独家报道： 明尼苏达州共和党参议院候选人米歇尔·塔福亚在周三一场争议性的众议院听证会上猛烈抨击了州长蒂姆·瓦尔兹就明尼苏达州正深陷其中的大规模欺诈丑闻所做的证词，并概述了她打击欺诈行为的计划。她表示，选民在竞选活动中一直对此问题呼声很高。
众议院监督委员会的共和党人就瓦尔兹是否明知欺诈计划在其任内持续存在（尽管举报人多次发出警告）而进行了严厉质问。明尼苏达州总检察长基思·埃利森也在听证会上宣誓作证。
“今天看到蒂姆·瓦尔兹就欺诈问题作证，完全符合我的预期：他在回避问题，给出不完整的答案，手中没有掌握相关信息，只是一味推诿责任，却为那些他根本毫无关联的入狱人员邀功，”塔福亚在周三接受福克斯新闻数字版的独家采访时表示。
“这是蒂姆·瓦尔兹的一贯做法，”塔福亚说，“这就是他不再寻求第三任期州长连任的原因。一切都是老调重弹。总检察长基思·埃利森也是如此。”
塔福亚曾是一名资深的前NFL边线记者，最近宣布竞选明尼苏达州空缺的民主党参议院席位。她誓言要打击涉及该州福利项目的欺诈计划，这一计划在瓦尔兹及其副手副州长佩吉·弗拉纳根的任期内展开。塔福亚可能会在11月的大选中与进步派民主党人、竞选该州参议院空缺席位的弗拉纳根正面交锋。
联邦检察官指控欺诈者窃取了高达90亿美元的纳税人资金，并已对近100人提起诉讼，其中许多人是索马里裔，这些人涉及明尼苏达州的多起欺诈相关案件。
福克斯新闻数字版独家获取了塔福亚竞选团队提出的一项三部分反欺诈计划，她承诺如果在11月当选参议员，将立即实施该计划。
塔福亚表示，她将共同赞助《驱逐欺诈者法案》，该法案将允许对因欺诈罪被定罪的非公民进行驱逐，并禁止其进入美国。来自得克萨斯州的共和党参议员约翰·科宁、特德·克鲁兹以及犹他州的迈克·李于2025年提出了这项立法，但该法案此后在参议院陷入停滞。
“如果你是这个国家的移民，你就是这个国家的客人，如果你被判定欺诈美国民众，你就会被驱逐，”塔福亚说。
[民主党关键参议院初选中的候选人称对莱肯·莱利法案投票“后悔”，引发共和党反弹]
塔福亚还誓言打击因盗窃纳税人资金而被定罪的美国人。她告诉福克斯新闻数字版，她将努力为参与欺诈计划的人制定新的强制性最低刑期。
“这不再是二等罪行了，”这位明尼苏达州共和党人补充道，“这应该受到法律的全部制裁。”
第三，塔福亚表示支持特朗普政府最近采取的行动，即暂时暂停向未实施反欺诈控制措施的州拨付数十亿美元纳税人资金。
特朗普政府最近宣布，将暂停向明尼苏达州拨付约2.6亿美元的医疗补助资金，直到该州政府建立防护措施以消除欺诈行为。联邦官员表示，如果瓦尔兹不遵守总统的“反欺诈战争”指令，该州可能面临超过10亿美元的延期支付。
尽管明尼苏达州选民在联邦层面往往支持民主党，但塔福亚认为，此次欺诈丑闻为共和党人提供了一个翻牌该席位的机会。参议院共和党人也在中期选举中瞄准了佐治亚州、密歇根州和新罕布什尔州的民主党席位。
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“当我在明尼苏达州各地与人们交谈时，一旦提到‘欺诈’这个词，就能听到明显的不满声或怒吼，”塔福亚说，“人们对此感到无比厌恶，我认为这真的会促使人们在今年11月前往投票站。”
得到参议院共和党竞选机构支持的塔福亚，尽管面临众多候选人的竞争，仍被看好能顺利进入大选。在民主党内部，弗拉纳根和众议员安吉·克雷格在8月的初选前就党内提名展开了激烈争夺。
安德鲁·马克·米勒是福克斯新闻的记者。在Twitter上关注他 @andymarkmiller，或发送提示至AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com。
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6390397984112
EXCLUSIVE: Minnesota Republican Senate candidate Michele Tafoya slammed Gov. Tim Walz’s testimony on the massive fraud scandal roiling Minnesota during a contentious House hearing on Wednesday and outlined her plan to combat fraud, which she says voters have been clamoring about on the campaign trial.
