‘Go ahead and work on those’: Minnesota governor tells Trump’s AG to forget his state and focus on 2 million documents she hasn’t released yet

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz publicly rejected demands from Attorney General Pam Bondi this week. He told her to focus on releasing the 2 million documents related to the Epstein case instead. Walz spoke at a press briefing on Sunday. He was there to update the community about a recent fatal shooting in Minneapolis. 

When asked about Bondi’s letter, he quickly dismissed the federal administration’s efforts as “not a serious attempt” to solve Minnesota’s issues. “The attorney general of the United States put falsehoods into a letter she sends to me,” Walz said, according to Newsweek. “We’re not going to do your job for you. We have other things we need to do.”

Bondi’s letter, sent Saturday evening, outlined several demands to restore “the rule of law” in Minnesota. She claimed state and local officials had “chosen to ignore federal immigration law” and were actively “putting federal agents in danger.”

Bondi’s letter demands changes to Minnesota’s immigration and voting policies

Bondi requested that Minnesota repeal its “sanctuary policies.” She also demanded access to the state’s voter registration records and its records for Medicaid and Food and Nutrition Service programs. The federal intervention came after a tense period in Minneapolis. 

Federal agents fatally shot 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti. This happened two weeks after another 37-year-old, Renee Nicole Good, was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. The Trump administration has faced criticism for how immigration enforcement actions affected individuals.

President Trump said he is sending resources to Minnesota for two reasons. First, he wants to address alleged fraud in the state, especially after an audit found problems with behavioral health grant oversight. Second, he wants to deal with “Illegal Criminals that were allowed to infiltrate the State through the Democrats’ Open Border Policy.”

Walz dismissed the administration’s claims. He called many of the concerns a “red herring” and stressed that the state already cooperates with federal requests. “In that letter, they talked about, you need to hand people over in your jails,” Walz explained. 

“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.” The governor also challenged Trump’s claims about financial misconduct. 

“This has nothing to do with fraud,” he said, noting that state attorney general Keith Ellison confirmed the feds aren’t even sending forensic accountants to investigate. The administration has also dealt with diplomatic tensions from controversial ambassador nominations. Walz said the demands are political and suggested Bondi focus on the 2 million Epstein files that are legally required for release. “Go ahead and work on those,” Walz said.