Minnesota officials under Democratic Gov. Tim Walz retaliated against state employees who raised concerns about fraud and the state’s management of taxpayer-funded social service programs, including by hiring investigators outside of the agency to scrutinize whistleblowers and monitor workers who reported suspected abuse, a new House oversight committee majority staff report alleged.

The 205-page report released on Monday alleged Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) officials retaliated against whistleblowers using the help of outside private investigators and law firms, intimidation tactics, and surveillance efforts, including one instance where a DHS manager allegedly proposed using military connections to determine the locations of employees raising concerns about fraud. The investigation marks the most comprehensive overview of leadership deterioration contributing to fears of speaking out against Minnesota’s federal funding mismanagement for more than half a decade.

“Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison are responsible for one of the most stunning oversight failures this Committee has ever examined,” House oversight committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said in a statement on the investigation, which the Republican-majority on the committee formally initiated on Dec. 3.

Investigators interviewed nine current and former government officials and concluded DHS intimidated and harassed staff who raised fraud concerns under the Walz administration. The conclusions rely in part on testimony from Shireen Gandhi, a temporary DHS commissioner whom Walz fired last month, just days before she was due to face a confirmation hearing before the Minnesota Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

More here

Tagged: Politics BACK TO HOMEPAGE