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By Nathaniel Minor

Elizabeth Flores/The Minnesota Star Tribune

Does Minnesota have a "culture of fraud"? 

Prominent Republicans think so, and after new revelations of fraud in a state program came to light last week, they are laying the blame at the feet of Gov. Tim Walz.

The raids of five housing service provider sites came just seven months after the FBI searched state autism treatment centers, and more than three years after federal investigators raided the offices of Feeding Our Future in what turned out to be one of the country's largest pandemic-era fraud schemes.

Republicans have seized on these high-profile cases and say Walz and his administration haven’t done enough to prevent theft of public funds, writes my colleague Ryan Faircloth.

The acting U.S. Attorney in Minnesota told KSTP this week that the scope of fraud in state programs could exceed $1 billion.

Minnesota House Republicans also sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services this week asking it to audit the state’s Department of Human Services. 

“The culture of fraud is, unfortunately, endemic, and we believe it is necessary to seek federal intervention,” read the letter signed by GOP House Speaker Lisa Demuth and Reps. Kristin Robbins, Jeff Backer and Joe Schomacker.

A spokesperson for the governor, meanwhile, says Walz had pushed his administration to "stay one step ahead of the criminals."

“That’s exactly what we’re seeing play out in this case,” the spokesperson said, referring to the federal investigation of housing service providers. “If you commit fraud in Minnesota, you will be caught and you will go to prison.”

Read more.

Speaking of the governor. Walz told Axios he won't run for president in 2028 if he seeks a third term as governor. "I've always viewed public service as being ... if you run for this, you serve your term up," he said. We in the Capitol press corps have all been waiting (and prodding him when given the chance) for Walz to make an announcement about his future plans. He recently told the Minnesota Star Tribune that he likes his chances if runs for his seat again. But history suggests he'll face an uphill battle. 

Mitchell sentencing set for September. The Woodbury senator, who was convicted on two burglary-related charges last week, will be sentenced on Sept. 10. Nicole Mitchell's attorney said her conviction carries a mandatory minimum sentence of six months in jail. She will resign in early August and Walz is expected to then call a special election to fill her seat.

Read more.

Lindell gets a court win. A federal appeals court handed a victory Wednesday to Mike Lindell, ruling that the MyPillow founder doesn't have to pay a $5 million award to a software engineer who debunked a Lindell-pushed voting-related conspiracy. The engineer claimed to have won a Lindell-sponsored ''Prove Mike Wrong Challenge," but Lindell disagreed. ''It's a great day for our country,'' a jubilant Lindell told the Associated Press.

Read more.

Pratt picks up Kline endorsement in CD2. Former U.S. Rep. John Kline, who represented the state's Second Congressional District between 2003 and 2017, has endorsed Republican Eric Pratt's bid for the seat.

“I’m confident he will win this race, and I know he’s ready to fight for our conservative values in Congress,” Kline said in a news release.

Pratt is a state senator from Prior Lake. The seat will be vacated by Rep. Angie Craig, who's running for U.S. Senate. Other candidates include Republican Tyler Kistner, who lost to Craig twice, state Sen. Matt Klein, and former Lakeville Mayor Matt Little, both DFLers.

The governor will attend a Minnesota Commanders’ Task Force meeting, visit a stone countertop company and attend the annual convention of the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council.

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Emmer brushes off the Epstein issue. Rep. Tom Emmer thinks the files the federal government has on deceased sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein are a "non-issue," my colleague Sydney Kashiwagi reports.

"It's kind of funny, if it was so important, then why weren't Democrats clamoring for this for the four years under Biden?" Emmer told Axios during an interview Wednesday.

Skipping town. His remarks come as House Republicans started their August recess early to avoid what's become a politically toxic issue for his party. President Donald Trump has asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the release of grand jury testimony on Epstein, which a federal judge in Florida denied on Wednesday. 

But Democrats and some Republicans are trying to keep up the pressure on Republicans with different maneuvers to get the documents released on their own.

It's out of our control, Emmer says. "We are the legislative branch. We are not the judicial branch. The judicial branch will make that decision, and then we'll go from there," Emmer also said.

Emmer was also complimentary of U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, telling Axios she's the "best politician in Minnesota" and that Republicans are "always chasing" the Democrat.

Sitting on the sidelines of the Minneapolis mayoral race. Minneapolis Rep. Ilhan Omar isn't ready to make an endorsement in the Minneapolis mayoral race, she told Kashiwagi.

"I live in Minneapolis, and so I will be taking a closer look and at some point deciding who I will vote for," Omar said Wednesday. 

Her position comes four days after the Minneapolis DFL endorsed democratic socialist Omar Fateh over two-term incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey, who is contesting the results of the convention.

Keeping her cards close to the vest. Omar would not say whether she is leaning toward Fateh or Frey as she weighs her decision.

Asked what she thinks Fateh's victory means about the state of politics, Omar said: "We haven't had an endorsement for the mayoral race in a long time. I think it certainly signals a shift in the way in which people should be thinking about the mayoral race."

Many firsts if he wins. Similar to Omar, the first Somali American in Congress, Fateh was the first Somali American elected to the Minnesota state Senate, Deena Winter points out. If Fateh wins, he’d be Minneapolis’ first Muslim mayor. Omar is one of the few Muslim members of Congress.