NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
Former pro hockey player Rep. Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Minn., raised eyebrows Tuesday with a social media post referencing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s recent decision not to seek re-election but to refuse to step down as Walz promises to address the state’s ongoing fraud problems.
Staub’s post compared Walz’s determination to fight fraudsters to the infamous 1994 murder case against former NFL player OJ Simpson, when Simpson vowed to find his wife’s killer after being acquitted of the murders of his wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.
“Tim Walz staying in office to fight the crooks is like OJ saying he wanted to look for the real killer. He should resign,” Stauber wrote.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
A Walz spokesman responded to Pakinomist Digital’s request for comment on Stauber’s post.
“Lol that’s not news!” said the spokesman.
Although Simpson was acquitted in the 1994 case, he later lost a civil lawsuit related to the deaths. Simpson was found liable in a civil court in 1997 and ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages. Most of that judgment went unpaid during Simpson’s lifetime.
Simpson died last April after a private battle with cancer. Near the end of his life, he remained in Las Vegas and returned to the public eye on X, broadcasting reactions to current events. Simpson’s estate has taken an important step toward paying Goldman’s family nearly $58 million — nearly three decades after Goldman won a wrongful-death conviction in a civil case against Simpson, according to a November report from TMZ.
Johnnie Cochran, Robert Kardashian, Barry Scheck, F. Lee Bailey, Shapiro and Alan Dershowitz made up OJ Simpson’s dream team. (Sam Mircovich/AFP)
Meanwhile, Walz has been the subject of enormous national scrutiny since October. He ended his bid for an unprecedented third term amid stinging criticism from Republicans and some Democrats over his handling of his state’s massive welfare fraud scandal.
WALZ’S LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR AND PROGRESSIVE SENATE HOPPER WANTED FOR LEADERSHIP IN SOMALI FRAUD CRISIS
Walz insisted Tuesday that he would not resign from his post, passionately declaring that he would stay in office to help fight state fraudsters who potentially stole billions of dollars in taxpayer dollars under his watch.
“I’m not going anywhere. And you can make all your demands that I step down. Over my dead body it will happen,” Walz said.
More than 90 people — most from Minnesota’s large Somali community — have been charged since 2022 in what has been described as the nation’s largest COVID-era scheme. How much money has been stolen through alleged money laundering operations involving fraudulent meal and housing programs, daycare centers and Medicaid services is still being tabulated. But the U.S. attorney in Minnesota said the scale of the fraud could exceed $1 billion and rise to as high as $9 billion.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pakinomist APP
Prosecutors said some of the dozens who have already pleaded guilty in the case used the money to buy luxury cars, real estate, jewelry and international vacations, with some of the funds also sent overseas and potentially into the hands of Islamic terrorists.
“This is on my watch, I’m responsible for this, and more importantly, I’m the one who’s going to fix it,” Walz told reporters last month, taking responsibility for the scandal.
