Verdict with Ted Cruz - MTG Resigns-Why & What it Means, plus Minnesota Taxpayers are the LARGEST Funders of Al-Shabaab Terrorists

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:00:02.660 Guaranteed human.

00:00:05.480 Welcome.

00:00:06.100 It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you.

00:00:08.780 It's nice to have you with us this Thanksgiving week.

00:00:10.920 And we've got a lot to cover on the show today that you're not going to want to miss,

00:00:15.180 including a moment of clarity, I think, for the Republican Party

00:00:18.960 that deals with someone deciding, I'm going to resign from Congress.

00:00:23.180 Senator, your reaction to Marjorie Taylor Greene saying, I'm out.

00:00:26.180 Well, Marjorie Taylor Greene announced she's going to resign from Congress in January.

00:00:30.340 It's a big deal.

00:00:31.260 She was a major player of the House of Representatives.

00:00:34.520 Her views, I think, had gotten more and more extreme.

00:00:37.340 President Trump had announced he was withdrawing his support from her

00:00:41.140 because she had gotten so extreme.

00:00:43.260 We're going to break that down.

00:00:44.100 We're going to talk about why she's stepping down.

00:00:45.840 We're going to talk about what it means.

00:00:47.360 I think it's a consequential moment in the House,

00:00:49.360 and it's a consequential moment for the country.

00:00:51.440 We're also going to talk about a really astonishing story,

00:00:54.220 which is welfare fraud by Somalis in Minnesota 0.83

00:00:59.180 funneled millions of dollars of taxpayer money

00:01:02.560 to the Islamic terrorist organization al-Shabaab.

00:01:05.740 It really is a stunning story that's been reported,

00:01:10.600 and it shows the really pernicious things

00:01:14.340 that we're seeing unfolding in our country.

00:01:16.140 And finally, we're going to talk about Texas redistricting.

00:01:19.000 Texas redistricting, as everyone knows,

00:01:20.860 the state of Texas redrew the map to add five Republican House seats.

00:01:26.160 A federal district court struck that down.

00:01:29.280 And then on appeal, the Supreme Court has halted the decision

00:01:32.480 of the federal district court.

00:01:34.040 We're going to talk about what's likely to happen in Texas redistricting

00:01:36.840 and what it means for control of the House of Representatives in the midterms.

00:01:41.820 Yeah, it's really an incredible story.

00:01:43.700 We're going to have that for you in a moment.

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00:03:54.280 All right, Senators, so let's start with Marjorie Taylor Greene. 1.00

00:03:56.660 I genuinely thought this was a great moment for conservatives,

00:04:02.200 for the conservative movement, for the Republican Party,

00:04:05.800 watching her decide to resign.

00:04:08.520 And the reason why I say that is because it gave me hope

00:04:10.640 that we are so different than the Democratic Party.

00:04:13.340 We police our own, and we call out those that are bad actors,

00:04:17.380 unlike the Democratic Party that has not policed their party at all.

00:04:20.980 Now that you're witnessing socialists getting elected

00:04:23.180 in two major cities in this country and radical leftists

00:04:26.580 that have taken over, and yet we still seem to have

00:04:30.080 a moment of clarity where we're like,

00:04:31.920 hold on a second, this is not what we believe.

00:04:34.660 I found it incredibly encouraging, your reaction.

00:04:37.660 Well, Ben, I think you make a good point.

00:04:39.440 If you look about, and this is something I've been talking

00:04:41.860 quite a bit about, 10 years ago on the Democrat Party,

00:04:45.160 we saw anti-Semitism, radical extreme anti-Semitism

00:04:49.040 rising on the Democrat Party.

00:04:50.740 And Democrat leadership didn't do anything about it.

00:04:53.380 They basically looked the other direction.

00:04:55.480 They said, gosh, this is a small, fringe view.

00:04:58.320 We don't need to worry about it. It'll be fine.

00:05:00.260 And in the decade that followed, we have seen

00:05:02.880 pro-Hamas radicals consume the Democrat Party.

00:05:07.020 Now, you and I have talked about,

00:05:08.200 and I've been talking publicly a lot about,

00:05:10.000 I see the same thing potentially starting to happen on the right.

00:05:13.980 I've seen more anti-Semitism the last six months on the right

00:05:17.620 than I've seen in my entire life.

00:05:19.200 And my hope is the Republican Party doesn't make the mistakes

00:05:22.700 that the Democrats did, that we say enough is enough.

00:05:25.740 No.

00:05:26.440 And I'll tell you, this is striking,

00:05:28.100 because if you look at in Republicans in the House of Representatives,

00:05:32.220 the vast majority of elected Republicans in both the House and Senate

00:05:35.560 are passionately pro-Israel.

00:05:38.600 They're supporters of the U.S.-Israel alliance and relationship.

00:05:42.640 They understand the national security benefits of standing with Israel.

00:05:46.180 They understand that when Israel is killing Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists, 0.51

00:05:50.120 when Israel is taking out Iranian IRGC terrorists,

00:05:54.440 that they're making America safer.

00:05:56.140 There are a handful of House Republicans

00:05:58.980 who become more and more vocal as voices for being anti-Israel.

00:06:03.680 Marjorie Taylor Greene was in the front of that list.

00:06:05.700 In fact, the leading two House Republicans

00:06:08.220 who had become vocal anti-Israel voices

00:06:10.520 were Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz.

00:06:13.180 And I do think it's striking that Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz,

00:06:17.360 very soon, neither one of them is going to be in the House.

00:06:20.120 Matt Gaetz already resigned,

00:06:21.720 and Greene announced that she's going to resign in January.

00:06:24.980 And I think that's really, that is a powerful statement.

00:06:28.520 You ought to ask yourself, why didn't AOC resign?

00:06:32.260 Yeah.

00:06:32.520 Why didn't Ilhan Omar resign?

00:06:35.060 Why didn't Rashida Tlaib resign? 1.00

00:06:37.720 Why didn't the radicals in the Democrat Party resign?

00:06:40.180 And it's because their leadership fundamentally was weak.

00:06:43.200 And I want to commend Donald Trump.

00:06:45.580 If there's one person who is most responsible

00:06:48.040 for Marjorie Taylor Greene resigning,

00:06:49.940 it is Donald J. Trump.

00:06:51.300 Here's what he put out on Truth Social.

