The Rob Carson Show — "Mary Walter Investigates Minnesota Fraud"

Date: December 24, 2025
Guest Host: Mary Walter
Featured Guest: Adam Gillette, President of Accuracy in Media

Overview

In this episode of The Rob Carson Show, guest host Mary Walter delves into several urgent political topics, blending her trademark humor and pointed insight. The main focus is an in-depth interview with Adam Gillette (Accuracy in Media) about the recent $9 billion Minnesota fraud scandal and its implications for taxpayers, government accountability, and future welfare policy. Other segments address the current health care system and the recent SCOTUS decision regarding federal intervention with the Illinois National Guard.

Main Theme

Investigating Minnesota's Massive Welfare Fraud Scandal:

• Discussion of the multi-billion dollar welfare fraud involving Somalis in Minnesota.
• Analysis of the government’s response (or lack thereof), systemic failures, and political/media ramifications.
• Exploration of how such large-scale fraud is possible, whether lessons will be learned, and the broader implications for American welfare programs.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Health Care: Broken System and Hidden Costs

• Personal Perspective: Mary Walter opens with a relatable anecdote about navigating health insurance, deductibles, and the rush to use medical services before year-end.
  • She highlights Representative Eric Burleson's critique of ACA/Obamacare: “ACA ‘coverage’ is a taxpayer-funded illusion. In 2014, enrollees paid 32% of their premiums. Today, they pay just 7%. Taxpayers now cover 93% and millions are not even eligible.”
• Policy Critique: Walter criticizes government health programs for fostering dependency, crowding out privately insured people, and ultimately pushing toward single-payer.
  • “[Democrats] know that if they can get the last seven [percent], and this is with the temporary enhanced benefits...you’re going to have a good number of people who are on fully paid, government-controlled health care, which was the plan all along.” (10:56)
  • She blasts Congress’s exemption from Obamacare as emblematic of deeper systemic unfairness.

Supreme Court Ruling: Limits on Federal Authority

• Segment: [13:30–18:26]
  • Discussion of SCOTUS’s 6–3 decision blocking Trump’s attempt to federalize the Illinois National Guard for ICE support in Chicago.
  • Walter emphasizes states’ rights: “The president does not have the right to deploy federal agents or deploy the National Guard in a city or state without the consent of the governor of that state. I like that. That sounds good to me.” (16:17)
• Contrast: Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry touts National Guard deployment in New Orleans as a “model” for crime reduction, highlighting state-level cooperation with the federal government.

The Minnesota Fraud Scandal: Interview with Adam Gillette

Background

• Over $9 billion in welfare-related fraud in Minnesota, much of it tied to Somali community networks.
• Local and federal response criticized as slow and ineffectual; significant media underreporting.

Adam Gillette’s Analysis

• On Political Accountability:
  • “These Democrat politicians in Minnesota saying, ‘Oh, well, look at us, we solved it, we caught them.’ Wow, how long did that go on before you caught them? How much money was wasted that will never be recovered for the taxpayers?” (22:26)
  • “It speaks to the problem with every major big government program...they define success...by how much money we're giving out. So of course, the Somalis...were dealing with people who, rather than being careful about every dollar, were doing their best to give every single dollar away.” (22:58)
• On Lack of Oversight:
  • Gillette argues government incentives are misaligned, with bureaucrats more interested in disbursing funds than guarding integrity.
  • Walter and Gillette agree that overlapping programs (Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare) create gaps ripe for exploitation.
  • “Rather than oversight, they're craning their necks to look in the other direction because it’s not a very popular, not a very palatable story for the narrative they want to push.” (25:55)
• On Media & Political Implications:
  • Mary Walter: “If this was Florida, we would be hearing this non stop. We're talking approximately $9 billion in fraud...if they think it’s $9 billion, it’s probably far above this.” (21:29)
  • Gillette: “Because it's not favorable for mainstream media...they dislike one, that a Democrat looks bad; two, that a big government program turned out to be wasteful...and three, that an immigrant group was engaged in bad behavior.” (30:27)
  • Gillette underscores his general support for immigration but notes the story’s damaging impact: “It’s anecdotally horrible and outrageous…their response is billions of dollars in fraud.” (31:15)
• On Future Outcomes and National Trends:
  • Walter and Gillette predict continued fraud and fiscal crisis as government programs grow unchecked.
  • Gillette: “They've got all of these unfunded pension liabilities...professions that are quite noble, but...their cities and states are going to be bankrupt over the next 20 years.” (27:52)

Broader Systemic Corruption

• Walter and Gillette expand discussion to similar fraud cases in other states and government programs:
  • Gillette: “Every big government program is corrupt and wasteful. The more big government programs you have in your state, the more this sort of thing…will exist.” (31:44)
  • Critique of public education as another institutionalized example: “Our K–12 system isn’t set up to educate children; it’s set up to take funds from taxpayers, enrich fat-cat unions, and essentially embezzle it to far-left candidates.” (32:40)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Mary Walter on ACA and Health Insurance:
  “Everybody’s complaining about healthcare, right? And you can join me...[but]...this isn't healthcare, it's a subsidy scam.” (06:46)

• Adam Gillette on Big Government Fraud:
  “These Democrat politicians in Minnesota saying, ‘Oh, well, look at us, we solved it, we caught them.’ Wow, how long did that go on before you caught them?...What other corruption is going on as we speak?” (22:26)

• On Media Complicity:
  Gillette: “Because it’s not favorable for what the mainstream media wants to sell us, they’re going to ignore the story.” (30:59)

• On Institutional Failure:
  “Every big government program is corrupt and wasteful... As smart as they are when they create these programs, the connivers are always going to be one step ahead of them.” – Adam Gillette (33:24)

• Federal Suspension of Funds:
  Walter summarizes Small Business Administrator Kelly Leffler’s pointed letter to Minnesota: “We’re not giving you any more money because you have proven to us that you don’t know how to handle it… [your state] failed to safeguard taxpayer dollars, and SBA will not continue to place federal resources at risk in a state where oversight measures are ignored and accountability is abandoned.” (35:24)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Health care & ACA critique: 00:24–13:15
• SCOTUS/Illinois National Guard ruling: 13:30–18:26
• Minnesota fraud segment opens: 20:22
• Adam Gillette interview start: 20:58
• Big government program analysis: 21:29–33:55
• Small Business Administration’s letter to MN: 34:09–38:56

Tone & Style

Mary Walter’s approach is candid, humorous, and exasperated in equal measure. Adam Gillette’s tone is pointedly critical but leavened with sardonic wit, skewering both bureaucratic incompetence and political calculation, while supporting the importance of reform.

Conclusion

This episode offers a scathing, detail-rich account of the Minnesota welfare fraud scandal—framed as symptomatic of wider governmental and media indifference to reckless spending and systemic waste. Through incisive commentary and the sharp insights of Adam Gillette, listeners gain a clear sense of the scope, causes, and likely trajectory of such scandals—both in Minnesota and nationwide.