Comer warns Walz skipping Minnesota fraud hearing would be ‘admission to guilt’
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House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky. He warned Sunday that if Gov. Tim Walz refuses to appear to defend himself at his upcoming Minnesota fraud hearing, it would amount to an “admission of guilt.”
“I think it’s very likely [Walz will appear]Comer said at the “Sunday Briefing.”
“We asked not only Governor Walz, but Attorney General Ellison, who are both in Congress and with whom I served in Congress, so they know the rules of Congress. They know how serious this is. This has brought national attention… so they’re going to have to come forward and defend themselves.”
Comer said the first committee hearing on the issue will be held Wednesday and more state officials will be brought in with additional evidence.
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House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., speaks to the media (left) at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C., on July 24, 2025; Tim Walz speaks on stage during the 2025 SXSW Conference and Festival at the Austin Convention Center in March 2025 in Austin, Texas. (Right) (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images (left); Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images (right))
He said making this evidence publicly available would allow the Justice Department to obtain further authorization for the alleged scheme.
“We’re getting reports that a lot of these nurseries are changing their names and doing break-ins and mysteriously losing their files and everything else,” he said, referring to the alleged nursery fraud scheme that has been under scrutiny since independent journalist Nick Shirley highlighted the alleged fraud in a viral video last month.
In the video, many of the facilities appeared to be out of operation despite allegedly receiving millions of dollars in government aid, but critics of the video question whether the recordings were made outside working hours.
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The Quality Learning Center in Minnesota was at the center of the state’s alleged child care fraud scandal last month. (Madelin Fuerste/Fox News Channel)
“We’ll stay on top of that and Wednesday will be the first big day and hopefully there will be more arrests soon,” Comer added.
Walz publicly acknowledged the fraud and vowed to fight it, saying the situation “happened on my watch” and that he was “responsible” for fixing the situation, even as his administration questioned some federal estimates of the extent of the fraud.
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St. According to FOX 9 in St. Paul, Walz also released a third-party audit of his Medicaid bills through the Minnesota Department of Human Services and paused payments for some services while the audit was ongoing.
A spokesperson for Walz recently released a statement addressing many of the allegations plaguing the state, saying: “The governor has worked for years to crack down on fraud and has asked the state Legislature for more authority to take aggressive action. He has strengthened oversight.”
Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
