ST PAUL, Minnesota — Republican lawmakers played a segment of a recorded meeting between Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and people later charged as suspects in the Feeding Our Future meal fraud case during a House Committee for Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight meeting.
In December 2021, the fraudsters repeated their lies to Ellison, claiming that the state education department discriminated against them. Ellison offered a sympathetic ear.
“[Governor] Walz agrees with me that this piddly stupid stuff that is driving small businesses out of business is terrible,” Ellison can be heard saying in the recording. “He is aware that many unfair and discriminatory practices exist in East African businesses. I know it. These department heads, such as Jodi Harpstead, now understand what we know.
Lawmakers questioned Ellison about why he appeared so willing to believe the fraudsters and criticize state agencies such as the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), which his office was representing in litigation.
“I guess I don’t agree that I did anything wrong, except listen to people who turned out to be liars,” Ellison told the lawmakers.
Just one month after the recorded meeting in December 2021, the FBI swooped in and stopped the $250 million fraud. In the months that followed, Ellison made public statements and press releases implying that he was aware of the situation and was assisting the government.
In Monday’s hearing, he admitted that he had no idea the feds were eight months into their investigation when he met with members of Feeding Our Future.
“I was not aware there was a federal investigation, but my staff probably did know,” Ellison admitted.
Regardless, Ellison maintained his claim that nothing came out of the meeting.
“What have I done for these people? “Nothing,” Ellison replied.