00:06:53.560 Quote,

00:06:54.100 I am withdrawing my support and endorsement

00:06:56.240 of quote-unquote Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene

00:06:59.380 of the great state of Georgia.

00:07:00.920 Over the past few weeks,

00:07:02.260 despite my creating record achievements for our country,

00:07:05.040 including a total and complete victory on the shutdown,

00:07:07.900 closed borders, low taxes, no men and women's sports, 0.78

00:07:11.500 or transgender for everyone,

00:07:13.260 ending DEI, stopping Biden's record-setting inflation,

00:07:16.820 biggest regulation cuts in history,

00:07:18.760 stopping eight wars, rebuilding our military,

00:07:21.220 being highly respected by every country in the world,

00:07:24.860 as opposed to being the laughingstock

00:07:26.460 that we were just 12 months ago,

00:07:28.460 having trillions of dollars, record-setting,

00:07:31.040 invested in the USA,

00:07:32.560 and having created the hottest country anywhere in the world

00:07:35.140 from being a dead country just 12 months ago,

00:07:38.120 and so much more.

00:07:39.300 All I see wacky Marjorie do 0.97

00:07:42.120 is complain, complain, complain.

00:07:45.860 It seemed to all begin when I sent her a poll

00:07:49.000 stating that she should not run for senator or governor.

00:07:52.140 She was at 12% and didn't have a chance, 0.75

00:07:55.160 unless, of course, she had my endorsement,

00:07:57.700 which she wasn't about to get.

00:07:59.560 Now look, when Trump said that,

00:08:01.000 that he was going to oppose her,

00:08:02.320 it changed the dynamic significantly,

00:08:05.420 and it changed it so much

00:08:06.500 that she put out a statement this past week

00:08:08.980 saying she's done.

00:08:10.540 She's resigning in January. 0.75

00:08:12.020 She's withdrawing from the Congress.

00:08:14.840 And listen, Marjorie Taylor Greene,

00:08:17.440 she got elected five years ago.

00:08:19.540 She's not been in the House very long.

00:08:21.540 She is a loud voice.

00:08:23.880 Yeah.

00:08:23.960 She used to be maybe the single loudest voice pro-Trump. 1.00

00:08:29.000 Yep.

00:08:29.100 And we saw her,

00:08:31.800 and it actually,

00:08:32.880 I think it's a cautionary tale

00:08:34.440 about when you embrace anti-Semitic views,

00:08:38.500 anti-Israel views,

00:08:39.860 you quickly start down a slippery slope

00:08:43.360 where she began attacking Donald Trump. 0.90

00:08:46.020 She began attacking capitalism.

00:08:48.320 She began attacking, 0.99

00:08:50.820 much like Tucker Carlson,

00:08:52.280 attacking who America is.

00:08:55.000 She went on The View and had a love fest

00:08:56.960 with the left-wing host on The View.

00:08:59.200 She was arguing for expanding

00:09:02.120 and extending the Obamacare subsidies.

00:09:05.640 I mean, it really was a good example

00:09:08.480 that once you start down that road,

00:09:11.240 all of the rest of conservatism

00:09:12.980 goes out the window as well.

00:09:14.740 Yeah.

00:09:15.380 It was a moment where I was genuinely proud

00:09:18.760 to be a conservative,

00:09:21.060 also a Trump supporter,

00:09:22.140 and I loved the fact the president

00:09:24.100 was this blunt about it

00:09:25.240 because if you don't have moral clarity

00:09:28.460 on issues like anti-Semitism,

00:09:31.120 so goes your party.

00:09:32.920 And we've seen what happens,

00:09:35.120 and the Democrats are a cautionary tale.

00:09:37.980 The most radical of the radicals in this country

00:09:40.440 are now within the Democratic Party,

00:09:42.240 and many of them are leading the Democratic Party.

00:09:44.620 And I worry that we could go down that road

00:09:47.080 if we didn't start policing our own

00:09:49.600 and making sure,

00:09:50.360 especially those that become radical and anti-Semites,

00:09:53.080 we're not policed better.

00:09:54.260 I think the other part about this is

00:09:56.160 not only is she going to be out of Congress,

00:09:59.020 but her voice is going to disappear,

00:10:01.520 I believe,

00:10:02.020 from the conservative movement as well

00:10:03.340 in a major way.

00:10:04.600 And that also is a consequence,

00:10:06.280 whereas many times Democrats,

00:10:07.600 it's a complete opposite of that.

00:10:09.320 Well, I don't know that it'll disappear.

00:10:11.000 I actually think she may be similar to Matt Gaetz,

00:10:13.240 where they both will continue to espouse

00:10:17.580 wackier and wackier views,

00:10:20.000 views that are more and more out of the mainstream

00:10:21.920 of Republicans and conservatives.

00:10:24.120 But I do think it will be a much smaller platform.

00:10:27.820 And, you know, Ben,

00:10:28.500 I actually talked to President Trump about it this weekend.

00:10:30.980 He called me Friday night,

00:10:32.380 and we spent probably 15, 20 minutes on the phone.

00:10:34.860 We were talking about lots of different things.

00:10:36.760 But one of the things,

00:10:37.920 just as we were making conversation,

00:10:39.340 it was about, I don't know,

00:10:40.120 11 o'clock at night, Friday night,

00:10:41.520 and I said, Mr. President,

00:10:43.720 were you surprised

00:10:44.860 that Marjorie Taylor Greene stepped down? 0.97

00:10:48.500 And he sort of laughed and said,

00:10:50.060 no, no, I wasn't surprised at all.

00:10:52.060 And he mentioned, he said,

00:10:53.660 he said she was mad

00:10:55.160 because he said she would call him

00:10:57.200 once, twice, three times a week,

00:10:59.440 and he wasn't calling her back all the time.

00:11:01.640 And, you know, he said,

00:11:02.520 look, I've got 53 Senate Republicans,

00:11:04.580 I've got 219 House Republicans,

00:11:07.220 I've got a couple hundred leaders

00:11:09.880 of countries across the world.

00:11:11.800 And I sort of laughed.

00:11:13.080 I said, yeah, look, you're a very, very busy man.

00:11:15.140 And to be honest,

00:11:16.180 I don't call Trump all that often.

