Frey Admits ‘Everybody Could Have Done More To Prevent Fraud’-lllllll
Jacob Frey acknowledged that fraud involving taxpayer-funded programs in Minnesota is “very real” during a nationally televised interview while warning against holding entire communities responsible for the crimes of individuals.
Frey made the comments on NBC’s “Meet the Press” as Democratic officials across multiple states shifted attention toward claims of harassment tied to online reporting about the fraud.
“Let me ask you about the leadership in your state,” host Kristen Welker said. “Dozens of people in Minnesota have been charged and convicted with stealing millions of dollars of taxpayer money for taxpayer programs.”
“Do you think Governor Walz did enough to stop the fraud in your state?” Welker asked. “And do you support his decision not to run for reelection?”
“Well, look, Governor Walz is the reason we’ve got paid leave and family leave in Minnesota,” Frey said. “He’s the reason we’ve got free school lunches.”
“But did he do enough to combat fraud, Mayor?” Welker pressed, interrupting him.
“Obviously, everybody could have done more to prevent fraud,” Frey said. “And I think that’s a fair point to make.”
“Look what he’s doing right now, he’s setting up a whole bunch of infrastructure to do that,” Frey added.
“The fraud’s real,” Frey continued. “We’ve all got to acknowledge that. When somebody commits fraud, you investigate it, you charge, you prosecute, and you put the person in jail. You do not hold an entire community, any community, accountable for the actions of individuals.”
His remarks came as Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty issued a statement addressing reports of harassment directed at members of the Somali community.
“Our office is receiving a large number of reports of members of the Somali community being sent hateful, threatening, and disturbing messages,” Moriarty wrote.
“This is the predictable, and absolutely unacceptable, result of far-right propagandists demonizing an entire group of people for the actions of individuals who share their ethnicity,” she continued.
Moriarty urged anyone receiving threats to report them to law enforcement, saying prosecutions could begin once cases are filed.
“We are always ready to support our community and do everything in our power to keep each other safe,” she said.
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said his office was reviewing the conduct of individuals publicizing the fraud allegations, not the fraud itself.
“My office has received outreach from members of the Somali community after reports of home-based daycare providers being harassed and accused of fraud with little to no fact-checking,” Brown wrote on X.
“We are in touch with the state Department of Children, Youth, and Families regarding the claims being pushed online,” he added.
Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) is facing new questions about her family’s sudden wealth as her husband’s venture capital firm quietly scrubbed its website amid widening federal investigations into what officials describe as one of the largest welfare fraud schemes in U.S. history.
Omar and her husband, political consultant Tim Mynett, reported assets between $6 million and $30 million in 2024—a stunning leap from near insolvency when she entered Congress six years ago.
A New York Post report found that Mynett’s firm, Rose Lake Capital, saw its value rise from under $1,000 in 2023 to as much as $25 million a year later. The company, based at a WeWork in Washington, D.C., claimed to manage “$60 billion in previous assets” through its officers—until those names were quietly deleted from its website this fall.
“This reeks of political privilege,” said Paul Kamenar of the National Legal and Policy Center. “Omar entered Congress broke, and now she’s worth tens of millions while her husband’s firm erases its records. She owes voters an explanation.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar Intensifies Criticism of Federal Immigration Enforcement
Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota sharply escalated her criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations on Monday, accusing federal agents of treating Minneapolis as an occupying force and again calling for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s resignation or impeachment.
In remarks to constituents in Minneapolis, Omar repeatedly described the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal officers in the city as an inappropriate use of government authority, saying the situation has created fear among local residents. Omar said Minneapolis is “currently under occupation” and cited concerns about schools, hospitals and daily life as evidence of what she called harmful federal intervention.
“We do not exaggerate when we say we have schools where two-thirds of the students are afraid to go to school,” Omar said. “We do not exaggerate when we say we have people who are afraid to go to the hospital because our hospitals have occupying paramilitary forces.”
Omar referenced two recent fatalities during federal immigration operations in Minneapolis — the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good — and argued those incidents underscored the need for new leadership at DHS. In her remarks, she blamed senior White House advisers for shaping the administration’s immigration policies.
“When we say it is time for Kristi Noem to go, we mean it now,” Omar added. “And there needs to be accountability for the architect of the terror we are facing in Minneapolis and so many other cities, which is Stephen Miller.”
Omar’s comments follow an appearance on MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes, where she reiterated those positions and broadened her critique to include senior administration officials. In that interview, she said Noem should resign or face impeachment, echoing earlier statements from House Democratic leadership. Omar also repeated criticism of Miller, a senior White House adviser on immigration policy, calling him a “copycat of the Nazis” and suggesting he should be prosecuted.
Her remarks also tied national Republican rhetoric on immigration to broader social tensions, asserting that aggressive enforcement language has “created anger” that can lead to confrontations with Somali immigrants and other community members in Minnesota.
Omar’s public criticism comes amid the ongoing federal immigration operation known as Operation Metro Surge. Federal agents have been deployed to Minneapolis to apprehend illegal immigrants with criminal convictions, drawing protests and heightened scrutiny from local officials and advocacy groups.
Democratic lawmakers, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), have called for increased oversight of DHS and ICE policies as part of broader negotiations over long-term funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Jeffries has publicly stated that Noem should be impeached if she does not resign, and Schumer has called for additional conditions on immigration enforcement in appropriations legislation.
In response to increased political pressure, DHS has taken steps to increase transparency in its operations. Earlier this week, Secretary Kristi Noem announced that body-worn cameras will be issued to all federal immigration enforcement officers deployed in Minneapolis as an immediate measure, with plans to expand the program nationwide as funding becomes available. “Effective immediately we are deploying body cameras to every officer in the field in Minneapolis,” Noem wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Federal officials have said that some Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers present during the Jan. 24 shooting of Pretti were already equipped with body cameras, though full footage has not been released. Officials have not yet clarified whether ICE officers were wearing cameras during the earlier fatal encounter involving Good.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz responded to Noem’s announcement by saying body cameras should have been in place prior to the deaths of Pretti and Good, who were tragically killed while interfering with ICE law enforcement operations.
