Top Justice Department officials urged the FBI to look into political campaigns in Minnesota over whether they may have benefited from money connected to alleged fraud involving public service organizations, according to two people familiar with internal discussions.
Part of the department’s interest, one of the sources said, was sparked by a Washington Examiner report earlier this month claiming Gov. Tim Walz, Rep. Ilhan Omar and other Minnesota politicians received campaign donations from individuals implicated in the state’s public benefits fraud cases and from community care providers.
The request, the source said, came roughly two weeks ago from senior lawyers working for Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. They asked the FBI to open inquiries into whether funds illegally obtained by organizations such as food assistance charities and home health care centers were routed to political campaigns.
The FBI’s public corruption section told Blanche’s office it is reviewing the matter but has not yet found evidence of wrongdoing related to campaign finance, according to the source.
A person familiar with the discussions said the campaign finance inquiry remains ongoing and has not previously been reported.
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on any potential investigation.
The push for a campaign-focused inquiry underscores the Trump administration’s broader efforts to scrutinize Democratic officials and appears to fit into a wider pattern of attention on Minnesota leaders amid heightened tensions between the state and the federal government.
Separately, the Justice Department has subpoenaed at least five Minnesota officials as part of an investigation into whether state and local leaders obstructed federal immigration enforcement, CNN has reported. Those officials include Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her.
The campaign finance discussions unfolded during an especially volatile period in the relationship between Minnesota leaders and the administration. They occurred in the days after a federal immigration officer shot and killed a woman in a car, Renee Good, prompting Walz and other Minnesota Democrats to publicly criticize the federal presence in the state.
For years, federal prosecutors have pursued Minnesota cases involving alleged fraudulent schemes tied to government benefits, including the nonprofit Feeding Our Future. In recent days, the department has intensified its posture toward Walz in particular, seeking information in what has been described as a criminal obstruction investigation connected to recent protests, CNN previously reported.
President Donald Trump has suggested he may invoke the Insurrection Act to send federal troops to Minneapolis, a rarely used presidential authority to deploy the military in response to civil unrest. Blanche has also publicly threatened Walz with legal retaliation.
Commenting on protests and ICE officer-involved shootings in Minneapolis, Blanche wrote on social media last week: “Walz and Frey – I’m focused on stopping YOU from your terrorism by whatever means necessary. This is not a threat. It’s a promise.”
He also posted on X on Thursday morning: “Billions in taxpayer dollars wasted and flowing to foreign criminals, policies that protect criminal aliens over law-abiding citizens, ignoring federal law by releasing criminal alien murderers and pedophiles to MN neighborhoods. It is pretty clear the soon-to-be former Gov neither understands how the law works, nor what it means to be ‘nonpartisan.’”
Prosecutors dating back to the Biden administration have indicted nearly 80 people linked to Feeding Our Future, which received federal funds meant to provide meals to children during the Covid-19 pandemic, in what authorities have described as a sweeping fraud case. The Trump administration has recently frozen childcare payments to Minnesota, escalating its dispute with the state’s leadership and immigrant communities after viral videos alleged fraud at Somali-run daycare centers.
While it is common for federal investigators to examine tips that emerge from public reporting, a directive from senior officials in Washington pushing the FBI to look into political campaigns is unusual—both because of the Justice Department’s historical sensitivity around politically charged investigations and because probes more often begin with agents in the field and U.S. attorneys’ offices outside Washington.
Blanche’s office being involved also signals political leadership’s interest in campaigns tied to officials who have criticized the administration’s approach in Minnesota.
According to state and federal campaign finance records, donations from individuals linked to Minnesota public benefits fraud cases have gone to Walz, Omar and state Sen. Omar Fateh, a Somali American who ran unsuccessfully for Minneapolis mayor last year. The contributions span years and represent a small share of overall campaign fundraising, which can reach into the millions. Some of the donations, according to the reporting, were later returned or redirected.
From 2017 to 2022, Walz received more than $8,000 from five individuals connected to the fraud investigations. Omar received $5,400 in 2021 from two individuals also linked to the case, and later donated that money to three local food shelves, a person familiar with the matter told CNN.
Fateh, meanwhile, returned $11,000 in donations to his state Senate campaign when the scandal first became public in 2022, and again in 2025 after another donor who contributed $1,000 to his mayoral campaign was indicted.
Representatives for Walz, Omar and Fateh did not provide comment to CNN in response to requests this week.
Walz said Tuesday that the Justice Department “does not seek justice” with its recent investigative activity, arguing it has become fully political. He made the remarks in response to a separate inquiry involving a subpoena tied to possible obstruction allegations related to ongoing protests in the state.
