is putting more on his plate by reaching back into his handling of his state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
On Friday, CNN published a story about fraud under Walz’s governorship as the misappropriation of state funds led to what the Department of Justice called “the single largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the nation.”
Feeding Our Future — a program to help feed needy children — fraudulently spent close to $250 million, but as CNN reported, instead of going to help hungry kids, the money went toward “buying houses, luxury cars, and a suburban bar and restaurant.”
NEW: CNN releases scathing segment exposing how MN Gov. Tim Walz allowed the single largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the nation.
In CNN’s review of audits, they found that Walz was directly to blame for looking the other way when it came to fraud in his state.
One specific… pic.twitter.com/4p660h6ApL
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 4, 2024
CNN said when state auditors looked into the fraud, they found Walz’s Department of Education left the door open for something like this to take place.
As CNN cited in the auditor’s report, the “MDE’s actions and inactions created opportunities for fraud,” stating further it “failed to act on warning signs.”
Minnesota’s Republican House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth commented on Walz’s responsibility in the matter.
“When he is not holding any commissioners responsible, then yes, Gov. Walz is responsible for the fraud that has been ongoing in the state of Minnesota.”
The MDE received 30 complaints between 2018 to 2021.
One anecdote CNN mentioned involved a food vendor who told the state that Feed Our Future was demanding a kickback in 2021 and took retaliatory measures against the vendor when it wouldn’t comply.
Outrageously, the state passed the complaint on to Feed Our Future to handle.
This is only one scandal reported by CNN, as the full story covered instances of undeserving workers receiving bonus checks meant for those who went the extra mile during the pandemic and conflicts of interest concerning tax dollars going toward mental health and addiction services.
Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign really did not need this coverage of her running mate.
Since picking Walz as her VP nominee in early August, press coverage hasn’t been flattering in reminding Americans of his largely hands-off approach to the 2020 George Floyd riots and discovering his incessant lying about his military rank.
Moreover, Walz presented nothing in terms of a counterweight for all of this.
He isn’t particularly well-spoken, nor does he glow with an imposing physical presence.
Tuesday gave the American people a flat, wide-eyed, frowning nominee the Harris campaign probably feels shackled to right about now.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
