Newsmerido

By Peter Aitken

Politics Weekend Editor

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Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz during a press conference on Sunday addressed a letter sent by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi that outlined a series of requests from the Trump administration that included access to voter data and an end to the state's sanctuary policies.

Bondi's letter suggested that by complying with the requests, Minnesota would restore "the rule of law," but Walz took issue with several characterizations in the letter, such as maintaining that state and local officials have "chosen to ignore federal immigration law" and "are putting federal agents in danger."

Walz at the press conference said: "The attorney general of the United States put falsehoods into a letter she sends to me...but we're not going to do your job for you. We have other things we need to do."

Newsweek reached out to the Department of Justice (DOJ) by submission form on Sunday outside of normal business hours seeking comment.

Why It Matters

Bondi sent a letter to Walz on Saturday evening following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse in Minneapolis, by federal agents, which occurred just two weeks after the city saw the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good, 37, by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent.

President Donald Trump has maintained that he is pouring resources into Minneapolis to attack two significant issues: First, to address allegations of fraud in the state, especially following an audit that found significant problems in the oversight of behavioral health grants by the state's Department of Human Services; and second, to deal with "Illegal Criminals that were allowed to infiltrate the State through the Democrats’ Open Border Policy."

Bondi in her letter blamed state and local officials for the unrest that has gripped the city, which has occurred in response to the Trump administration's immigration enforcement operations.

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What To Know

Bondi in her letter said Walz could "restore the rule of law" if he complied with three requests: That the state repeal its "sanctuary policies," and that the state allow the federal government access to voter registration records as well as its records on Medicaid and Food and Nutrition Service programs.

Walz held a press briefing on Sunday, during which he intended to provide updates on the aftermath of Pretti's shooting. When a reporter asked about the letter and how Walz can meet the Trump administration "part of the way" to help "turn this temperature down," Walz dismissed the administration's efforts as "not a serious attempt."

"In that letter, they talked about, you need to hand people over in your jails—they're taking credit for people that we've had in jail for a long time. We always hand them over to the commissioner, very clearly, so they're lying."

"This has nothing to do with fraud," the governor added. "As the [Minnesota] attorney general [Keith Ellison] said, they're not sending us forensic accountants, and these are things that we're dealing with now and have been for quite some time. It's not a serious attempt to get at this," in reference to the president's concerns about fraud in the state.

Walz said the state has complied with federal requests so far, but the administration is "not serious" with its newest demands, and "the last request was totally unrelated to anything," calling much of those concerns "a red herring" from the administration.

Walz then quipped that Bondi should focus on the 2 million Epstein files documents yet to be released in compliance with the law, saying, "Go ahead and work on those."

What People Are Saying

President Donald Trump on Truth Social on Sunday: "Minnesota is a Criminal COVER UP of the massive Financial Fraud that has gone on!"

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, in a post on X on January 24: "I just spoke with the White House after another horrific shooting by federal agents this morning. Minnesota has had it. This is sickening. The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now."

Attorney General Pam Bondi, in the letter: "You and your office must restore the rule of law, support ICE officers and bring an end to the chaos in Minnesota."

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