A Minnesota legislative committee has given U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar until Tuesday to hand over communications related to a sprawling $250 million child nutrition fraud scheme, as state investigators press for answers about her office’s interactions with convicted program operators.
The Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Oversight Committee, led by Chair Rep. Kristin Robbins, is seeking Omar’s written and electronic correspondence involving the Feeding Our Future program. Lawmakers are specifically targeting the congresswoman’s communications with the owners of Safari Restaurant — a venue where Omar frequently held campaign events and was a known regular. Those owners have since pleaded guilty for their part in the fraud.
“We hope she will respond. We owe it to Minnesota taxpayers and families to respond to our questions,” Robbins said in a television interview. “She created the program, the meals act that took the guardrails off the school nutrition program that created the conditions for all this fraud, and she should come and answer questions.”
When asked what the committee would do if Omar does not meet the May 5 deadline, Robbins acknowledged that her panel currently lacks full subpoena power due to a tied house makeup. “We will look at all the options,” she said. “We will also continue to work with our federal partners who do have subpoena power. So this is far from over.”
Robbins cited court exhibits from the Feeding Our Future case that list communications between Omar’s office, her staffers, and program defendants. “That is the information we’re trying to get,” Robbins said. “What were they communicating about? Did they tell them that they’d taken the guardrails off the program? Did they encourage them to get involved?”
The committee chair also noted that Safari Restaurant was the largest single site in the Feeding Our Future network. “We definitely want to understand what her office was communicating,” she said. “I think that should be made available to the public.”
Responding to suggestions that the probe is politically motivated against the high-profile Democrat, Robbins rejected the claim. “This is about getting the truth,” she said. “People were afraid to tell the truth about the fraud problem, and when they did, they were retaliated against. We have a duty to the taxpayers and to the needy Minnesotans who need these services to find the facts and get the truth.”
Asked whether her committee was briefed by federal authorities before recent FBI raids on roughly 20 Minneapolis locations, including day care centers, Robbins said: “No, we watched it on the news like everyone else. I have a great relationship with our federal partners, and we certainly share information with them as we get it.”
Omar’s team and allies have largely framed allegations linking her to the fraud as politically motivated and unsubstantiated. As of this report, the congresswoman has not publicly confirmed whether she will comply with the Tuesday deadline.