Adam Fetcher, a former press aide to President Obama, is facing serious charges for allegedly taking a co-worker’s debit card to purchase kratom, a substance that affects mood, at a smoke shop in Minneapolis. Once the chief communications officer for the city, he was dismissed in early July amid a police investigation, which found he had taken money and cards from at least three fellow employees and spent significant amounts in a smoking area. On Wednesday, prosecutors officially charged him with financial transaction fraud, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
This situation is adding new challenges for Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who has already been under fire due to fraud associated with some members of the Somali community in the city. These are sensitive political waters, especially since the city’s leaders have cultivated significant political connections.
Fetcher, who is now 42, previously held various strategic communication roles during the Obama administration and in campaigns. He spent about eight months as the deputy press secretary at the Department of Homeland Security in 2011, later serving as the press secretary for the Department of the Interior until July 2012. After that, he took up the deputy press secretary role for Obama’s re-election campaign.
It’s somewhat puzzling—given Fetcher’s reported salary of nearly $200,000 as the city’s communications chief—why he resorted to stealing relatively small amounts from colleagues. Court records indicate he had no prior criminal history aside from a few traffic violations.
Reportedly, Fetcher began taking cash and credit cards from coworkers’ desks shortly after finishing a rehab program, confiding to some of his colleagues about his struggles with substance abuse. Kratom, which is often employed to help manage opioid withdrawal symptoms, poses its own addiction risks and has faced increasing scrutiny on both federal and state levels.
Fetcher’s attorney mentioned he had no comments and he is slated to appear in court on August 11th. Attempts by news outlets to get comments from Obama’s representatives went unanswered.
