NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
FIRST ON FOX: A Minnesota Republican lawmaker is demanding answers from Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., after the Democrat failed to appear at a state hearing examining her potential connections to the sprawling pandemic-era fraud scandal.
State Rep. Kristin Robbins, chair of the House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee, sent a formal letter to Omar on April 22 criticizing her absence from a scheduled committee hearing she was invited to and requesting extensive documentation related to the “Feeding Our Future” investigation that has gained national attention in recent months.
“Minnesotans and the Members of the House Fraud Prevention & State Oversight Committee were disappointed that you failed to appear before our committee to answer questions,” Robbins wrote in the letter, obtained by Fox News Digital, referring to Omar’s no-show at a hearing focused on the MEALS Act, a federal COVID-19 relief measure passed in 2020 and sponsored by Omar.
Despite Omar’s absence, Robbins said the committee still expects answers and is now formally requesting records from the congresswoman’s office in addition to several questions outlined in the letter.
COMER WARNS ‘WALLS ARE CAVING IN’ ON TIM WALZ AS MINNESOTA FRAUD PROBE WIDENS
Robbins is asking Omar to turn over communications showing how she promoted expanded access to federal child nutrition programs, including emails, texts, and meeting records with the Minnesota Department of Education and constituents.
The request also zeroed in on Omar’s public promotion of a Minneapolis restaurant that later became linked to the program. Robbins cited a Somali-language TV appearance in which Omar highlighted Safari Restaurant as a meal distribution site and asked for all communications related to the video and the restaurant’s participation.
The video of that promotion was played during Tuesday’s committee meeting as the lawmakers discussed the ties between Omar and individuals within the Minneapolis Somali community associated with the fraud, a subject Fox News Digital has extensively reported on.
GOP LAWMAKER UNVEILS WALZ ACT AFTER BILLIONS LOST IN MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL
Robbins is seeking records of any contact between Omar and a long list of individuals charged or implicated in the Feeding Our Future case, including nonprofit founder Aimee Bock and dozens of alleged co-conspirators.
“She didn’t even respond, ghosted us,” Robbins told Fox News Digital about Omar ignoring an invitation to appear at the hearing. “And her Meals Act is what created the conditions that allowed Feeding Our Future to happen.”
When asked if Omar has ever responded to any requests from the committee, Robbins said, “No, we’ve sent multiple emails, multiple letters, nothing.”
The letter also raises questions about political donations Omar received from individuals later charged in the case, requesting “any and all” communications with those donors.
Robbins, who is running for governor of Minnesota, has asked Omar to provide a written response and the requested materials by May 5.
The letter marks the latest escalation in Republican-led scrutiny of the Feeding Our Future scandal, which federal prosecutors say involved the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded child nutrition aid during the COVID-19 pandemic under the backdrop of a larger fraud crisis that is believed to be in the tens of billions of dollars.
Questions about Omar’s ties to the Minnesota fraud scandal represent just one of several controversies she currently finds herself in the middle of as she is facing a possible ethics investigation into her personal financial disclosures as well as accusations, notably from Vice President JD Vance, that she committed immigration fraud.
Fox News Digital reached out to Omar’s office for comment.
Read the full article here