00:11:18.160 I probably talk to Trump,

00:11:19.740 I don't know, every two weeks,

00:11:21.720 I'd say on average.

00:11:23.140 But I try not to,

00:11:24.540 some of my colleagues call him a lot.

00:11:27.180 And, you know, I told him,

00:11:28.500 I said, look, you're a busy man.

00:11:29.640 I try not to bother you

00:11:31.360 just to, like, call,

00:11:33.240 to tug on your shirt sleeve

00:11:34.420 and say, you know, hi, hi, hi.

00:11:36.520 I try to call when I've got a purpose,

00:11:38.660 I've got an objective,

00:11:39.660 I've got a decision

00:11:40.460 that I think is important,

00:11:42.380 something we need to get done.

00:11:44.220 But it was interesting.

00:11:45.500 He said she was calling him

00:11:46.600 several times a week

00:11:47.480 and it was just too much.

00:11:49.360 And, you know, I think his

00:11:51.400 withdrawing his support from her

00:11:53.360 is what caused her to drop out.

00:11:55.360 And I'm glad of that.

00:11:56.540 I mean, I do think

00:11:57.500 it shows Republicans

00:11:59.220 being willing to say,

00:12:00.620 we're not going to embrace

00:12:03.220 the radicals and extreme

00:12:04.580 in a way that it's hard to think

00:12:06.900 of a time the Democrats

00:12:08.720 have done that in modern history.

00:12:10.320 Yeah, it really is.

00:12:11.000 And I hope this also

00:12:12.020 is a cautious shot across the bow

00:12:14.780 to any others that are out there

00:12:16.100 in the Republican movement

00:12:17.000 that are going down

00:12:17.780 the same road that, hey,

00:12:18.980 if you think that the president

00:12:20.500 is going to be silent about it,

00:12:21.800 you're probably wrong.

00:12:23.700 And that we police our own.

00:12:25.620 That is a big, big thing.

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00:14:25.180 I want to move to this other subject

00:14:27.020 that I think is also really important.

00:14:28.920 It is a story

00:14:29.920 that I hope everyone listening

00:14:31.960 will actually share

00:14:33.160 on social media,

00:14:34.560 share this podcast

00:14:35.540 where you can on social media as well

00:14:37.240 because this is one of those stories

00:14:39.360 for me

00:14:40.060 that I am hoping

00:14:42.260 we will be able to make it go viral.

00:14:44.500 There are so many people

00:14:46.520 that voted for President Trump

00:14:48.360 because they wanted there to be

00:14:49.940 clarity on waste, fraud,

00:14:51.580 and abuse in our government.

00:14:53.420 It's what Doge was created around

00:14:54.980 and the amount of waste, fraud,

00:14:57.000 and abuse of our tax dollars

00:14:58.200 has become absolutely massive.

00:15:01.460 Now, we're seeing some states

00:15:02.780 be very proactive

00:15:03.820 in fighting this.

00:15:05.380 We've seen local governments

00:15:06.720 where it's happening.

00:15:07.520 It's trickling down.

00:15:08.480 I think that's also incredible.

00:15:09.780 But there is a story

00:15:11.400 that broke

00:15:12.040 that should make

00:15:13.600 every American angry.

00:15:16.160 And that is

00:15:17.120 the story

00:15:18.320 of the largest funder

00:15:19.940 of Al-Shabaab.

00:15:21.880 Turns out to be

00:15:22.960 and Al-Shabaab is a terrorist organization,

00:15:25.240 a Somali terrorist organization,

00:15:26.740 is actually

00:15:27.500 the Minnesota taxpayers.

00:15:30.000 Now, that may just seem

00:15:31.700 like a weird headline to people,

00:15:33.440 but what we're witnessing

00:15:34.820 is tax dollars

00:15:36.480 funneling directly

00:15:37.980 to the Islamic terrorist organization

00:15:39.740 and it's been going on

00:15:41.640 at numbers

00:15:42.400 that were clearly warning signs

00:15:44.720 when Joe Biden was president

00:15:46.060 in the amount of funds

00:15:47.640 that were leaving Minnesota

00:15:49.540 and no one seemed to bat an eye

00:15:52.020 or no one seemed to care

00:15:53.860 that this was happening.

00:15:55.380 Break it down for everybody

00:15:56.400 that doesn't know anything about this.

00:15:58.580 Well, this is a story

00:15:59.600 that's really at the intersection

00:16:01.000 of two issues

00:16:02.040 that matter enormously.

00:16:03.360 Number one is waste,

00:16:04.180 waste, fraud, and abuse

00:16:05.380 in government

00:16:06.200 and we see that

00:16:06.980 at the federal government.

00:16:07.880 We see that at the state level,

00:16:09.140 particularly in big blue states.

00:16:11.460 But secondly,

00:16:12.360 the rise of radical Islam in America 0.77

00:16:14.160 and it's dangerous.

00:16:15.560 It is threatening our liberty

00:16:16.620 and it is spreading.

00:16:18.200 It's spreading often

00:16:19.000 with the enthusiastic cheerleading

00:16:20.960 of Democrat elected officials.

00:16:23.460 This story is right

00:16:24.180 at the intersection

00:16:24.800 of both of them.

00:16:25.720 And so the City Journal reported,

00:16:27.760 I'm just going to read

00:16:28.400 a portion of this article

00:16:29.360 because it really is,

00:16:30.420 it's a stunning report

00:16:32.420 and it begins,

00:16:33.940 the largest funder

00:16:35.080 of Al-Shabaab

00:16:35.820 is the Minnesota taxpayer.

00:16:36.960 How some of the state's welfare funds

00:16:39.120 ended up in the hands

00:16:40.220 of a terror group.

00:16:41.560 Minnesota is drowning in fraud.

00:16:43.560 Billions in taxpayer dollars

00:16:45.100 have been stolen

00:16:45.800 during the administration

00:16:46.880 of Governor Tim Waltz alone.

00:16:49.320 Of course,

00:16:49.720 Tim Waltz was Kamala Harris'

00:16:51.780 nominee to be VP.

00:16:53.220 Democrat state officials

00:16:54.420 overseeing one of the most

00:16:55.520 generous welfare regimes

00:16:56.860 in the country

00:16:57.420 are asleep at the switch.

00:16:59.480 And the media,

00:17:00.540 duty bound by progressive pieties,

00:17:02.220 refused to connect the dots.

