Minnesota AG Responds to Hawley Fraud Claims

What started as a routine Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing quickly spiraled into a full-blown political firestorm Thursday when Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley went head-to-head with Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison over explosive allegations tied to one of the largest COVID-era fraud scandals in the country.

At the center of the clash: Feeding Our Future, a Minnesota-based nonprofit that was supposed to provide meals to low-income children during the pandemic. Instead, according to federal prosecutors, it became the vehicle for a staggering fraud scheme that siphoned off more than $300 million in taxpayer funds.

Hawley didn’t hold back.

Citing audio released by the Center for the American Experiment, a Minnesota-based conservative nonprofit, Hawley accused Ellison of meeting on Dec. 11, 2021, with individuals later charged in the fraud scheme — and allegedly agreeing to help them push back against investigators. According to the recording, the defendants complained for nearly an hour about state investigators examining their activities.

“Because the people who ran the Feeding Our Futures program came to you in your official office … and asked for your help in getting investigators off their backs,” Hawley said. “They begged you to help them, and you agreed to it, amazingly. And we know you did, because it’s all caught on tape.”

Hawley quoted Ellison from the transcript, including statements such as “send me the names” of investigators and “I’ll call the person over at Education who is investigating them and say, what’s going on?”

Ellison forcefully denied wrongdoing, accusing Hawley of cherry-picking quotes and misrepresenting the conversation. “I didn’t help them,” Ellison said, adding that his office ultimately assisted with information that led to prosecutions and convictions.

But Hawley escalated the confrontation, zeroing in on campaign finance records showing Ellison received $10,000 in donations just nine days after the meeting. Hawley implied the timing raised serious ethical questions.