Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison told participants in the Feeding Our Future fraud scandal, “I’m here to help.” He also said of state officials, “Let’s just go fight these people,” according to a 2021 audio recording now receiving renewed scrutiny after more than 50 guilty pleas in the scandal.

The audio, which Ellison has not denied, reveals fraudsters complaining that Minnesota agencies refused to reimburse them for money they claimed to have spent feeding children—claims found false in court. The fraudsters accused agencies of racism, and Ellison seemed to take these claims seriously, saying he would forward them to his staff.

Ellison’s press secretary, Brian Evans, flatly denied that the AG took any action to fulfill the implied promise to “fight” state agencies.

“During the meeting, Attorney General Ellison very clearly asked attendees to share examples of the discriminatory or unfair conduct they claim to have faced,” Evans told The Daily Signal. “They did not do so, and no action was taken in support of them.”

After the meeting, during which fraudsters suggested they would support Ellison’s reelection campaign, donors connected to the fraud ponied up cash.

“AG Ellison returned every contribution from the handful of people associated with Feeding Our Future as soon as he was made aware of those connections,” Evans told The Daily Signal.

In an April op-ed, Ellison wrote that these “professional scammers” tried “using outrageous claims of discrimination as a pretense to cover for their scheme to defraud the federal........

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