Behind the Minnesota Star Tribune

Gov. Tim Walz said he bears responsibility for shortcomings in the state’s response to fraud, offering one of his more direct acknowledgments of what he could have done differently as governor.

“Yep, I should have done more,” Walz said. “I should have been down on those agencies a little more.”

Walz said there “does need to be accountability,” but he drew a distinction between fraud involving government programs and corruption by public officials. He pointed to his own record, saying neither he nor members of his family had used his position to enrich themselves.

He also took a swipe at President Donald Trump, arguing that the fraud prosecuted in Minnesota — and what remains undiscovered — amounted to less than the cost of Trump’s White House ballroom project.

“It puts it in different perspective,” Walz said.

Trump has put the ballroom’s cost at about $400 million, while contractor estimates obtained by the Washington Post put the broader East Wing project at $600 million.

A Minnesota Star Tribune review of court records late last year showed the fraud uncovered to date amounted to about $218 million, though that number was expected to grow as ongoing state and federal investigations continued.