Massive Minnesota fraud case puts AG Keith Ellison under microscope as climate ties resurface
How is this acceptable?
A sweeping fraud scandal is putting Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison in the spotlight, reviving questions about his controversial ties to progressive environmental causes.
Ellison, who has served as attorney general since 2019 after more than a decade in Congress, has long-drawn conservative criticism for aligning his office with left-wing priorities, from climate litigation to political fights over immigration enforcement.
Now, with a federal investigation underway into what prosecutors allege was a massive scheme to siphon taxpayer funds meant to feed children during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ellison is facing intensified attention — and his long-simmering, controversial environmental ties are back under a harsher spotlight.
The state attorney general has joined local Democrats in denouncing the fraud scandal, with Ellison calling it a "a truly despicable act," while also criticizing the Trump administration, most recently for the presence of federal law enforcement in Minneapolis and the shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE DOJ THREATS AGAINST DON LEMON AFTER HE FOLLOWED ANTI-ICE PROTESTERS IN ST. PAUL CHURCH
The latest flashpoint centers on Ellison’s 2021 meeting with Somali community figures tied to Feeding Our Future, described by prosecutors as one of the largest pandemic-era fraud cases in the country, allegedly costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and serving as the precursor to investigators uncovering other fraud schemes in the state.
Ellison came under fire earlier in January after details of that meeting resurfaced — including audio previously obtained by Fox News Digital in which attendees discuss securing more funding and then pivot to political donations ahead of Ellison’s 2022 reelection.
"The only way that we can protect what we have is by inserting ourselves into the political arena … putting our dollars in the right place," one attendee says on the recording, referring to backing candidates who will "protect our interests."
"That’s right," Ellison responds.
Ellison has denied wrongdoing, arguing he had no knowledge of the alleged crimes at the time. In an April 2025 op-ed in the Minnesota Star Tribune, he said he took the meeting "in good faith" and insisted he "did nothing for them and took nothing from them."
FLASHBACK: FAR-LEFT ACTIVIST WHO ORGANIZED MINNESOTA CHURCH STORMING PRAISED CONVICTED COP KILLER
A Minnesota woman convicted in the scheme alleged that Gov. Tim Walz and Ellison were aware of the widespread fraud before it hit the nation's radar, which Ellison forcefully denied. …
How is this acceptable?
A sweeping fraud scandal is putting Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison in the spotlight, reviving questions about his controversial ties to progressive environmental causes.
Ellison, who has served as attorney general since 2019 after more than a decade in Congress, has long-drawn conservative criticism for aligning his office with left-wing priorities, from climate litigation to political fights over immigration enforcement.
Now, with a federal investigation underway into what prosecutors allege was a massive scheme to siphon taxpayer funds meant to feed children during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ellison is facing intensified attention — and his long-simmering, controversial environmental ties are back under a harsher spotlight.
The state attorney general has joined local Democrats in denouncing the fraud scandal, with Ellison calling it a "a truly despicable act," while also criticizing the Trump administration, most recently for the presence of federal law enforcement in Minneapolis and the shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE DOJ THREATS AGAINST DON LEMON AFTER HE FOLLOWED ANTI-ICE PROTESTERS IN ST. PAUL CHURCH
The latest flashpoint centers on Ellison’s 2021 meeting with Somali community figures tied to Feeding Our Future, described by prosecutors as one of the largest pandemic-era fraud cases in the country, allegedly costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and serving as the precursor to investigators uncovering other fraud schemes in the state.
Ellison came under fire earlier in January after details of that meeting resurfaced — including audio previously obtained by Fox News Digital in which attendees discuss securing more funding and then pivot to political donations ahead of Ellison’s 2022 reelection.
"The only way that we can protect what we have is by inserting ourselves into the political arena … putting our dollars in the right place," one attendee says on the recording, referring to backing candidates who will "protect our interests."
"That’s right," Ellison responds.
Ellison has denied wrongdoing, arguing he had no knowledge of the alleged crimes at the time. In an April 2025 op-ed in the Minnesota Star Tribune, he said he took the meeting "in good faith" and insisted he "did nothing for them and took nothing from them."
FLASHBACK: FAR-LEFT ACTIVIST WHO ORGANIZED MINNESOTA CHURCH STORMING PRAISED CONVICTED COP KILLER
A Minnesota woman convicted in the scheme alleged that Gov. Tim Walz and Ellison were aware of the widespread fraud before it hit the nation's radar, which Ellison forcefully denied. …
Massive Minnesota fraud case puts AG Keith Ellison under microscope as climate ties resurface
How is this acceptable?
A sweeping fraud scandal is putting Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison in the spotlight, reviving questions about his controversial ties to progressive environmental causes.
Ellison, who has served as attorney general since 2019 after more than a decade in Congress, has long-drawn conservative criticism for aligning his office with left-wing priorities, from climate litigation to political fights over immigration enforcement.
Now, with a federal investigation underway into what prosecutors allege was a massive scheme to siphon taxpayer funds meant to feed children during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ellison is facing intensified attention — and his long-simmering, controversial environmental ties are back under a harsher spotlight.
The state attorney general has joined local Democrats in denouncing the fraud scandal, with Ellison calling it a "a truly despicable act," while also criticizing the Trump administration, most recently for the presence of federal law enforcement in Minneapolis and the shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE DOJ THREATS AGAINST DON LEMON AFTER HE FOLLOWED ANTI-ICE PROTESTERS IN ST. PAUL CHURCH
The latest flashpoint centers on Ellison’s 2021 meeting with Somali community figures tied to Feeding Our Future, described by prosecutors as one of the largest pandemic-era fraud cases in the country, allegedly costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and serving as the precursor to investigators uncovering other fraud schemes in the state.
Ellison came under fire earlier in January after details of that meeting resurfaced — including audio previously obtained by Fox News Digital in which attendees discuss securing more funding and then pivot to political donations ahead of Ellison’s 2022 reelection.
"The only way that we can protect what we have is by inserting ourselves into the political arena … putting our dollars in the right place," one attendee says on the recording, referring to backing candidates who will "protect our interests."
"That’s right," Ellison responds.
Ellison has denied wrongdoing, arguing he had no knowledge of the alleged crimes at the time. In an April 2025 op-ed in the Minnesota Star Tribune, he said he took the meeting "in good faith" and insisted he "did nothing for them and took nothing from them."
FLASHBACK: FAR-LEFT ACTIVIST WHO ORGANIZED MINNESOTA CHURCH STORMING PRAISED CONVICTED COP KILLER
A Minnesota woman convicted in the scheme alleged that Gov. Tim Walz and Ellison were aware of the widespread fraud before it hit the nation's radar, which Ellison forcefully denied. …
