Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison testified at the Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on Thursday, and he was routinely lit up by GOP senators regarding the now-burgeoning fraud in his state that neither he nor Gov. Tim Walz (D) have done much about.
But none were so fierce and resolute as Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, himself a former state attorney general.
From the very beginning, Ellison was unyielding, even dodging questions about whether he was the Attorney General of Minnesota.
Hawley confronted him directly, accusing him of assisting individuals connected to the scandal. He claimed that Ellison had offered them support and subsequently accepted a $10,000 campaign contribution.
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NEW: Full, very heated exchange between Sen. @HawleyMO (R-MO) & Minnesota AG Keith Ellison about the Minnesota fraud scandal that ended with Hawley telling Ellison he should be in prison & Ellison responding by essentially saying good luck with that. pic.twitter.com/NO83rpJWqA
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) February 12, 2026
Ellison refuted the claims, asserting that he did not provide any assistance to them. He emphasized that his team’s support was instrumental in prosecuting those involved in the scandal and accused Hawley of “cherry-picking” parts of the conversation.
Ellison maintained that he didn’t take any money from the individuals in question. However, Hawley pressed him, stating that their conversation revolved around the topic of “money, money, money, money.” He claimed that during their discussion, Ellison remarked, “Money is freedom.”
Hawley also mentioned that Ellison had people come to him to explain the situation, but ultimately failed to tackle the underlying issue.
“As early as 2019, a whistleblower—” Hawley began before Ellison interrupted him. Hawley added, “Don’t talk over me. … It’s my hearing, pal.”
“Don’t call me ‘pal,’” the Minnesota AG seethed.
“Well, I should call you a prisoner because you ought to be in jail,” Hawley thundered. “Whistleblowers came to you in your office and referred to you fraud allegations from Feeding Our Future, and you blew them off. Listen to your own state newspaper.”
Ellison shot back, “Well, see what you can do about it,” in regard to the comment that he “ought to be in jail.” Ellison insisted that it was a lie.
Hawley stated that he should resign, to which Ellison replied that Hawley should indeed resign.
Sounds like that was a challenge from Ellison to Hawley: “See what you can do about it.” He might want to think twice before making that challenge, as it could potentially backfire on him. Is anyone looking into this particular question? If they weren’t before, they likely are now, especially after how Hawley approached the situation.
Ellison didn’t do himself any favors by being dismissive right from the beginning. As the clip went on, things only got worse for him as Hawley thoroughly took him apart.
It remains to be seen if anything comes of this and whether it’s as detailed as Hawley suggests. We’ll keep you in the loop.
