Vance Takes Center Stage on Somali Fraud, Minnesota ICE Shooting
Vice President JD Vance has taken center stage in the Trump administration’s response to the Somali fraud in Minnesota and Wednesday’s ICE shooting in Minneapolis.
Vance spoke for about 35 minutes on those topics during a press briefing packed with reporters at the White House scheduled for a few hours earlier Thursday, a day after his major interview with Fox News prime-time host Jesse Watters.
It’s the first time the vice president has appeared at a White House press briefing since Oct. 1, the day the Democratic-led government shutdown began, signaling not only the seriousness of the two issues he spoke about Thursday, but also his role in the response.
Vance briefed reporters on ongoing fraud investigations and the activation of an interagency task force to get to the root of the fraud.
“We actually activated a major interagency task force to help get to the heart of this fraud,” he said, citing as an example an Agriculture Department investigation into Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) fraud.
“We have over 1,500 subpoenas issued by the Department of Justice to get to the heart of the fraud network,” he said. “We have pursued almost 100 indictments, primarily Somali immigrants, but also a few others. And of course, we are looking, with broad investigative authority, at a number of cases of wrongdoing that we have seen in Minneapolis.”
He also announced the upcoming role of an assistant attorney general who will have jurisdiction over U.S. fraud matters and blasted mainstream media for their “irresponsible” coverage of the ICE-involved shooting.
“But we also want to expand that,” the vice president continued. “We know that fraud is not just happening in Minneapolis; it’s also happening in states like Ohio. It’s happening in states like California. And so, to help coordinate this remarkable interagency effort by the Trump administration, but also to make sure that we’re going after the bad guys, and that we’re doing it as quickly and efficiently as possible, we’re creating a new position of deputy attorney general who will have nationwide jurisdiction over the issue of fraud.”
Vance clarified that whoever takes on the new role of deputy attorney general will initially focus on Minnesota, but will also focus on the entire country.
“Now, of course, this person’s efforts will begin and be focused primarily in Minnesota, but it will be a nationwide effort, because unfortunately the American people have been defrauded in a very national way,” he said.
Vance said Attorney General Pam Bondi played a key role in creating the position and that he spoke with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to quickly confirm the eventual nominee for the position, illustrating her leadership role in fighting fraud against taxpayers’ money.
“Creating a position like this often takes months, sometimes even longer. When we realized we needed this deputy attorney general position, Pam had that person in place in about a week,” Vance told reporters.
“We’ll make the nomination, hopefully in the next few days. We’ll obviously let you know who it is when we do,” he added. “I spoke to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who promised me a quick confirmation of this official, but he is the person who is going to make sure we stop defrauding the American people.”
The role will have all the capabilities of a special counsel with two distinct differences.
“First, the project will be managed from the White House under the supervision of me and the President of the United States. And second, it is in fact constitutionally legitimate,” the vice president said.
“As you may know, the status of the special counsel raises major constitutional questions,” he continued. “When we catch the bad guys. We want to make sure that we have them permanently, and that they don’t have legal problems that they can walk away from, that’s why we created him as an assistant attorney general.”
News of Vance’s conversation with Thune comes as Breitbart News exclusively reported that one of Vance’s top allies in the Senate, Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN), has introduced legislation to block agents from any country subject to the president’s travel ban from accessing taxpayer dollars.
Vance also blasted the media for its “irresponsible” coverage of an ICE officer’s shooting of a woman who the Department of Homeland Security said “weaponized” her vehicle.
“I think it’s really irresponsible of you to go out there and suggest or tell the American people that a guy who defended himself after being hit by an automobile is guilty of murder,” Vance told reporters in the room. “Be a little more careful.”
“We’re going to talk about lowering the temperature, which I know the president wants to do, and I certainly want to do that. One of the ways to lower the temperature is to have a media that tells the truth. I encourage all of you to do that,” he added.
Vance’s leadership draws praise from Bondi and others.
