Ilhan Omar Seeks Answers on $1B Fraud Scandal

MARGARET BRENNAN: So this was just for our audience. The Biden-era Justice Department called it the largest COVID fraud scheme in the country, and this was pocketing COVID-era welfare funds, more than a billion dollars in taxpayer money that was stolen. It was pretty, pretty shocking. Of the 87 people charged, all but eight are of Somali descent, and that has added to the spotlight being put specifically on your community. Why do you think this fraud was allowed to get so widespread?  REP. ILHAN OMAR: I want to say, you know, this also has an impact on Somalis, because we are also taxpayers in Minnesota. We also could have benefited from the program and the money that was stolen. And so it's been really frustrating for people to not acknowledge the fact that we're, you know, we're also as Minnesotans as taxpayers, really upset and angry about the fraud that has occurred.  MARGARET BRENNAN: So do you think, though, that there was a failure by the Democratic state government to police itself? This is a brazen fraudulent activity here.  REP. ILHAN OMAR: Yeah, and that is what I alluded to in my letter that I had sent to the Secretary of Ag was to see where things went wrong. How can this amount of money disappear fraudulently without there being alarms being set off? And it is something that you know, we have to continue to investigate. We have to continue to ask those questions.

The broader interview also addressed allegations of ties to Omar's campaign (which she denied, noting refunded donations) and unproven claims of links to terrorism (which Omar called a potential "failure of the FBI" if true). Replies to the post largely criticize Omar, calling it "victim-blaming" or demanding accountability, while a few defend her emphasis on community impact.