00:17:04.900 In many cases,

00:17:05.680 the fraud has allegedly

00:17:06.620 been perpetrated

00:17:07.480 by members of the Minnesota's

00:17:09.280 sizable Somali community.

00:17:11.980 Federal counterterrorism support

00:17:13.520 sources confirm

00:17:14.580 that millions of dollars,

00:17:16.660 millions,

00:17:17.580 in stolen funds

00:17:18.700 have been sent back to Somalia

00:17:20.420 where they ultimately landed

00:17:21.820 in the hands of the terror group

00:17:23.300 Al-Shabaab.

00:17:24.240 One confidential source put it,

00:17:26.260 quote,

00:17:27.060 the largest funder of Al-Shabaab

00:17:28.780 is the Minnesota taxpayer.

00:17:30.980 Our investigation shows

00:17:32.180 what happens

00:17:32.780 when a tribal mindset

00:17:34.040 meets a bleeding-heart bureaucracy,

00:17:36.320 when imported Klan loyalties

00:17:38.120 collide with a political class

00:17:39.920 too timid to offend,

00:17:41.620 and when accusations

00:17:42.360 of racism

00:17:43.200 are cynically deployed

00:17:44.460 to shield criminal behavior.

00:17:46.760 The predictable result

00:17:47.880 is graft,

00:17:49.320 with taxpayers left

00:17:50.580 to foot the bill.

00:17:51.640 If you were designed

00:17:52.500 to design a welfare program

00:17:53.940 to facilitate fraud,

00:17:55.400 it would probably look a lot

00:17:56.620 like Minnesota's

00:17:57.600 Medicaid Housing

00:17:58.400 Stabilization Services program.

00:18:00.100 The HHS program,

00:18:01.700 the first of its kind

00:18:02.620 in the country,

00:18:03.580 was launched

00:18:04.120 with a noble goal

00:18:05.320 to help seniors,

00:18:06.300 addicts,

00:18:06.680 the disabled,

00:18:07.340 and the mentally ill 0.68

00:18:08.080 secure housing.

00:18:09.180 It was designed

00:18:10.020 with, quote,

00:18:10.640 low barriers to entry

00:18:11.820 and, quote,

00:18:12.380 minimal requirements

00:18:13.320 for reimbursement.

00:18:14.600 Nonetheless,

00:18:15.140 before the program

00:18:15.840 went live in 2020,

00:18:17.500 officials pegged

00:18:18.320 its annual estimated

00:18:19.460 price tag

00:18:20.100 at $2.6 million.

00:18:21.760 Cost quickly spiraled

00:18:23.480 out of control.

00:18:24.100 In 2021,

00:18:25.900 the program paid out

00:18:27.020 more than $21 million.

00:18:29.040 By the way,

00:18:29.520 it was projected

00:18:30.160 to be $2.6 million.

00:18:31.920 In the following year,

00:18:32.940 annual costs shot up

00:18:34.000 to $42 million,

00:18:35.320 then $74 million,

00:18:37.000 then $104 million.

00:18:39.480 On August 1st,

00:18:40.440 Minnesota's Department

00:18:41.180 of Human Services

00:18:41.940 moved to scrap

00:18:42.800 the HHS program,

00:18:44.380 noting that payment

00:18:45.200 to 77 housing

00:18:46.820 stabilization providers

00:18:48.120 had terminated this year

00:18:49.940 due to credible

00:18:50.960 allegations of fraud.

00:18:52.800 Joe Thompson,

00:18:53.360 then the acting

00:18:54.040 U.S. attorney

00:18:54.600 for the District of Minnesota,

00:18:56.280 went even further,

00:18:57.240 saying the vast majority,

00:18:59.560 let me repeat that,

00:19:00.360 the vast majority

00:19:01.780 of the HHS program

00:19:03.640 was fraudulent.

00:19:05.340 On September 18th,

00:19:06.540 Thompson announced

00:19:07.260 criminal indictments

00:19:08.120 for HHS fraud

00:19:09.180 against Mokhtar Hassan Aden,

00:19:11.760 Mustafa Dayib Ali,

00:19:13.520 Khalid Ahmed Dayib,

00:19:15.580 Abdefeeta Muhammad Muhammad,

00:19:19.220 Christopher Adesoli Falad.

00:19:22.060 By the way, Ben,

00:19:22.740 you try to go through

00:19:23.560 those names.

00:19:24.240 Yeah, I'm going to pass

00:19:25.100 on that.

00:19:25.420 You did a great job.

00:19:26.600 I give you a B plus on that.

00:19:28.380 Okay, six of whom,

00:19:30.040 according to the U.S.

00:19:30.760 Attorney's Office,

00:19:32.140 are members of

00:19:32.740 Minnesota's Somali community.

00:19:34.440 Thompson made clear

00:19:35.120 this is the first round

00:19:36.460 of charges for HHS fraud

00:19:38.540 that his office

00:19:39.080 will be prosecuting.

00:19:40.540 Most of these cases,

00:19:41.580 unlike a lot of Medicare fraud

00:19:42.940 and Medicaid fraud nationally,

00:19:44.800 aren't just overbilling,

00:19:46.080 Thompson said

00:19:46.540 in a press conference

00:19:47.280 announcing the indictments.

00:19:48.400 These are often just

00:19:49.720 purely fictitious companies

00:19:51.740 solely created

00:19:53.420 to defraud the system.

00:19:55.320 And that's unique

00:19:56.380 in the extent to which

00:19:57.720 we have that here

00:19:58.520 in Minnesota.

00:19:59.480 Thompson said

00:20:00.000 many of the firms

00:20:00.740 enrolled in the program

00:20:01.760 operated out of

00:20:02.660 dilapidated storefronts

00:20:04.100 or run-down office buildings.

00:20:06.140 The perpetrators

00:20:06.780 often targeted people

00:20:07.980 recently released from rehab,

00:20:09.760 signed them up

00:20:10.240 for Medicaid services

00:20:11.180 they had no intention

00:20:12.060 of providing.

