Attorney General Keith Ellison defends office role, describes Feeding Our Future response and charities oversight

Attorney General Keith Ellison told the Minnesota Legislature's Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee at a May 1, 2025 hearing that the Office of the Attorney General (AGO) represents more than 100 state agencies, assists county prosecutors when requested, enforces consumer, antitrust and charities laws, and cooperates with federal prosecutors on large fraud matters.

Ellison said his office defended the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) in litigation tied to the Feeding Our Future case and later assisted federal investigators after search warrants and indictments followed. "In Minnesota, the Attorney General is not the chief law enforcement officer. In our model of state government, the Minnesota Attorney General is the state's chief legal officer," he told the committee. He also said of his contact with individuals who later were indicted in the Feeding Our Future case: "I did nothing for them and took nothing from them."

The AG emphasized why the office both defends agencies and pursues fraud: agency representation preserves state functions and protecting taxpayer dollars, while charities and fraud enforcement prevent diversion of funds. He described the AGO's charities division and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, citing staffing and financial figures the office provided.

Why it matters: the Feeding Our Future prosecutions involved federal indictments and convictions stemming from alleged fraud in USDA-funded school nutrition programs during the pandemic; the committee pressed the AG about whether his December 2021 meeting with community members who later were charged created any conflict or improper intervention on behalf of those attendees.

Ellison's overview and details Ellison summarized four core AGO functions: representing state agencies in litigation and administrative matters; assisting county attorneys in felony prosecutions when requested under state law (he cited "section 8.01" as the statutory referral authority); serving on several state boards; and enforcing consumer protection, antitrust and charities laws. He said roughly 40% of the AGO's approximately 430 employees are attorneys,…