The Omar this time

Jeff Meitrodt is the Star Tribune reporter who co-wrote the recent story on Omar Jamal that Bill Glahn covered for us in “Inside the fraud shakedown.” This is in the nature of a sidebar Meitrodt’s story “Playing both sides on fraud” and Bill’s post.

I have written about Meitrodt’s underassessment of the fraud involved in the Feeding Our Future and related cases a few times on Power Line, as in “Operation Walz,” “The Star Tribune corrects: Wrong again,” and “Hot to Meitrodt.” In response Meitrodt has advised me that I’m a dolt (“I remember telling colleagues how I had to spoon feed you the evidence [at the Bock trial], because you couldn’t keep it all straight[, s]o hearing you criticize our work is like hearing my dog complaining about my cooking”).

Meitrodt nevertheless forwards me the links to his work without comment. He is proud of it. He must think I’m capable of appreciating it. I continue to see it as flawed.

As I say, Omar Jamal is the subject of Meitrodt’s current story. Coincidentally, I’ve known Jamal for a long time. He turns up in my posts including “Ballad of a thin man” (2009) and “Voter fraud in Minnesota,” to take just two examples. Jamal has made a living as a middleman between the authorities and the Somali community. Our paths have crossed at the trials I have covered featuring Somali defendants. I introduced reporter Armin Rosen to Jamal when Armin was working on his Tablet story featuring the other Omar — “Ilhan’s country.”

Meitrodt’s current story portrays Jamal’s unsavory exploitation of his position to profit from the Feeding Our Future fraud. It is based largely on documents provided to Meitrodt in violation of a court order protecting the documents from disclosure to third parties. I infer that whoever gave them to Meitrodt did so unlawfully. You’d never know that from Meidtrodt’s references to them. See my post “Feeding Our Fraud: The Star Tribune connection.”

I believe the documents were illegally transmitted to Meitrodt by Aimee Bock, the ringleader in the Feeding Our Future case. The government turned over the documents to Bock to fulfill its discovery obligations in the case it brought against her. Bock seems to have peddled the documents to Meitrodt as part of her neverending campaign to minimize her culpability and blame others for her misconduct. In my opinion, Meitrodt’s reporting contributed to Bock’s campaign.

Meitrodt has yet to disclose the source of the documents. If he obtained the documents from Bock, she would have selected them in support of her campaign to point the finger at others. In other words, if Bock was Meitrodt’s source, as I believe she was, Bock herself curated the documents for Meitrodt.

Indeed, Meitrodt’s first story drawing on the documents appeared just before Bock’s sentencing this past May. Despite Bock’s best efforts, Judge Brasel more or less threw the book at Bock in sentencing. However, Bock can take satisfaction in revenge on her enemies — of whom Omar Jamal is one.

Speaking of minimization, I think Meitrodt and the Star Tribune continue to avoid any fair or rational assessment of the amount lost to fraud in Minnesota’s 14 waivered Medicaid programs. Based on evidence collected to date, former Acting United States Attorney Joe Thompson estimated that up to half of the $18 billion spent on these programs since their inception may have been lost to fraud. Joe had seen the evidence and knew what he was talking about.

No one has succeeded in extracting an assessment from Governor Walz or other state authorities of their own estimates, although they themselves concede that the programs are problematic. What percentage of the $18 billion was spent on fraud? If it’s just 10 percent — I think I can do the math — then these programs alone are responsible for $1.8 billion in losses. But it’s more than 10 percent. To take one example, the Housing Stabilization Services program was almost entirely riddled with fraud. As Thompson emphasized, we can’t prosecute our way out of it.

Jamal, in any event, hasn’t been charged with any crime in the Feeding Our Future case. Meitrodt’s current story should raise the question of political accountability. Is there anyone beside Tim Walz to be held accountable? Walz abandoned his campaign for an absurd third term. He won’t be on the ballot in November.

Well, of course there is, but for some reason the Star Tribune hasn’t gotten around to the others yet. We have the case of Attorney General Keith Ellison, who could have stopped the bleeding early on. The Star Tribune could tell that story if it chose to as Ellison runs for reelection.

We have the case of the other Omar, who contributed to the fraud by engineering the relaxation of rules that would have inhibited the fraud on display in the Feeding Our Future case. At trial Bock sought to introduce a video of Omar bragging about her legislative accomplishment that contributed to the massive Feeding Our Future fraud at Safari, the restaurant that constituted the scene of the crimes committed by Bock’s co-defendant. “I’m very thankful for Safari for being part of those places where food is being given out,” Omar said in Somali, adding that “each day, Safari gives out 2,300 family and kids’ meals.” The Star Tribune could tell that story if it chose to as Omar runs for reelection.

We have the case of Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan. Where was Peggy? The Star Tribune could tell that story if it chose to as Flanagan runs for promotion to the United States Senate.

We have the case of incumbent United States Senator Amy Klobuchar. She is campaigning for Walz’s job. She says she has a plan to prevent fraud, but she remained silent during every episode of our fraud fiasco. She could still urge Walz to call a special legislative session to enact her plan. The Star Tribune could tell that story if it chose to as Klobuchar seeks to replace Walz.

There is a difference between criminal responsibility and political accountability. As Joe Thompson never tired of saying, we cannot prosecute our way out of the fraud. Political accountability must factor into the equation.

Minnesota’s political establishment, including the Star Tribune, has evaded accountability for the Feeding Our Future case and related frauds, unless one credits Tim Walz’s abandonment of his campaign for reelection to a third term as a small down payment. The Star Tribune has helped the DFL evade political accountability so far and will continue to do so in the future.