Minnesota welfare fraud linked to terrorist funding

The Manhattan Institute’s City Journal has an explosive expose revealing that billions of taxpayer dollars have been stolen during the administration of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and often perpetrated by the state’s large Somali community.

Federal counterterrorism sources said millions of dollars in stolen funds were funneled back to Somalia, where the money eventually ended up in the hands of the terrorist organization Al-Shabab, which is also known as Al-Shabaab. “The largest funder of Al-Shabaab is the Minnesota taxpayer,” said one source, according to the report.

President Trump responded to the report on social media: “Minnesota, under Governor Waltz, is a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity. I am, as President of the United States, hereby terminating, effective immediately, the Temporary Protected Status (TPS Program) for Somalis in Minnesota.”

He added, “Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State, and BILLIONS of Dollars are missing. Send them back to where they came from. It’s OVER! President DJT.”

City Journal said that if one were to create a welfare program “to facilitate fraud, it would probably look a lot like Minnesota’s Medicaid Housing Stabilization Services program.”

The report also described how “untold millions through a network of ‘hawalas,’ an informal clan-based money-traders, ending up in the pockets of al Qaeda-linked Islamic terror group Al-Shabaab.”

Glenn Kerns, a retired Seattle Police Department detective who spent 14 years on a federal Joint Terrorism Task Force, said the Somalis operated a sophisticated financial network from Seattle to Minneapolis and sent massive amounts of money on commercial flights from the Seattle airport to the hawala networks in Somalia.

One of these networks, Mr. Kerns found, sent $20 million abroad in one year.

Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota Joe Thompson in September announced federal charges against eight people in a “massive fraud” scandal related to the Medicaid Housing Stabilization Services program.

“I want to be clear on the scope of the crisis,” he said. “What we see are schemes stacked upon schemes, draining resources meant for those in need. It feels never-ending.”

Subsequent indictments included fraudulent welfare ploys tied to an alleged autism kickback fraud scheme, where millions of dollars were stolen through bogus autism diagnoses.

Supreme Court urged to nix ‘vampire rule’ gun ban

The Second Amendment Foundation urged the Supreme Court to reverse the 9th Circuit’s decision upholding Hawaii’s “vampire rule,” which declares virtually all private property open to the public off-limits for lawful gun carry unless the property owner gives express permission.

The group filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Wolford v. Lopez.

The statute bans lawful firearm carriers, without the owner’s permission, in places like grocery stores, gas stations and restaurants, and, according to the brief, the result is that “permit holders who wish to exercise their Second Amendment rights are effectively banished from most places.”

For decades, the District of Columbia had some of the most restrictive gun laws in the U.S. The city was forced to allow civilians to legally carry after a 2017 federal court order blocked the enforcement of the city’s virtual prohibition on carrying concealed firearms.

However, the city imposed site restrictions on where permit holders can carry firearms, a vast expanse of the city that includes federal properties that blanket downtown.

This prevents people with concealed carry permits from carrying a handgun where most people work, park their cars or traverse on an average day in the District’s downtown areas.

States with restrictive firearm laws also passed legislation to prevent legal gun owners from carrying in most public places.  

SAF is joined in the amicus by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Connecticut Citizens Defense League and Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus.

“If the 9th Circuit’s decision stands, the constitutional right to bear arms in public for self-defense will exist only on paper in large parts of the country,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb about the lawsuit.

Democratic Socialists of America won’t endorse Jeffries’ challenger

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York might have to run against a socialist in the Democratic Primary, but the challenger won’t be endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America.

That’s because New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, the country’s most prominent DSA member, put the kibosh on the endorsement.

A faction in New York City’s DSA chapter voted against endorsing City Councilman Chi Osse’s run against Mr. Jeffries after Mr. Mamdani stepped in.

The DSA Citywide Electoral Working Group said 52% or 626 members voted against recommending Mr. Ossé for endorsement, while 46% or 555 members voted yes.

The 34-year-old incoming mayor is attempting to pump up his connections with Democratic leadership in Washington to protect the city from President Trump’s threats to cut off funding after he takes office in January.

Mr. Mamdani also had a friendly meeting with Mr. Trump on Friday at the White House. Although he and Mr. Trump appeared to get along well in the Oval Office, Mr. Mamdani said on Sunday he still believes the president is a “fascist.”

• The Advocates column is a weekly look at the political action players who drive the debate and shape policy outcomes in Washington. Send tips to theadvocates@washingtontimes.com.