Tim Walz fires back at Pam Bondi, tells her to focus on Epstein files instead of Minnesota fraud

BLAINE, MINNESOTA: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz  on Sunday, January 25, fired back at US Attorney General Pam Bondi over her accusations that he is failing to enforce federal immigration law properly and of enabling widespread welfare fraud in the state.

At a press briefing, Walz told Bondi to “work on” releasing the long‑awaited Jeffrey Epstein case files instead of what he called made-up allegations.

Walz's comments came a day after a sharply worded letter from Bondi demanding greater state cooperation with federal authorities as pressure mounts over two fatal shootings involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minneapolis.

Tim Walz responds to Pam Bondi's letter

During a press conference, reporters pressed Walz about the letter Bondi sent him on Saturday, January 24.

In the letter, the US attorney general criticized Minnesota as a sanctuary for illegal immigrants and a hotbed of fraud schemes following recent deadly shootings by federal agents.

In response, Walz fired back: “The attorney general of the United States put falsehoods into a letter she sends to me...but we're not going to do your job for you. We have other things we need to do.”

When a reporter asked how he might meet the Trump administration “part of the way” to help “turn this temperature down,” Walz dismissed the outreach as “not a serious attempt.”

He added that the letter incorrectly claimed the state was not turning over people in its jails to federal authorities.

“In that letter, they talked about, you need to hand people over in your jails—they're taking credit for people that we've had in jail for a long time. We always hand them over to the commissioner, very clearly, so they're lying.”

Walz also rejected the administration’s focus on fraud.

“This has nothing to do with fraud,” he said, noting that Minnesota officials have been addressing those issues for some time and have not received specialized federal support.

The governor emphasized that, although the state has complied with federal requests so far, the new demands were unrelated to pressing matters and amounted to “a red herring”— a way to distract from the real issue. 

Walz then offered Bondi some pointed advice, telling her to “Go ahead and work" on the over than two million Jeffrey Epstein‑related documents still awaiting release.

Pam Bondi's letter to Tim Walz

Bondi wrote to Walz on Saturday, January 24, pressing him to share sensitive state data with the Trump administration after federal agents fatally shot ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis amid an immigration enforcement surge.

In her letter, Bondi blamed Walz’s policies for escalating tensions and urged him to help prevent further “national tragedy” by cooperating more closely with federal authorities.

Bondi opened the letter by arguing that “The State of Minnesota has refused to enforce the law, and the consequences are heart breaking.”

She defended the Department of Homeland Security’s operations in the state and accused local officials of endangering federal agents by criticizing them and forcing them to act without sufficient support.

In her letter, Bondi also described anti‑ICE demonstrators as “rioters,” claimed ICE and Border Patrol agents faced “lawlessness in the streets,” and called for greater cooperation from state leaders.

Bondi outlined three specific demands she said could “bring an end to the chaos in Minnesota”. 

These demands were that Walz share state records on welfare recipients, repeal Minnesota’s sanctuary policies, and grant the Justice Department access to the state’s voter rolls ahead of upcoming elections.

She concluded by urging Walz and other state officials to change course, writing that as “the chief law enforcement officer of the United States, I am committed to enforcing federal immigration laws and keeping every American safe,” and asserting that Minnesota “can and should be a partner with this administration.”