Former Deputy DHS Secretary Ken Cuccinelli was straight to the point Tuesday night, appearing on Fox News’ Jesse Watters Primetime to dissect what he described as a fraud scandal of historic proportions unfolding in Minnesota.
In a pointed exchange with guest host Charlie Hurt, Cuccinelli connected the alleged theft of billions in taxpayer dollars to lax immigration policies, sanctuary city statutes, and even the funding of overseas terrorism.
The segment focused on allegations that vast sums of government funds—referenced by Hurt as potentially reaching the $9 billion mark—have been siphoned off through fraudulent schemes. Cuccinelli argued that the situation in Minnesota is not merely a case of financial mismanagement but a direct result of “open borders” policies and a lack of oversight that has allowed criminal elements to exploit the system.
READ: ‘Money Spigot’ Off: Trump Admin Freezes Minnesota Child Care Funds Citing ‘Rampant’ Fraud
“You’ve got this concentration of Somali… some of them are here legally, some are here illegally,” Cuccinelli stated, suggesting that the fraud implicates federal asylum policies. He went a step further, citing reporting that suggests some of the stolen funds are being funneled back to Somalia to support al-Shabaab, a jihadist group and al-Qaeda affiliate.
“This is unlike anything I think we’ve ever seen on the fraud front in the United States,” he told Hurt.
The conversation turned sharply political as Cuccinelli laid blame at the feet of Minnesota’s Democratic leadership.
He accused Governor Tim Walz of being “unaggressive” in policing the issue and claimed Attorney General Keith Ellison was “covering for people” rather than prosecuting them. According to the former DHS official, sanctuary city mentalities create an environment where officials “make excuses and cover up instead of uncovering and prosecuting.”
READ: Minnesota Day Care Listing Leads to Governor Walz’s Office, Sparking Oversight Questions
Beyond the immediate criminal implications, the discussion touched on the broader economic toll. Hurt suggested that the sheer scale of the alleged theft contributes to the inflation currently squeezing American families. Cuccinelli agreed, arguing that when the government “pumps out money” at such a rapid pace, effective policing becomes nearly impossible.
“It’s taken the kind of aggressiveness that only a President Trump brings to the table to finally start cracking down on this,” Cuccinelli remarked, emphasizing that the fraud has been festering for years.
He concluded that the only true solution is to shrink the size of government to prevent such large-scale theft on the front end, rather than trying to claw back money that has likely already vanished overseas.
Both men ended the segment on a unified note, expressing a hope that the investigation would result in significant prison time for those involved.
“I sure do hope we see a lot of people go to jail for a long time,” Hurt said.
“I do too,” Cuccinelli replied.
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