00:20:13.000 He noted many of the

00:20:14.040 owners of companies

00:20:14.760 engage in HHS fraud,

00:20:16.180 had other companies

00:20:17.620 through which they build

00:20:18.480 other Medicaid programs,

00:20:20.340 such as the EIDBI Autism Program,

00:20:23.440 the Adult Rehabilitative

00:20:25.160 Mental Health Services Program,

00:20:27.780 the Integrated Community Services Program,

00:20:29.760 the Community Access

00:20:30.480 for Disability Inclusion Program,

00:20:32.840 PCA services,

00:20:33.820 and other Medicaid-waivered services.

00:20:36.820 What we see are schemes,

00:20:39.400 stacked upon schemes,

00:20:41.440 draining resources

00:20:42.440 meant for those most in need.

00:20:44.320 It feels never-ending.

00:20:45.300 I have spent my career

00:20:47.100 as a fraud prosecutor

00:20:48.360 and the depth

00:20:49.180 of the fraud in Minnesota

00:20:50.980 takes my breath away.

00:20:53.160 You read that

00:20:54.560 and you just think about

00:20:56.180 how much money this is

00:20:58.020 that not only was stolen

00:20:59.400 from the taxpayers

00:21:00.320 and they go into

00:21:02.340 how much it kept growing

00:21:03.440 and growing and growing

00:21:04.600 these programs,

00:21:06.120 but it's obvious

00:21:07.200 that people knew

00:21:08.080 there was fraud.

00:21:09.160 Then you find out

00:21:10.400 it's going to a terrorist organization

00:21:12.040 and so we're funding

00:21:13.620 the terrorist organization 0.60

00:21:14.880 how the hell

00:21:16.100 do people not go to jail

00:21:17.460 for this?

00:21:18.680 Well, they are.

00:21:19.340 A number of people

00:21:19.840 are being prosecuted,

00:21:21.320 but what is striking

00:21:23.000 is not just

00:21:23.760 was there massive fraud,

00:21:25.600 but the massive fraud

00:21:26.540 was funding terrorism.

00:21:27.800 Here's what the City Journal

00:21:28.800 continues saying.

00:21:30.040 Perhaps the most surprising

00:21:31.080 aspect of the Somali fraud story

00:21:32.840 is the scale

00:21:34.020 with total costs

00:21:35.460 running into the billions

00:21:37.120 of taxpayer dollars.

00:21:38.560 That raises the question,

00:21:40.580 what happened

00:21:41.380 to all that money?

00:21:42.500 The Somali fraud rings 1.00

00:21:43.940 have sent huge sums

00:21:46.000 and remittances

00:21:46.820 or money transfers

00:21:47.720 from Minnesota

00:21:48.900 to Somalia.

00:21:50.140 According to reports,

00:21:51.100 an estimated 40%

00:21:52.460 of households in Somalia

00:21:53.860 get remittances

00:21:55.060 from abroad.

00:21:56.160 In 2023 alone,

00:21:58.040 the Somali diaspora

00:21:59.380 sent back

00:22:00.120 $1.7 billion,

00:22:03.980 more than the Somali 0.91

00:22:05.560 government's budget

00:22:06.720 for that year.

00:22:08.320 Our investigation reveals

00:22:09.680 for the first time

00:22:10.580 that some of this money

00:22:12.120 has been directed

00:22:12.900 to an even more

00:22:13.740 troubling destination,

00:22:15.380 the Al-Qaeda-linked

00:22:16.740 Islamic terror group

00:22:18.140 Al-Shabaab.

00:22:19.560 According to multiple

00:22:20.620 law enforcement sources,

00:22:22.420 Minnesota's Somali community

00:22:24.080 has sent untold millions

00:22:26.740 through a network

00:22:27.860 of hawalas,

00:22:29.020 informal,

00:22:30.300 clan-based money traders

00:22:31.640 that have wound up

00:22:33.220 in the coffers

00:22:34.320 of Al-Shabaab.

00:22:35.360 According to Glenn Kearns,

00:22:36.580 a retired Seattle

00:22:37.420 Police Department detective

00:22:38.560 has spent 14 years

00:22:39.800 on a federal

00:22:40.840 joint terrorism task force.

00:22:43.020 The Somalis ran 1.00

00:22:43.880 a sophisticated money network

00:22:45.540 spanning from Seattle

00:22:46.720 to Minneapolis

00:22:47.820 and were routing

00:22:49.160 significant amounts

00:22:50.220 of cash

00:22:50.700 on commercial flights

00:22:51.720 from the Seattle airport

00:22:53.160 to the Hawala networks

00:22:54.600 in Somalia.

00:22:55.740 One of these networks,

00:22:57.280 Kearns discovered,

00:22:58.420 sent $20 million abroad

00:23:00.160 in a single year.

00:23:02.260 So this is money

00:23:03.080 that's coming from

00:23:04.180 the Minnesota taxpayers.

00:23:05.320 It is going through

00:23:07.100 the Somali community

00:23:08.780 in Minnesota,

00:23:10.460 back to Somalia 0.98

00:23:11.480 on the order of magnitude

00:23:12.860 of $1.7 billion a year.

00:23:16.020 And millions of those dollars

00:23:17.660 were flowing directly

00:23:18.860 to Al-Shabaab,

00:23:20.140 an Al-Qaeda-linked

00:23:21.240 major terrorist organization.

00:23:23.460 This is tragic.

00:23:25.580 It is shocking.

00:23:26.700 And by the way,

00:23:27.400 I'm curious,

00:23:28.200 have you seen it on CNN?

00:23:29.700 No.

00:23:30.200 NBC, CBS?

00:23:31.440 Nope, none of them.

00:23:32.360 None of them touching it.

00:23:33.460 MSNBC?

00:23:34.760 No.

00:23:35.060 Washington Post,

00:23:35.780 New York Times?

00:23:36.720 Nope.

00:23:37.340 You would think

00:23:37.860 that would be news.

00:23:38.840 I also look at

00:23:39.700 the amount of money

00:23:40.480 and how quickly it grew.

00:23:42.280 That's something else

00:23:43.020 that I do think

00:23:43.700 is interesting here

00:23:44.720 is how,

00:23:46.140 I mean,

00:23:46.340 you want to talk

00:23:47.460 about warning signs,

00:23:48.620 Senator.

00:23:49.340 There was clear

00:23:51.000 warning signs.

00:23:53.080 Like,

00:23:53.660 very,

00:23:54.800 very clear

00:23:55.900 warning signs

00:23:56.680 that this was happening.

