{"id":2518533,"date":"2025-12-07T16:14:02","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T21:14:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bessent-says-omar-gaslighting-public-on-alleged-minnesota-welfare-fraud\/"},"modified":"2025-12-07T16:14:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T21:14:23","slug":"bessent-says-omar-gaslighting-public-on-alleged-minnesota-welfare-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bessent-says-omar-gaslighting-public-on-alleged-minnesota-welfare-fraud\/","title":{"rendered":"Bessent says Omar &#8216;gaslighting&#8217; public on alleged Minnesota welfare fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbessent-says-omar-gaslighting-public-on-alleged-minnesota-welfare-fraud%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2518533&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses Treasury Secretary Scott bessent&#8217;s criticism of Representative Ilhan Omar regarding allegations of <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >widespread welfare fraud<\/a> in Minnesota involving the Somali community. Following reports of the fraud scheme, which allegedly involved Somali asylum seekers and perhaps funneled money to the terrorist group al Shabaab, former President Donald Trump ended Temporary Protected Status for Somalis in Minnesota. bessent announced that the Treasury department is investigating the fraud,describing the situation as serious and condemning Omar for minimizing the issue and &#8220;gaslighting&#8221; the public. Omar responded by expressing gratitude that fraudsters are being prosecuted but warned against scapegoating the broader Somali American community, emphasizing that most members are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-appeals-ruling-overturning-assault-weapons-ban\/\" title=\"California Appeals Ruling Overturning Assault Weapons Ban\">law-abiding residents<\/a>. She also noted that donations from alleged fraudsters to her campaign were returned and that she had called for investigations into the fraud. Omar stressed the importance of continued inquiry while defending the Somali community&#8217;s contributions as taxpayers in Minnesota.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Bessent says Omar &lsquo;gaslighting&rsquo; public as Treasury investigates alleged Minnesota welfare fraud<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2424688\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Treasury Secretary <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/scott-bessent\/\">Scott Bessent<\/a> ripped Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ilhan-omar\/\">Ilhan Omar<\/a> (D-MN) for &ldquo;gaslighting the American people&rdquo; about allegations of widespread fraud from the Minnesota Somali community.<\/p>\n<p>After reports surfaced of a widespread fraud scheme in Minnesota allegedly largely orchestrated by Somali asylum-seekers, President Donald Trump terminated <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/3895787\/trump-terminating-temporary-protected-status-somalis-minnesota\/\">temporary protected status for Somalis<\/a> in Minnesota. Bessent followed Trump&rsquo;s announcement with an <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SecScottBessent\/status\/1995615377284628908\">announcement<\/a> of his own that the Treasury Department would <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3903431\/bessent-treasury-investigation-minnesota-fraud\/\">investigate allegations<\/a> that the money diverted in the fraud scheme was funneled to the Somali terrorist organization al Shabaab.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3909889\/cuellar-trump-pardon-bipartisan-democrat\/\">Cuellar says he doesn&#8217;t &#8216;vote party&#8217; after Trump cries betrayal following pardon<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3909871\/omar-trump-somali-minnesota-community\/\">Omar hits Trump over &#8216;unhealthy obsession&#8217; with Minnesota&#8217;s Somali community<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3909576\/henry-cuellar-blames-biden-doj-for-weaponization-against-him\/\">Henry Cuellar blames Biden DOJ for weaponization against him<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Bessent told <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FaceTheNation\/status\/1997730297245307230?s=20\">CBS News<\/a>&lsquo;s Margaret Brennan on Sunday that the department started the investigation last week and that it is ongoing. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll see where it goes, but I can tell you that it&rsquo;s terrible,&rdquo; Bessent said. He criticized Omar for what he said was &ldquo;downplaying&rdquo; the scheme and said several of the alleged fraudsters also donated to her campaign, referring to recent <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/omar-allies-tied-massive-minnesota-covid-meal-fraud-scheme-involving-somali-community\">reports<\/a> on the matter.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/washington-secrets\/3909504\/trump-given-week-of-wins-and-fake-scandal-white-house-report-card\/\">TRUMP GIVEN WEEK OF WINS AND FAKE SCANDAL: WHITE HOUSE REPORT CARD<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Rep. Omar tried to downplay it. Said, &lsquo;Oh, it was very tough to know how this money should be used.&rsquo; She was gaslighting the American people,&rdquo; Bessent said.<\/p>\n<p>Omar told <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/transcripts\/nx-s1-5630385\">NPR<\/a> on Thursday that she is &ldquo;grateful&rdquo; that the fraudsters are being held accountable and that &ldquo;they are going to jail for a really long time.&rdquo; She also warned against scapegoating the entire Somali American community because of the actions of the alleged fraudsters in the case.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;These are people who are being prosecuted, and it is not fair to scapegoat the whole Somali community of whom have been law-abiding and grateful people that have chosen to make Minnesota their home,&rdquo; Omar said.<\/p>\n<p>Omar also appeared on <em>Face the Nation<\/em> after Bessent. When Brennan asked Omar to respond to Bessent&rsquo;s comments that &ldquo;individuals who committed this fraud&rdquo; donated to her campaign, she said she sent the money back.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think the secretary himself understands what he&rsquo;s referring to. We obviously had people who were able to donate to our campaign that were involved. We sent that money back a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-woke-policing-the-woke\/\" title=\"The Woke Policing the Woke\">couple years ago<\/a>, and actually, I was one of the first members of Congress to send a letter to the secretary of [agriculture]. asking them to look into what I thought was a reprehensible fraud that was occurring within the program,&rdquo; Omar said.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3909871\/omar-trump-somali-minnesota-community\/\">OMAR HITS TRUMP OVER &lsquo;UNHEALTHY OBSESSION&rsquo; WITH MINNESOTA&rsquo;S SOMALI COMMUNITY<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Omar noted that Somalis within her community are Minnesota taxpayers and that &ldquo;we also could have benefited from the program and the money that was stolen.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It is something that we have to continue to investigate. We have to continue to ask those questions,&rdquo; Omar said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bessent accuses Omar of &#8216;gaslighting&#8217; amid fraud probe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3976,"featured_media":2518534,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-collage-u22d23x6w-1765139816599-e1765140785501.jpg?1765122788&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[45545,14806,5698,5205,41900],"class_list":["post-2518533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-bessent","tag-gaslighting","tag-minnesota","tag-omar","tag-welfare-fraud"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-collage-u22d23x6w-1765139816599-e1765140785501.jpg?1765122788&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2518533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3976"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2518533"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2518533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2518537,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2518533\/revisions\/2518537"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2518534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2518533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2518533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2518533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}