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Former professional hockey player Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Minn., raised eyebrows Tuesday with a social media post that referenced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s recent decision not to seek re-election but refused to resign as Walz vows to address ongoing fraud issues in the state.
Staub’s post compared Walz’s determination to fight scammers to the infamous 1994 murder trial of former NFL player OJ Simpson, when Simpson vowed to find his wife’s killer after being acquitted of the murders of his wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.
“Tim Walz staying in office to fight scammers is like OJ saying he would look for the real killer. He should resign,” Stauber wrote.
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A spokesperson for Walz responded to Pak Gazette Digital’s request for comment on Stauber’s post.
“Haha, that’s not news!” the spokesperson said.
Although Simpson was acquitted in the 1994 case, he later lost a civil lawsuit related to the deaths. Simpson was found liable in civil court in 1997 and ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages. Most of that sentence was not paid during Simpson’s lifetime.
Simpson died last April after a private battle with cancer. Near the end of his life, he remained in Las Vegas and returned to the public attention on X, posting reactions to current events. Simpson’s estate has taken a key step toward paying Goldman’s family nearly $58 million, nearly three decades after Goldman won a wrongful death judgment in a civil case against Simpson, according to a November report from TMZ.
Johnnie Cochran, Robert Kardashian, Barry Scheck, F. Lee Bailey, Shapiro and Alan Dershowitz formed OJ Simpson’s dream team. (Sam Mircovich/AFP)
Meanwhile, Walz has been the subject of immense national scrutiny since October. He ended his bid for an unprecedented third term amid harsh criticism from Republicans and some Democrats over his handling of his state’s massive welfare fraud scandal.
WALZ LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR AND PROGRESSIVE SENATE HOPE, CLEARLY FOR LEADERSHIP AMID SOMALI FRAUD CRISIS
However, Walz insisted Tuesday that he will not resign from his position and passionately declared that he will remain in office to help fight state fraudsters who potentially stole billions of taxpayer dollars under his watch.
“I’m not going anywhere. And you can make all your requests for me to resign. That will happen over my dead body,” Walz said.
More than 90 people, most from Minnesota’s large Somali community, have been charged since 2022 in what has been described as the country’s largest COVID-era scheme. How much money has been stolen through alleged money laundering operations involving fraudulent food and housing programs, child care and Medicaid services is still being tabulated. But the U.S. attorney in Minnesota said the scope of the fraud could exceed $1 billion and rise to 9,000 million dollars.
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Prosecutors said some of the dozens who have already pleaded guilty in the case used the money to buy luxury cars, real estate, jewelry and international vacations, and some of the funds were also sent overseas and potentially into the hands of Islamic terrorists.
“This is on me, I am responsible for this and, most importantly, I am the one who will fix it,” Walz told reporters last month, taking responsibility for the scandal.
