{"id":2576423,"date":"2026-03-05T11:21:01","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T16:21:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-rep-gill-pummels-gov-walz-over-somali-fraud-forces-walz-to-desert-his-staff-faster-than-he-deserted-his-army-unit-in-2005\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T11:24:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T16:24:17","slug":"watch-rep-gill-pummels-gov-walz-over-somali-fraud-forces-walz-to-desert-his-staff-faster-than-he-deserted-his-army-unit-in-2005","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-rep-gill-pummels-gov-walz-over-somali-fraud-forces-walz-to-desert-his-staff-faster-than-he-deserted-his-army-unit-in-2005\/","title":{"rendered":"WATCH: Rep. Gill Pummels Gov. Walz Over Somali Fraud &#8211; Forces Walz to Desert His Staff Faster Than He Deserted His Army Unit in 2005"},"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\">50<\/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%2Fwatch-rep-gill-pummels-gov-walz-over-somali-fraud-forces-walz-to-desert-his-staff-faster-than-he-deserted-his-army-unit-in-2005%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=2576423&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 reports that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz testified before the House Oversight Committee about misuse of government funds and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >faced questions tied<\/a> to broader fraud accusations in the state. Republican Rep. Brandon Gill pressed Walz on whether calling whistleblowers racist or Islamophobic was a tactic used by his governance to silence those exposing fraud, highlighting the case of Faye Bernstein, a department of Human Services <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/citing-fear-that-someone-might-fly-a-qanon-flag-county-proposes-rules-that-restrict-american-flags\/\" title=\"Citing Fear That Someone Might Fly A \u2018QAnon Flag,\u2019 County Proposes Rules That Restrict American Flags\">compliance officer<\/a> who reportedly faced retaliation after whistleblowing. It cites a 2019 KMSP report and a watchdog finding of $29 million in unauthorized payments to two Native American tribes, tying Bernstein\u2019s allegations to wider concerns about fraud and retaliation. The piece also references Rep. Kristin Robbins\u2019s statements about dozens of credible whistleblower reports and a January New York Post article noting claims of electronic surveillance of whistleblowers. Walz defended his handling by saying the administration protects whistleblowers, while Gill argued the tone and actions suggested or else; the article also notes CBS News reporting that Walz has said he would never <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republican-state-lawmakers-demand-cuomo-impeachment-findings-be-made-public\/\" title=\"Republican ... Lawmakers Demand Cuomo Impeachment Findings Be Made Public\">seek elected office<\/a> again after his term, reinforcing a critical view of the governor.  <\/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\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?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<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz is finally facing up to his state&rsquo;s widespread fraud accusations and predictably doesn&rsquo;t have much to say for himself.<\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, Walz and Minnesota Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison testified before the House Oversight Committee, which was holding a hearing on misuse of government funds.<\/p>\n<p>As a part of that hearing, Texas Republican Rep. Brandon Gill took to grilling Walz for the idiocy that is branding anyone who calls out the actions of the Somali community racist or Islamophobic.<\/p>\n<p>One exchange between the two, later posted to social media platform X, involved Gill asking about Faye Bernstein, a compliance officer at the Department of Human Services in Walz&rsquo;s state.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox9.com\/news\/minnesota-dhs-whistleblower-says-she-faces-retaliation-was-told-to-seek-therapy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">KMSP<\/a> reported in 2019 that Bernstein faced retaliation over calling out problems with state contracts. After her whistleblowing, a watchdog found $29 million in unauthorized payments to two Native American tribes.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Yes, I&rsquo;m familiar with the name,&rdquo; Walz told Gill after asking about her.<\/p>\n<p>After confirming Bernstein was a Democrat, Gill proceeded with her story. &ldquo;She&rsquo;s also stated publicly she was retaliated against and called racist and that her work responsibilities were diminished whenever she was highlighting fraud within your administration. Are you familiar with that?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Rep Brandon Gill SLAMS Tim Walz for calling whistleblowers &ldquo;racist or Islamophobic&rdquo; for reporting fraud in Minnesota:<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Do you think it&rsquo;s racist or Islamophobic to highlight and try to stop fraud&hellip;that was the message your administration was sending to multiple whistleblowers.&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7QWJZdMNuV\">pic.twitter.com\/7QWJZdMNuV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RNCResearch\/status\/2029253914600550405?\">March 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Walz tried to shrug off any talk about Bernstein, but Gill was persistent.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You would agree that the tone in your administration comes from you ultimately, right? The tone of how you might deal with whistleblowers?