Minnesota Prosecutors Quit, Trump in Detroit, Inflation Report
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
It's great to see A. Martinez. Normally, I don't see A. Martinez.
Why did federal prosecutors in Minnesota resign?
No, I normally... You're well lit. I turn off all the lights here at NPR West.
Well, it just kind of has that somewhere between cinema verite and film noir.
I'm not sure which French... I'm more cartoon than those other options you mentioned.
What political pressures influenced the Minnesota prosecutors' decisions?
I'm more like an animated short. That's me.
Federal prosecutors in Minnesota are resigning.
What promises is Trump making to improve affordability for voters?
They faced pressure to investigate the widow of Renee Macklin Good, the woman killed by an ICE agent last week.
How are gas and grocery prices impacting American families?
How are partisan politics shaping a criminal investigation? I'm Steve Inskeep with A. Martinez, and this is Up First from NPR News.
What are Trump's new proposals to address inflation and housing costs?
President Trump is selling his economic record.
In the coming weeks, I will be laying out even more plans to help bring back affordability. And again, remember that's a fake word by Democrats.
How is the president promising to fix the problem that he says does not exist?
And we'll hear about what the Department of Labor's inflation numbers actually show about affordability. I mean, nationally, gas is cheaper, but grocery prices and other bills keep climbing. The president says there's almost no inflation, but does it add up? Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day. At least six federal prosecutors in Minnesota have quit.
The six have one big reason. Justice Department officials pressured them to twist the investigation of a shooting in Minneapolis. Rather than focus on the federal agent who shot Renee Macklin Good in the head, political leaders wanted an investigation to find dirt on Good's widow. The resignations have disrupted other federal probes, such as an investigation of social service fraud the Trump administration says it cares about.
Minnesota Public Radio's Matt Sepik has been covering both the fraud cases and the shooting death. Matt, why did the six attorneys resign?
The attorneys aren't speaking publicly, but there are several reasons, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. That person asked that we not use their name because they're not authorized to talk to the media. One of those reasons is tied to last week's fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Macklin Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross. Trump administration officials say the agent fired in self-defense, but many state and local officials are pointing to video taken from multiple angles that contradicts claims that Good posed any threat. The person with knowledge of the situation I spoke with says there's pressure from DOJ leaders to investigate Good's widow, Becca Good, for ties to activist groups, which is not illegal.
The group also objects to the DOJ's reluctance to investigate Agent Ross and to exclude state police from the investigation. And the same source tells me that the veteran prosecutors are concerned that Trump's focus on immigration has drawn resources away from the fraud investigations.
Yeah, you mentioned there are veteran prosecutors been around a while. What's significant about their decision?
Well, it's a loss of big talent. The attorneys spent their careers with the Justice Department and prosecuted many major cases. One of them is Melinda Williams, an assistant U.S. attorney who led the criminal division here. Another is Joe Thompson. He's been key in the government's prosecution of fraud, particularly the infamous Feeding Our Future case. Thompson charged 78 people with stealing around $300 million from federal child nutrition programs during the pandemic. 58 have been convicted. Investigators also uncovered massive Medicaid fraud. Last month, Thompson estimated that around $9 billion may have been stolen.
Taxpayers deserve to know the truth of the fraud. The fraud is not small. It isn't isolated. The magnitude cannot be overstated.
The convicted food fraud ringleader is white, but nearly all of the other defendants are Somali-American. Even though the majority are U.S. citizens, President Trump is using the fraud as a pretext for his immigration crackdown.
I would imagine leaders in Minnesota have a lot to say about these resignations.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:03
2
Why did federal prosecutors in Minnesota resign?
0:03–0:17
3
What political pressures influenced the Minnesota prosecutors' decisions?
0:17–0:26
4
What promises is Trump making to improve affordability for voters?
0:26–0:32
5
How are gas and grocery prices impacting American families?
0:32–0:42
6
What are Trump's new proposals to address inflation and housing costs?
0:42–12:54
Speakers
9 identifiedMore from Up First from NPR
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