Minnesota Mayors Drop Bombshells on Tim Walz Fraud Cover-Up [WATCH]

A growing dispute over alleged fraud in Minnesota state programs intensified this week following comments from Governor Tim Walz that dismissed the seriousness of the issue, prompting sharp responses from local officials and a former state employee who says she was retaliated against for speaking out.

The controversy resurfaced after video circulated of Walz responding to questions about fraud investigations and accountability within state government.

In the clip, Walz minimized the scale of the problem and rejected claims that state leadership was implicated.

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“No, no, they were coming anyway. We had this was it was all make believe that we’ve been at it. Every state had this. And look, I do think there, there has to be accountability in this. No one in state government was implicated,” Walz said.

The governor’s remarks drew immediate criticism from local leaders, including Crosslake Mayor Jackson Purfeerst, who appeared on Fox News in an exchange with host Sandra Smith.

Smith pressed Purfeerst on what message he would deliver directly to the governor in response to those comments.

“Mayor, to the governor, you say, what?” Smith asked.

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Purfeerst did not hold back, pointing to what he described as retaliation against individuals who attempted to expose fraud within state agencies.

“It’s crazy how there’s been no one that’s been so called implicated when whistleblowers of fraud have lost their jobs and been fired by the state of Minnesota. I mean, if we’re firing people that are reporting fraud, how is the Minnesota State Government, the executive branch, in particular, not implicated or complicit in allowing fraud to be rampant?” Purfeerst said.

Smith then highlighted that Purfeerst was not alone in raising alarms, introducing remarks from another Minnesota mayor who spoke publicly about the downstream effects of alleged mismanagement at the state level.

“It’s a good point. Here’s one of another Mayor from your state, Nate George. This is at the mayor’s across Minnesota presser that happened on Wednesday, specifically on fraud in your state. He said this,” Smith said.

In that clip, Braham Mayor Nate George outlined how financial losses at higher levels of government directly affect local communities.

“When fraud or mismanagement happens at higher levels and is allowed to continue unchecked, the consequences are pushed downstream. Every dollar lost to waste, fraud and mismanagement is $1 that can’t go to roads, public safety, housing or tax relief,” George said.

The discussion then turned to testimony from a former Minnesota Department of Human Services employee who claims she faced retaliation after repeatedly raising fraud concerns.

Smith introduced video of DHS whistleblower Fay Bernstein, who described what she called a coordinated effort to discredit and sideline her.

“So you all are identifying this as a big problem, obviously, but there is a DHS whistle blower detailing what is described as a smear campaign after reporting fraud concerns to the state. This is a former Minnesota DHS employee, Faith Bernstein, on her experiencing tried to report this fraud years ago and the retaliation that followed. Listen,” Smith said.

In the clip, Bernstein directly contradicted Walz’s assertion that state leadership was unaware of the problems.

“The smear campaign starts where you are told that you are racist and then your job duties are less than lessened until you basically have no job. I have notified numerous times to the point that sometimes I’m kind of embarrassed to repeat myself, because I have just become a broken record. So to say that leadership was not aware, or the governor was not aware is I can tell you that is absolutely false,” Bernstein said.

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