Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth makes fraud a focus of her campaign for governor just about every day. On Monday, she responded to an in-depth Minnesota Star Tribune story about the slow response of Gov. Tim Walz’s administration to hundreds of millions of dollars in fraud uncovered so far, with wanting the dismissal of two state employees.
Demuth called for the firing of two state agency leaders, including Assistant Education Commissioner Daron Korte and Department of Children, Youth and Families Deputy Commissioner Leah Montgomery. Demuth says Korte didn’t do enough to stop the Feeding Our Future fraud cases and wants Montgomery gone for saying state government fraud is just a “Republican talking point.”
“They should have already been held accountable for this,” Demuth said at a news conference at the state capitol on Monday.
“Governor Walz again has not fired a single person. To anyone’s knowledge, he has not fired a single person under his time as governor with exploding fraud.”
Even though the newspaper report didn’t mention Demuth’s opponent, DFL U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Demuth accused her of remaining silent on fraud and failing to criticize Walz for far too long.
“Senator Klobuchar has rested on her laurels and has not been aggressive at all,” Demuth said. “She has not paid enough attention to what has been happening in our state.”
Klobuchar was quick to respond with a written statement.
“Minnesotans are right to be angry about the fraud,” Klobuchar said. “It should never have happened in the first place, and when it did it should have been caught much earlier and taken much more seriously. That’s why I have made clear that on Day One, I will launch a top-to-bottom audit of state government to root out fraud, replace decades-old technology to stop fraud before it happens, and strengthen criminal penalties to make sure people who commit fraud go to jail. I will not wait to take action, and that includes firing people who were in charge and failed to stop the fraud and replacing them with new leadership that will deliver results. That’s why my plan has been endorsed by former U.S. Attorney Andy Luger, who prosecuted the Feeding Our Future fraud and knows what it takes to clean this up.”
Klobuchar also says her plans to root out fraud have been endorsed by former U.S. Attorney Andy Luger, who prosecuted the Feeding Our Future fraud cases.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reached out to both leaders Demuth named for comment, but they have not responded.
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