00:23:58.860 And yet,

00:23:59.820 no one

00:24:02.180 in government

00:24:02.900 seemed to stop,

00:24:04.100 pause,

00:24:04.480 or ask a question.

00:24:06.080 That part also,

00:24:07.360 to me,

00:24:07.600 is just like,

00:24:09.240 is it always

00:24:10.200 unlimited funds?

00:24:11.140 Is that how it's now

00:24:12.080 in government?

00:24:12.840 Whatever you start,

00:24:13.820 just keep making it grow

00:24:15.060 and double

00:24:16.060 and triple in size

00:24:17.060 year after year

00:24:17.640 after year

00:24:17.940 and spinning.

00:24:19.040 And no one's like,

00:24:20.240 hold on a second,

00:24:20.880 this doesn't add up.

00:24:21.940 This many kids

00:24:22.640 with autism,

00:24:23.320 that doesn't seem normal.

00:24:24.580 Look how much

00:24:25.140 it went doubled

00:24:25.720 from last year,

00:24:26.400 the year before,

00:24:26.960 the year before that.

00:24:27.680 I mean,

00:24:28.040 there's a clear line here

00:24:29.800 of like red flags

00:24:31.180 that no one

00:24:31.940 seemed to care about.

00:24:33.200 Well,

00:24:33.300 and it's worth remembering,

00:24:34.400 Tim Waltz is not someone

00:24:35.860 at the fringe

00:24:36.640 of the Democrat Party.

00:24:38.440 Tim Waltz is who

00:24:39.280 Kamala Harris thought

00:24:40.240 should be vice president

00:24:41.140 of the United States.

00:24:42.620 Presumably,

00:24:43.160 Kamala thought

00:24:43.820 that he should succeed her

00:24:45.820 and become the president

00:24:47.400 of the United States.

00:24:48.680 And Tim Waltz,

00:24:49.940 like many Democrats,

00:24:51.380 but Waltz is worse

00:24:52.920 than many of them,

00:24:54.060 just look the other way,

00:24:55.320 just turn a blind eye,

00:24:56.620 and one combination,

00:24:58.740 it's a combination

00:24:59.340 of a number of factors.

00:25:00.420 One piece of it is

00:25:01.400 just the left-wing view

00:25:03.020 that the more money

00:25:03.780 you're giving away

00:25:04.580 in welfare,

00:25:05.180 the better.

00:25:05.620 And so it doesn't matter

00:25:07.240 how much it grows.

00:25:08.580 If you're giving

00:25:09.440 a million dollars this year,

00:25:10.620 they want it to be two million,

00:25:11.760 then four,

00:25:12.240 then six,

00:25:12.740 then eight,

00:25:13.180 then 12.

00:25:14.100 They want it to grow

00:25:15.540 without any consideration

00:25:18.140 about number one,

00:25:19.320 bankrupting the state

00:25:20.280 and the taxpayers,

00:25:21.060 but number two,

00:25:22.180 about the impact

00:25:23.420 of spending all that money

00:25:24.580 trapping people

00:25:25.280 in dependency.

00:25:25.900 But a second component

00:25:27.900 of it,

00:25:28.280 it's not just dependency.

00:25:29.520 Dependency assumes

00:25:30.340 someone's actually

00:25:31.600 getting welfare payments.

00:25:33.360 It is also blatant fraud.

00:25:36.860 And there is unfortunately

00:25:38.480 a network of corruption

00:25:39.800 where many of those

00:25:40.680 engage in fraud

00:25:41.600 are also writing checks

00:25:44.100 to elect Democrats.

00:25:45.840 And if you look

00:25:46.480 at the Somali community

00:25:47.540 in Minnesota,

00:25:48.300 it is a major voting network

00:25:50.420 that votes for Democrats

00:25:52.200 in Minnesota.

00:25:52.680 And so at the end

00:25:54.500 of the day,

00:25:55.020 the Democrats,

00:25:55.740 when it comes to

00:25:56.300 buying votes,

00:25:57.640 shoveling this cash

00:25:58.980 into this maw of fraud,

00:26:01.820 even though the taxpayers

00:26:03.160 were being robbed

00:26:04.360 and the money was going

00:26:05.400 to a radical Islamic

00:26:06.700 terrorist organization, 0.92

00:26:07.860 if you're a Democrat,

00:26:09.680 it made political sense

00:26:10.920 on some level

00:26:11.660 because you got money

00:26:13.280 and you got votes.

00:26:14.640 And it is astonishing

00:26:16.880 that there's not,

00:26:18.060 do you know

00:26:18.720 of a single Democrat

00:26:19.580 denouncing this?

00:26:20.800 No.

00:26:21.300 I mean,

00:26:21.760 that's a striking thing.

00:26:23.380 Yeah,

00:26:23.560 that's why I love

00:26:24.200 doing this show

00:26:24.740 because we give you this

00:26:26.600 and then I,

00:26:27.200 as I said earlier,

00:26:27.780 I'll say it again.

00:26:28.760 I genuinely hope

00:26:29.940 that everyone

00:26:30.700 that's listening

00:26:31.340 will grab this,

00:26:32.500 put it on their social media

00:26:33.700 because I think

00:26:34.920 it's really important

00:26:35.800 that people see it.

00:26:36.500 That's why this podcast

00:26:37.200 is valuable.

00:26:38.220 Yeah,

00:26:38.640 you are absolutely right there,

00:26:40.220 no doubt about it.

00:26:40.920 In communities

00:26:41.820 around the world,

00:26:43.100 millions of children

00:26:44.340 like Lucy

00:26:45.280 face the crushing weight

00:26:46.700 of poverty,

00:26:47.700 hunger,

00:26:48.480 illness,

00:26:48.900 and a lack

00:26:49.780 of opportunity

00:26:50.520 dim their bright futures.

00:26:53.160 But through Compassion International

00:26:55.020 and local churches,

00:26:57.000 everything is changing.

00:26:58.860 Lucy receives

00:26:59.820 nourishing food,

00:27:01.320 vital medical care,

00:27:02.580 and the chance

00:27:03.420 to go to school.

00:27:04.860 She learns life skills,

00:27:06.660 develops God-given talents,

00:27:08.420 and builds a loving relationship

00:27:10.080 with Jesus.

