Angie Craig says Flanagan “continues to take absolutely no accountability for any of the fraud issues”
Angie CraigU.S. Representative from Minnesota’s 2nd District and Flanagan’s rival for the DFL Senate nomination, answering a question in an MPR News debate
Asked about fraud in state-administered programs during an MPR News debate, Rep. Angie Craig, then competing with Peggy Flanagan for the DFL Senate nomination, said the lieutenant governor “continues to take absolutely no accountability for any of the fraud issues” and “continues to blame the governor”. MPR News reported that Flanagan replied that lawmakers had taken steps to root out fraud earlier and that Gov. Tim Walz had taken the lead in addressing it.
“The lieutenant governor, even as we sit here today, continues to take absolutely no accountability for any of the fraud issues, and she continues to blame the governor. And I'm going to be honest: It's pissing me off.”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Michele Tafoya’s accusation that Peggy Flanagan is “hiding from” Minnesota’s welfare-fraud scandal
In a September 13, 2026 post, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michele Tafoya said her Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, “is hiding from the fraud” in Minnesota’s Feeding Our Future scandal and “let it happen.” Feeding Our Future was a nonprofit that authorities said fraudulently obtained federal child-nutrition funds during the COVID-19 pandemic; its executive director, Aimee Bock, was convicted at trial in 2025. Flanagan was not charged and has not been accused of personally approving fraudulent payments. Asked about the scandal on the podcast Lovett or Leave It on September 20, Flanagan said fraud “is completely unacceptable,” that she supported a new independent inspector general’s office, and that Minnesota is “prosecuting fraudsters” while President Trump “is pardoning the fraudsters” who defraud Medicaid.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
MPR News report on the final head-to-head debate between Rep. Angie Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan before the August 11 DFL primary. It quotes Craig’s answer on fraud in state programs and summarizes Flanagan’s reply.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The debate was the final head-to-head matchup between Craig and Flanagan before the August 11 DFL primary, which Flanagan won.
After the quotation
Craig went on to say, according to MPR News, that Flanagan’s handling of the fraud issue created a “unique vulnerability” for her against Republicans.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Relative to Tafoya’s accusation that Flanagan hid from and allowed Minnesota’s fraud, Craig, a fellow Democrat, makes a parallel but narrower charge: Flanagan “continues to take absolutely no accountability for any of the fraud issues” and blames the governor. That presses the accusation of evading responsibility rather than merely reporting it. The closest competing label is “Mixed or conditional”; it loses because Craig states the charge without qualification.
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- People and groups discussed
- Peggy Flanagan
More from this case
Read the full caseFlanagan says fraud response was outside her assigned duties
“I was not tasked with the fraud response ... My job as lieutenant governor ... is to lean on the issues that I’ve been leaning on for a long time, which is children and families.”Read statement
NRSC cites Angie Craig’s criticism as it describes Flanagan’s “role in the $9 billion+ fraud scheme”
National Republican Senatorial Committee
“Even Angie Craig tried warning Minnesotans about Peggy Flanagan's role in the $9 billion+ fraud scheme: "She continues to take absolutely NO accountability for any of the fraud... You were the #2 elected leader in Minnesota during that period of time."”Read statement
Tafoya links Flanagan to a friend’s autism-services center and alleges it is under fraud investigation
“This is Peggy Flanagan and her best friend of 25 years. That friend runs the Milestone Development Center. It’s now under investigation for fraud. Kids with autism are not a slush fund. Minnesotans deserve so much better.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Angie Craig says Flanagan “continues to take absolutely no accountability for any of the fraud issues”". First published: 2026-09-24. Last updated: 2026-09-24. https://disputeindex.com/events/2145-asked-about-fraud-in-state-administered-programs-during