By Katelyn Polantz, Evan Perez, David Wright, CNN
(CNN) — Top Justice Department officials pushed the FBI to investigate political campaigns in Minnesota over whether they illegally benefited from fraud in public service organizations, according to two people familiar with the internal discussions.
Some of the Justice Department’s interest, according to one of the sources, comes from a Washington Examiner report from earlier this month that said Gov. Tim Walz, Rep. Ilhan Omar and other state politicians received campaign donations from people implicated in the Minnesota public benefits fraud scheme and community care providers.
The request came about two weeks ago from top lawyers working for Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. They asked the FBI to initiate investigations into whether money obtained illegally for organizations, such as food assistance charities and home health care centers, went to the campaigns, according to the source.
The public corruption section at the FBI told Blanche’s office that it is looking, but hasn’t yet found evidence of campaign wrongdoing.
The campaign finance probe, which is still being worked on, according to a source familiar with the discussions, hasn’t previously been reported.
A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment on any potential ongoing investigations.
Still, the requested investigation highlights the Trump administration’s efforts to target Democrats, and appears to be part of an ongoing effort to scrutinize and potentially make accusations about political leaders in Minnesota as civic unrest continues there.
The Justice Department has also subpoenaed at least five officials in Minnesota as part of a probe into whether the state and local leaders obstructed federal immigration enforcement efforts.
The officials include Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, CNN has reported.
A campaign finance probe that has the potential to touch elected officials in Minnesota — who are largely Democrats — comes at an extremely tense time between the state and the Trump administration. And the discussions about investigating campaign contributions in Minnesota took place in the days after a federal immigration officer shot and killed a woman in a car, Renee Good, prompting Walz and other Democrats in the state to publicly criticize the administration’s presence.
The Justice Department has for years been prosecuting cases in Minnesota related to government money being obtained by fraudulent public benefit schemes, including the non-profit Feeding Our Futures. And in the past few days, the department has escalated its attacks of Walz, in particular, by seeking information in a supposed criminal obstruction investigation related to recent protests, CNN prev