House Oversight Committee Republicans grilled Walz over allegations he knowingly permitted the sprawling fraud scheme to continue under his watch despite repeated warnings from whistleblowers. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison also testified under oath at the hearing.
“Seeing Tim Walz testify today on fraud was everything I expected it to be: dodging, giving answers that were incomplete, not having information at his disposal, simply kind of passing the buck and taking credit for people behind bars that really he had nothing to do with,” Tafoya told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview Wednesday.
“This is par for the course for Tim Walz,” Tafoya said. “This is why he is no longer running for governor for a third term. It was more of the same. Same with A.G. Keith Ellison.”
Tafoya, a longtime former NFL sideline reporter, recently launched a campaign for Minnesota’s open Democratic-held Senate seat. She is vowing to crack down on the fraud scheme involving the state’s welfare programs, which unfolded during the tenure of Walz and his deputy, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. Tafoya could face Flanagan, a progressive Democrat running for the state’s open Senate seat, in the November general election.
Federal prosecutors allege fraudsters stole as much as $9 billion in taxpayer money and have charged nearly 100 individuals, many of Somali descent, in various Minnesota fraud-related cases.
Fox News Digital exclusively obtained a three-part anti-fraud plan from Tafoya’s campaign, which she is promising to enact if elected to the Senate in November.
Tafoya said she would cosponsor the Deporting Fraudsters Act, which would allow for noncitizens who are convicted of fraud to be deported and barred from entering the United States. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduced the legislation in 2025, but the bill has since stalled in the Senate.
“If you are an immigrant in this country, you are a guest of this country, and you are convicted of defrauding the American people, you will be deported,” Tafoya said.
[DEMOCRAT IN KEY SENATE PRIMARY SAYS SHE ‘REGRETS’ VOTE ON LAKEN RILEY ACT, DRAWS GOP BACKLASH]
Tafoya is also pledging to crack down on Americans convicted of stealing taxpayer money. She told Fox News Digital that she would work to enact new mandatory minimum sentences for those involved in fraud schemes.
“This is not a second-class crime anymore,” the Minnesota Republican added. “This deserves the full weight of the law.”
Thirdly, Tafoya voiced support for the Trump administration’s recent moves to temporarily halt hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to states that fail to implement anti-fraud controls.
The Trump administration recently announced it would withhold roughly $260 million in Medicaid funding to Minnesota until the state government puts guardrails in place to eliminate fraud. Federal officials have said the state could see more than $1 billion in deferred payments if Walz fails to comply with the president’s “war on fraud.”
Though Minnesota voters tend to favor Democrats at the federal level, Tafoya argued the fraud scandal gives Republicans an opening to flip the seat. Senate Republicans are also targeting Democratic-held seats in Georgia, Michigan and New Hampshire during the midterms.
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“When I go and talk to people around the state of Minnesota and the word fraud comes up, there is an audible sort of hum or roar of disapproval,” Tafoya said. “People are sick to their stomach over it, and I think it really is driving people to the polls this November.”
Tafoya, who is backed by Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, is expected to cruise to the general election despite facing a crowded field of candidates.On the Democratic side, Flanagan and Rep. Angie Craig are engaged in a bitter fight for the party’s nomination ahead of the August primary.
Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6390397984112
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