Walz, FBI's Patel Clash Over Credit for Minneapolis Fraud Raids
Federal agents were spotted by reporters conducting operations at multiple largely Somali-owned businesses throughout the Twin Cities, among them childcare centers that have faced mounting scrutiny in recent months. More than 22 search warrants were executed during the operation, a senior Justice Department official told media.
Walz was quick to claim a role for his administration, framing the raids as the product of state-federal cooperation. "If you commit fraud in Minnesota you're going to get caught — and that's exactly what we saw today. We catch criminals when state and federal agencies share information. Joint investigations work, and securing justice depends on it," he said on X, the US social media platform.
He elaborated further: "Today's raids by state and federal law enforcement happened because our state agencies caught irregular behavior and reported it. That's how the system is supposed to work, and our agencies will keep at it as long as there are fraudsters around to put behind bars," he added.
FBI Director Patel fired back sharply, disputing Walz's characterization and accusing the governor of attempting to appropriate the bureau's work. "Come again? This FBI and DOJ with our DHS partners drafted and executed every search warrant today. But go ahead and take credit for our work while we smoke out the fraud plaguing Minnesota under your governorship," he said in a direct response to Walz's post on X.
Whether intelligence provided by Minnesota state authorities materially contributed to the development of the executed search warrants remains unclear.
A Justice Department spokesperson, cited by multiple US media outlets, confirmed that federal agents were "involved in court-authorized law enforcement activity as part of an ongoing fraud investigation," without elaborating on the nature of inter-agency coordination.
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