Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Minnesota.
Case
Michele Tafoya says Minnesota Senate opponent Peggy Flanagan “is hiding from the fraud” in the state’s Feeding Our Future scandal and “let it happen.” Flanagan says fraud is unacceptable and that Minnesota prosecutes fraudsters while Trump pardons them.
Role at the time: Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota and Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, interviewed on Lovett or Leave It
Statement summary
Asked about the Feeding Our Future fraud scandal on Lovett or Leave It, Peggy Flanagan said “fraud of any kind is completely unacceptable,” that she supported a new independent inspector general’s office and harsher penalties, and that “more should have been done… sooner and more needs to be done.” She said “it’s not OK for anyone… to commit fraud,” and that Minnesota is “prosecuting fraudsters,” including Feeding Our Future’s executive director, while President Trump “is pardoning the fraudsters who are literally stealing money from Medicaid,” adding that Michele Tafoya “hasn’t said anything about that.”
“Fraud of any kind is completely unacceptable.” … “I would just say, you know, that more should have been done … sooner and more needs to be done.” … “I would say that it’s not OK for anyone, right, to commit fraud.” … “I think the difference, right, is that Minnesota is prosecuting fraudsters, including the woman who is in charge of Feeding Our Future, Aimee Bock, who received over 41 years in prison.” … “And in Washington, Donald Trump is pardoning the fraudsters who are literally stealing money from Medicaid. Like, we’re not the same. And, you know, Michelle Tafoya hasn’t said anything about that. She’s just fine with it.”
The case’s fixed reference point is Tafoya’s accusation that Flanagan hid from the fraud and let it happen. Flanagan does not deny that fraud occurred, but she rejects the accusation as directed at her: she says fraud is unacceptable, points to steps taken since (an inspector general’s office, harsher penalties) and to Minnesota prosecuting the scheme’s leader, and contrasts that with Trump’s pardons and Tafoya’s silence about them. That answers and rejects the accusation rather than accepting it. The closest competing label is mixed_or_conditional, because she also says “more should have been done… sooner and more needs to be done”; it loses because that is a passive, impersonal statement about the state’s response generally, and she never says in the first person that she hid from or allowed the fraud.
Statement dates: September 20, 2026
Statement dates: September 20, 2026
Statement dates: September 20, 2026
