It may be time to retire the whole “Minnesota nice” cliché. Sure, most folks in the state are probably warm, generous, salt-of-the-earth types with those sturdy Germanic and Nordic roots. But their public officials? Lately, they’re not exactly putting that reputation on display — and they certainly aren’t covering themselves in glory.
Take Tim Walz, for example. It’s hard to know where to begin with the scandals swirling around Minnesota’s Democratic governor — and Kamala Harris’s former running mate — but the latest one is as good a starting point as any. As RedState has detailed, more than $1 billion in taxpayer funds appear to have been stolen in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, allegedly carried out by individuals within the state’s Somali community. At best, Walz looked the other way; at worst, he oversaw the mess.
Walz’s mismanagement has put Minnesota on the national map for all the wrong reasons. As our own Bob Hoge reported Wednesday, the Trump administration has now deployed more than 100 ICE agents to Minneapolis to locate Somali nationals in the country illegally — and put them on a one-way flight home.
Unfortunately for Minnesotans, Tim Walz isn’t the only public official dropping the ball. Another story gaining traction in recent days centers on Democrat-appointed Judge Sarah West, who unilaterally threw out the jury conviction of Abdifatah Yusuf — a man who, alongside his wife, was found guilty on six counts related to a $7.2 million Medicaid fraud scheme.
The couple used the stolen taxpayer money to bankroll a lavish lifestyle most Minnesotans could never dream of. Yet Judge West decided the jury’s verdict didn’t matter, effectively overriding the will of the citizens who weighed the evidence and delivered a conviction:
The attorney general’s office said Yusuf received Medicaid money by billing for services not provided and services that lacked “any documentation,” and overbilled for services.
Yusuf allegedly used the money to fund a “lavish lifestyle,” including shopping sprees at luxury stores such as Coach, Michael Kors, Nike, Nordstrom and more.
It’s been reported that “Yusuf funneled more than $1 million from their business to his personal account and withdrew over $387,000 in cash…”
Dem-appointed judge under fire for tossing $7M Medicaid fraud conviction tied to Minnesota couple’s ‘lavish lifestyle’ https://t.co/gfN8zAJiZ3 pic.twitter.com/RgkP23lH7G
— New York Post (@nypost) December 2, 2025
Judge West, appointed by Tim Walz’s Democratic predecessor, Mark Dayton, has dismissed Yusuf’s conviction on “six counts of aiding and abetting theft by swindle, exceeding $35,000,” reasoning that the prosecution “relied significantly on circumstantial evidence.” Republican legislators in the state are labeling the judge as an “extremist” who is permitting her ideology to influence her courtroom decisions.
“Judicial reform is necessary in Minnesota… This wasn’t an extreme situation,” [state Sen. Michael] Holmstrom told Fox News Digital. “This is just how she operates.”
“I think that she is a true extremist, that her ideology is running her courtroom and damaging our justice system. People in Minnesota are questioning whether or not the judicial system can be trusted. And with judges like this, I see why,” he added.
The jury that returned the convictions is not pleased. Jury foreperson Ben Walfoort stated it was not a difficult decision. Per Walfoort, “The deliberation took probably four hours at most. Based off of the state’s evidence that was presented, it was beyond a reasonable doubt.” He added, “I am shocked. I’m shocked based off of all of the evidence that was presented to us and the obvious guilt that we saw based off of the said evidence.”
As for West, you can safely bet any amount of money that she doesn’t care what Republicans or other critics think, which is quite obvious from her obscene and outrageous reversal of the jury’s decision. But in cases like this, I always try to remind people that voting matters, but more that that, who you vote for matters. If Minnesotans are outraged by this judge – and they should be – the solution is to stop voting for the Democrats who always put these activists on the bench.