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We protect them,&rdquo; Walz shot back, but Gill wasn&rsquo;t having it: &ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t sound like you&rsquo;re protecting them.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>He then pulled a quote from Minnesota Republican Rep. Kristin Robbins, chair of the Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Oversight Committee.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We have dozens of credible whistleblower reports saying the exact same thing, that people were told not to say anything because they would be called racist or Islamophobic or it would hurt the state.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In January, the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/01\/03\/us-news\/minnesota-whistleblowers-being-electronically-surveilled-after-reporting-fraud-rep\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York Post<\/a> reported as much, noting that Robbins said, &ldquo;The group of whistleblowers that I interact with claim that they&rsquo;ve been denied vacations, promotions, and that it&rsquo;s hurt their careers,&rdquo; even saying whistleblowers were being electronically surveilled.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Do you think it&rsquo;s racist or Islamophobic to highlight and try to stop fraud?&rdquo; Gill asked.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It is not,&rdquo; Walz answered, only for Gill to cut him off: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not, but that was the message your administration was sending to multiple whistleblowers.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t speak to that,&rdquo; Walz told him. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t want to speak to that, I think,&rdquo; Gill replied, breaking into a smirk.<\/p>\n<p>From Robbins and Bernstein&rsquo;s perspective, Walz did nothing to protect whistleblowers, and possibly even allowed them to be hurt.<\/p>\n<p>He&rsquo;d rather protect criminal immigrants than his own staff.<\/p>\n<p>No one should be surprised with Walz. This is someone who lied about his military record repeatedly and proved himself to be a buffoon, astoundingly making the Democratic ticket in 2024 look even worse.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/minnesota\/news\/gov-walz-says-he-will-never-run-for-an-elected-office-again-once-term-ends\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CBS News<\/a> reported in January that Walz said he would never seek office again. Minnesotans &mdash; and certainly the rest of the country &mdash; won&rsquo;t miss him.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A paraphrase of the provided text:<\/p>\n<p>Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, was questioned about widespread fraud allegations in his state as he and Attorney General Keith Ellison testified before the House Oversight Committee on the misuse of government funds. During the hearing, Republican Rep. Brandon Gill pressed Walz on the idea that critics who highlight issues within the Somali community are labeled racist or Islamophobic.<\/p>\n<p>The confrontation included a reference to Faye Bernstein, a compliance officer at the Department of Human Services who, after whistleblowing about problems with state contracts, reportedly faced retaliation. A watchdog later found about $29 million in unauthorized payments to two Native American tribes. The discussion of Bernstein and her case was circulated online in a post by RNC Research.<\/p>\n<p>Walz tried to downplay the Bernstein matter, but Gill persisted, suggesting that the administration\u2019s approach to whistleblowers set a problematic tone. Gill also quoted Minnesota Rep. Kristin Robbins, who chairs the state House Fraud Prevention and State Oversight Committee, saying that numerous whistleblowers had reported being told not to speak up for fear of being labeled racist or Islamophobic or having their careers harmed. A January report in the New York Post echoed Robbins\u2019 concerns, noting whistleblowers who claimed retaliation, limited job opportunities, and even surveillance.<\/p>\n<p>Walz defended himself by saying his administration protects whistleblowers, but Gill contended that his rhetoric and actions did not reflect that protection. The exchange drew attention to the broader question of how whistleblowers are treated within Walz\u2019s administration. The piece also framed Walz as someone who has faced accusations and personal criticism, including past claims about his military record, and ended with a note that CBS News reported Walz had said he would not seek office again, suggesting his political career might be winding down<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2576424,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-03-05T092528.277.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[75137,71290,70179,75136,27318],"class_list":["post-2576423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-government-accountability-2","tag-minnesota-politics-2","tag-political-controversy-2","tag-rep-gill","tag-walz"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-03-05T092528.277.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2576423","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2576423"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2576423\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2576427,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2576423\/revisions\/2576427"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2576424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2576423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2576423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2576423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}