Keith Ellison faces scrutiny over audio recording with Somali fraudsters

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is facing new scrutiny over a 2021 audio recording of his meeting with members of the Somali community who will soon be convicted of defrauding millions of dollars in taxpayer money.

In the recording, now obtained by Fox News, the would-be scammers can be heard asking Ellison to help them secure more funding, before the conversation then turns to campaign donations.

“The only way we can protect what we have is by inserting ourselves into the political arena. Putting our votes where they belong. But more importantly, putting our dollars where they belong. And supporting candidates who will fight to protect our interests,” a Somali community member says in the recording.

“That’s right,” Ellison replies.

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Ellison denied any wrongdoing in relation to the recording, saying he was completely unaware of the fraudsters’ crimes at the time of the meeting.

“I had a good-faith meeting with people I didn’t know, and some of them turned out to have done bad things. I did nothing for them and took nothing from them,” Ellison wrote in an April op-ed for the Minnesota Star Tribune.

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Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announced that he will not seek re-election on Monday, January 5, 2026 at a news conference at the state Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Jerry Holt/Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images)

Ellison received campaign donations from some convicted fraudsters, according to the Center for the American Experience, but later returned those donations after their convictions.

The filing was first revealed by Minnesota attorney Kenneth Oduibock, who represents Amy Bock, one of several convicted in the $250 million “Feed Our Future” scam last year. Oduibok argues that state leaders like Ellison and Gov. Tim Walz need to be held accountable as well.

“I would like to see someone, someone in the state, I don’t care if it’s the governor, I don’t care who the attorney general is, someone who takes responsibility,” he said in an interview with Fox News.

“Mr. Ellison, the department that your agency represents bears some guilt,” Oduiboke continued. “As much as I love Mr. Walz, he has not taken responsibility on behalf of his agency. The buck stops with him, and in a worst-case scenario, he should have fired the commissioner. He should have fired the food program director, someone.”

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Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., plans to question witnesses about the 2021 filing at a House hearing on Wednesday, according to a source familiar with his plans.