Morning Wire Podcast Summary

Episode: How Legacy Media Covered and Missed Minnesota’s Massive Fraud Scandal
Date: January 10, 2026
Hosts: John Bickley & Georgia Howe
Guest: Bill d’Agostino, Senior Research Analyst, Media Research Center

Overview

This episode centers on the $9 billion social services fraud scandal in Minnesota, exploring how major legacy news networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN) have covered—or failed to cover—this huge story. The hosts and their guest dig into the disparities in reporting, what drives media silence or bias, and the impact of independent journalism in breaking the scandal. The episode specifically spotlights the role of media bias, the political fallout (including Governor Tim Walz dropping out of his re-election race), and varying standards of newsroom accountability.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Scandal’s Scope and Political Fallout

• The Scandal – Minnesota faces allegations of up to $9 billion in taxpayer-funded social services fraud, described as “widening” and causing political chaos.
• Political Impact – Governor Tim Walz withdraws from re-election, saying:

  “Every minute that I spend defending my own political interest would be a minute I can't spend defending the people of Minnesota against the criminals who prey on our generosity…”
  (Gov. Walz, 00:18)

2. Major Networks’ Coverage Disparities

• ABC News

  • Essentially ignored the story, with only two brief mentions totaling 35 seconds.
  • First mention was “buried in the middle of a report about how ICE is sowing fear in the Somali community” (02:31).
  • Second mention did not discuss any fraud details.

• NBC News

  • Avoided the story “up until Nick Shirley started reporting on it.”
    (Bill d’Agostino, 03:25)
  • Switched from silence (bias by omission) to running “defense” for officials after the story broke.
  • “We’ve seen a decent amount of them touting Minnesota officials saying, oh well, you know, we've investigated and we haven't found anything…” (03:38)

• CBS News

  • Provided the most substantial coverage, with multiple full-length reports and 13-14 minutes total time—remarkably high for network evening news standards.
  • Demonstrated some influence from new editorial leadership, particularly Bari Weiss.
    • “As far as I know, they are the only network...that actually has somebody on the ground there digging into this.” (06:16)
  • Older anchors introduced the scandal with political bias, focusing on Trump/Somali tensions, whereas the reports themselves dug into fraud details.

3. Independent Journalism: The Role of Nick Shirley

• Catalyzing Force – NBC only covered the fraud after Nick Shirley’s investigation went viral.
• Delayed Legacy Media Response – This pattern is “incredibly common,” where networks only act when independent reporting makes silence untenable. (06:53)
• Changing Tone – After initially repeating Shirley’s findings, NBC and others began scrutinizing and attacking his credibility, “running interference for the Somalians that he's accusing.” (07:36)

4. CNN’s Approach

• Particularly Hostile – CNN reporter confronted Shirley personally rather than investigating the implicated daycare centers.
  • “They cut to the reporter actually calling some of these daycares. Six of the seven that she called did not pick up. The one that does. They have an exchange that goes, I mean, I'm paraphrasing here, but something along the lines of, hi, this is CNN. Are you doing fraud? No, we're not. Okay, thank you.”
    (Bill d’Agostino, 08:19)
  • “Very, very solid investigative work from CNN, as always, really hard hitting.” (08:37)

5. Media Bias in the Trump Era

• Broader Pattern – Scandals tied to Democratic administrations tend to get minimized, framed as partisan outrage, or outright ignored unless forced onto the air.
  • "Starts out as basically this is something that Trump is upset about, this is something that conservatives are upset about. So we'll mention it a little bit, but always frame it in that context. And then when we're forced to go further...start actually attacking the accusations themselves or the scandal itself."
    (Bill d’Agostino, 09:28)
• Possible Shift at CBS – “I would give decent amount of credit for almost getting up to 15 minutes there.” (04:50), but holds judgment pending new leadership.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Gov. Tim Walz on Withdrawing:

  “Every minute that I spend defending my own political interest would be a minute I can't spend defending the people of Minnesota…”
  (00:18)

• ABC’s Minimal Coverage:

  “Their total coverage for the last...all of December is, is 35 seconds.”
  (Bill d’Agostino, 03:21)

• NBC’s Pattern:

  “They've sort of shifted from the bias by omission track to kind of playing defense for it.”
  <br>“We've seen a decent amount of them touting Minnesota officials saying, oh well, you know, we've investigated and we haven't found anything."
  (Bill d’Agostino, 03:33, 03:38)

• CNN’s Reporting Tactics:

  “Basically getting to, well, what's, what's your problem? Why even dig into this? Why are you bothering? And of course, the obvious answer is because people like the CNN reporter are not looking into it.”
  (Bill d’Agostino, 08:13)

• Media Reluctance:

  “Basically it's a turning point where they go from, 'we think we can keep a lid on this story,' to, 'okay, now our hand is being forced.' We have to get out in front of it.”
  (Bill d’Agostino, 07:03)

Important Timestamps

• 00:18 — Governor Walz withdraws from reelection
• 02:29-03:24 — Detailed breakdown of coverage minutes by network
• 03:38 — NBC’s shift from omission to defense
• 04:29 — CBS' increased coverage and methodology
• 06:53 — Independent journalist Nick Shirley’s impact on legacy media coverage
• 08:13 — CNN’s confrontational (and superficial) reporting
• 09:05 — Discussion on political/ideological bias in coverage

Conclusion

The episode presents a clear portrait of how mainstream media’s handling of the Minnesota fraud scandal reflects persistent institutional bias, especially concerning stories that implicate Democratic administrations. CBS stands as a partial exception due to new leadership, but hosts and their guest remain cautious. The influence of independent journalism is underscored as a catalyst for mainstream exposure. As Minnesota’s political consequences unfold, the evolution of media coverage remains in question.