Sen. Hawley Calls for Resignation of Minnesota AG

Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, on Thursday urged Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to resign, implying that he should also face criminal charges. This statement came during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing, where Hawley questioned Ellison, a Democrat, about his involvement with Feeding Our Future, a nonprofit linked to a significant $250 million fraud scheme targeting child nutrition programs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hawley highlighted a meeting from December 2021, which was between Ellison and individuals who would later be indicted, alleging that the attorney general covertly aided them during this 54-minute session, which is on record.

After the meeting, according to Hawley, Ellison received $10,000 in campaign donations from people who were subsequently charged with fraud. He accused Ellison of facilitating the fraud and claimed he benefited from these contributions. “You helped these fraudsters defraud your state and this government,” Hawley stated passionately, shouting, “You should be prosecuted.”

In response, Ellison seemed unfazed and retorted, “Well, let’s see what we can do.” Hawley later insisted that Ellison “should be in jail.”

The exchange became increasingly heated, with both men interrupting one another. At one point, Senator Rand Paul, the committee chairman, had to step in and ask both senators to calm down.

Ellison firmly rejected the accusations, contending that Hawley was taking things out of context and misrepresenting the details of their discussion. He maintained that he did not offer any assistance to those accused. His office stated that it had contributed to the information leading to charges and convictions related to this extensive investigation.

Former Attorney General Merrick Garland has labeled the “Feeding Our Future” case as one of the largest pandemic fraud schemes in the country, with numerous individuals, primarily of Somali descent, facing charges connected to it. In light of this ongoing situation, Attorney General Pam Bondi has recently intensified the inquiry into fraud in Minnesota, dispatching additional personnel to the U.S. Attorney’s Office to aid in the investigation into possible fraud across various benefit programs.