00:27:10.720 It's a journey

00:27:11.760 from vulnerability

00:27:12.520 to empowerment,

00:27:14.000 and it's sparked

00:27:14.740 literally by your love.

00:27:16.860 This transformation

00:27:17.580 echoes far beyond Lucy,

00:27:19.800 impacting her family,

00:27:21.320 the community,

00:27:22.160 and shaping the future

00:27:23.220 of her nation.

00:27:24.240 And you can make this

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00:27:27.020 right now.

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00:27:38.060 to learn more.

00:27:39.300 All right,

00:27:39.540 and finally,

00:27:40.060 Senator,

00:27:40.260 I want to move

00:27:40.660 to this other story,

00:27:41.620 and it's an update,

00:27:42.460 but it's a victory update,

00:27:43.600 and it deals

00:27:44.480 with Texas redistricting.

00:27:45.840 It set off

00:27:46.540 a fire fight

00:27:47.540 with California,

00:27:49.120 Gavin Newsom

00:27:50.060 getting involved

00:27:50.820 and them doing

00:27:51.760 some just unbelievable

00:27:53.760 gerrymandering

00:27:54.600 of the map

00:27:55.280 out in California.

00:27:56.240 They claimed

00:27:56.840 it was in retaliation

00:27:57.880 for what Texas

00:27:59.340 was doing.

00:28:00.660 Then Democrats

00:28:01.860 went after Texas

00:28:03.040 and tried to stop it,

00:28:04.400 and now we have

00:28:05.000 Justice Alito

00:28:05.760 who is involved

00:28:06.840 at the Supreme Court level.

00:28:08.500 Give this update

00:28:09.220 about the Texas

00:28:09.980 redistricting fight.

00:28:11.040 Well,

00:28:11.880 as everyone knows,

00:28:12.900 President Trump

00:28:13.540 has asked state legislatures,

00:28:15.640 Republican legislatures,

00:28:16.680 to redraw the map

00:28:17.620 to elect more Republicans

00:28:18.860 to the House.

00:28:20.420 A significant reason

00:28:21.960 for that

00:28:22.460 is that there is

00:28:23.480 right now

00:28:23.920 an imbalance.

00:28:25.060 Democrats have

00:28:25.880 gerrymandered

00:28:26.660 the living daylights

00:28:27.880 out of blue states,

00:28:28.760 so blue states

00:28:29.500 send an overwhelming

00:28:31.320 majority

00:28:31.900 of their delegation

00:28:33.220 to be Democrats

00:28:34.320 despite the votes

00:28:35.980 of their citizens,

00:28:37.340 and let me give you

00:28:39.660 some specific numbers.

00:28:40.640 So Texas right now

00:28:42.080 has 38 congressional seats.

00:28:43.740 Right now,

00:28:44.200 Republicans have 25 of those.

00:28:46.060 Democrats have 13.

00:28:47.580 That means

00:28:48.280 the percentage

00:28:48.960 of Republicans

00:28:49.640 in the delegation

00:28:50.340 today is right

00:28:51.660 about 66%.

00:28:52.940 Now, about 56%

00:28:54.860 of the state

00:28:55.560 voted for Trump,

00:28:56.740 a little more than 56%.

00:28:58.160 So the current delegation

00:28:59.820 is slightly more

00:29:01.080 than the statewide vote

00:29:02.040 for Trump,

00:29:02.520 but not much.

00:29:03.580 The state legislature

00:29:04.580 redrew the map,

00:29:05.880 so instead of electing

00:29:06.880 25 Republicans,

00:29:08.280 the new map

00:29:08.800 is expected to elect

00:29:09.860 30 Republicans

00:29:11.240 to add five

00:29:12.160 new Republicans.

00:29:12.820 Now, under that

00:29:14.040 new map,

00:29:15.200 it will increase,

00:29:17.260 assuming those

00:29:18.200 30 Republicans win,

00:29:19.340 it would increase

00:29:20.380 the percentage

00:29:20.940 of Republicans

00:29:21.600 from 66%

00:29:23.300 to 79%.

00:29:25.200 Now, 79%

00:29:26.300 is a larger portion.

00:29:27.540 How does that compare

00:29:28.620 to Democrat states?

00:29:30.140 California,

00:29:31.400 under their old map,

00:29:32.920 83% of the delegation

00:29:34.560 is Democrat.

00:29:36.220 Illinois,

00:29:36.560 82%.

00:29:38.300 Oregon,

00:29:39.020 84%.

00:29:39.820 Washington State,

00:29:40.700 80%.

00:29:41.300 Maryland,

00:29:41.900 88%.

00:29:42.940 Massachusetts,

00:29:44.360 there are nine

00:29:44.780 congressional seats.

00:29:45.660 You know how many

00:29:46.380 Republicans are elected

00:29:48.380 out of Massachusetts?

00:29:49.520 How many?

00:29:50.520 Zero.

00:29:51.260 Goose egg.

00:29:52.060 100%

00:29:53.360 of the Massachusetts

00:29:54.260 delegation

00:29:54.920 is Democrat.

00:29:56.320 Connecticut,

00:29:56.840 same thing,

00:29:57.340 100%.

00:29:58.280 Texas went

00:29:59.840 from 66%

00:30:01.160 to 79%,

00:30:02.500 still less

00:30:03.480 than California.

00:30:04.360 And what did

00:30:04.660 California do in response?

00:30:06.800 Increased it

00:30:07.580 from 83%

00:30:09.140 to 92%,

00:30:11.440 dramatically

00:30:12.740 gerrymandering

00:30:14.040 its map.

00:30:15.140 Now,

00:30:15.500 what happened next

00:30:16.580 is,

00:30:17.200 of course,

00:30:17.600 there was a lawsuit.

00:30:18.360 There's always a lawsuit

00:30:19.180 when this happens.

00:30:20.300 And a federal district court,

00:30:22.200 it's a three-judge court,

00:30:23.380 so it's two district judges

00:30:24.640 and a federal court

00:30:25.540 of appeals judge,

00:30:26.360 which is a,

00:30:27.280 it's a weird

00:30:28.600 statutory creation

00:30:29.760 that exists

00:30:30.500 in redistricting

00:30:31.580 litigation.

00:30:32.200 that court

00:30:33.700 just over a week ago

00:30:35.160 struck down

00:30:36.720 the Texas map

00:30:37.740 and it ordered

00:30:39.080 that instead of

00:30:39.980 being under the new map

00:30:41.340 that would likely

00:30:42.060 add five new Republicans

00:30:43.360 to go back

00:30:44.100 to the old map

00:30:44.860 that would not add

00:30:45.660 five new Republicans.

00:30:46.960 If that order

00:30:47.620 stays in place,

00:30:49.020 the likely impact

00:30:50.020 of redistricting

00:30:50.760 is the Democrats

00:30:51.600 retake the House.

00:30:52.760 I mean,

00:30:52.960 it would flip the House.

00:30:54.120 It was a very

00:30:55.020 consequential decision.

00:30:56.440 This was a 2-1 decision.

00:30:57.840 It was authored

00:30:58.840 by a federal district judge,

00:31:00.340 Jeff Brown,

00:31:00.880 who was a Republican

00:31:02.400 nominated by Trump,

00:31:03.900 joined by a Democrat

00:31:05.160 district judge,

00:31:06.380 and there was a dissent

00:31:07.320 from Jerry Smith.

00:31:08.240 Now,

00:31:08.380 who is Jerry Smith?

00:31:09.240 Jerry Smith is the

00:31:10.400 Fifth Circuit Court

00:31:11.120 of Appeals judge

00:31:11.880 that's on this panel.

00:31:12.860 I know Jerry Smith

00:31:13.700 very well.

00:31:14.700 He is one of the two

00:31:16.200 most longstanding,

00:31:17.720 most well-respected

00:31:18.700 conservatives

00:31:19.280 on the Fifth Circuit.

00:31:20.220 Jerry Smith

00:31:20.760 and Edith Jones

00:31:21.980 have long been

00:31:22.900 the conservative

00:31:24.500 warriors

00:31:25.260 on the Fifth Circuit.

00:31:26.640 I gotta tell you,

00:31:27.420 Jerry Smith

00:31:28.060 wrote a dissent

00:31:29.380 in this case.

00:31:30.160 Ben,

00:31:30.720 I've probably read

00:31:31.560 a thousand dissents

00:31:32.840 in my life.

00:31:33.640 I've never read

00:31:34.540 a dissent

00:31:35.100 like Jerry Smith's dissent.

00:31:36.840 He just unloaded

00:31:39.060 on the majority opinion.

00:31:41.760 He just eviscerated it

00:31:44.480 as unprincipled,

00:31:45.800 as political,

00:31:46.780 as partisan,

00:31:47.660 as wrong.

00:31:48.660 That dissent,

00:31:49.640 I mean,

00:31:49.900 you literally read it

00:31:50.900 and you ought to

00:31:52.440 Google and read it

00:31:53.220 because you've never read

00:31:54.340 a judicial opinion

00:31:55.080 like this.

00:31:55.840 Well,

00:31:56.140 what happened on appeal

00:31:57.200 is initially

00:31:58.540 the appeal for a stay

00:31:59.900 went up to

00:32:00.600 Justice Sam Alito

00:32:01.520 as the individual

00:32:02.260 circuit justice

00:32:03.020 sitting over

00:32:03.520 the Fifth Circuit

00:32:04.180 and he stayed

00:32:05.380 the opinion

00:32:05.980 of the district court.

00:32:06.980 So right now

00:32:07.700 as we're talking,

00:32:08.900 the district court's

00:32:09.820 stay will not

00:32:11.200 go into effect,

00:32:12.160 which means

00:32:12.900 as of right now,

00:32:14.320 the new map

00:32:15.080 stays in effect.

00:32:16.280 Now,

00:32:16.660 we may get a decision

00:32:18.100 this week.

00:32:18.860 It's possible

00:32:19.600 the Supreme Court

00:32:21.140 allows the district court

00:32:22.640 opinion to go into effect,

00:32:24.000 which would mean

00:32:24.520 the old map

00:32:25.140 would stay in effect.

00:32:25.880 My prediction is

00:32:27.740 this district court opinion

00:32:29.680 will be stayed.

00:32:31.220 It will be stayed

00:32:31.860 through the election.

00:32:32.800 We will stay

00:32:33.420 with the new map

00:32:34.300 that the legislature

00:32:34.980 has drawn.

00:32:36.260 And I think

00:32:36.700 this district court opinion

00:32:37.680 is going to be

00:32:38.520 reversed on appeal.

00:32:40.240 It is a big,

00:32:41.740 big deal

00:32:42.460 because this outcome,

00:32:45.280 the courts not

00:32:46.440 throwing out

00:32:47.740 the map

00:32:48.820 that the legislature

00:32:50.080 adopted

00:32:51.480 could very well

00:32:53.680 determine whether

00:32:54.540 the House of Representatives

00:32:55.620 in 2027

00:32:56.600 is Republican

00:32:57.260 or Democrat.

00:32:58.540 And so I'm very glad

00:32:59.620 the Supreme Court

00:33:00.320 stayed this decision.

00:33:01.900 It really is

00:33:02.900 a big one

00:33:03.680 and it's won

00:33:04.480 another victory

00:33:05.480 for rule of law

00:33:06.940 and getting rid

00:33:08.980 of so many activists

00:33:10.340 that are trying

00:33:11.160 to stop

00:33:11.740 the way that

00:33:13.300 the business

00:33:14.600 is supposed to work.

00:33:15.920 And that's what

00:33:16.340 Democrats have been

00:33:17.040 relying on for far too long.

00:33:18.340 So it's nice to see

00:33:19.160 justice here prevail.

00:33:20.740 Don't forget,

00:33:21.260 we do this show

00:33:21.860 Monday, Wednesday,

00:33:22.580 and Friday.

00:33:23.100 Hit that subscriber

00:33:23.920 auto download button.

00:33:25.160 Wherever you get

00:33:26.420 your podcasts,

00:33:27.680 share it on social media

00:33:28.640 wherever you can.

00:33:29.460 This show in the center

00:33:30.180 and I will see you

00:33:30.720 back here

00:33:31.240 in a couple of days.

00:33:33.180 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:33:36.060 Guaranteed human.

Verdict with Ted Cruz - November 24, 2025

MTG Resigns-Why & What it Means, plus Minnesota Taxpayers are the LARGEST Funders of Al-Shabaab Terrorists

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