The Minneapolis Star Tribune has been publishing a series of “exclusive” reports based on documents stolen (my word) from secret FBI files. One article goes under the headline,
Here’s what to know about newly released records in the Feeding Our Future fraud case.
The records were not “newly released.” They were stolen. The Star Tribune reports,
The records, obtained by the Minnesota Star Tribune, include FBI interviews with current and former Minnesota Department of Education employees who described internally questioning unusually large reimbursement requests and questionable meal sites long before federal authorities publicly announced their investigation in 2022.
“Obtained.” How the records were obtained, the Star Tribune does not say. But the Star Tribune reportedly received, not just the few they mention, but more than 300 confidential FBI interviews with witnesses in the case.
If readers want to make a distinction here between the separate crimes of theft and of receiving stolen property, be my guest. The end result is identical.
It’s like a reverse Watergate. This time with the media on the wrong side of the burglary.
And the story they choose to tell from this treasure trove of secret data is the most mundane one imaginable. “Government officials knew of fraud but did not act,” is a story first published over five years ago by their crosstown rival, the St. Paul Pioneer Press. In April 2021, the Pioneer Press reported under the headline,
Despite fraud concerns, MN won’t limit free summer meals for kids
The year before the famous FBI raids on Feeding Our Future, the Pioneer Press reported that state government officials knew of fraud in the free-food program but would not act. The Star Tribune treats this half-decade-0ld knowledge as breaking news.
Inside those FBI interviews are real stories that have never seen the light of day: who should have been charged, but never have been, what other state programs were involved, and who knows what else.
By publishing screenshots from secret FBI witness interviews, the Star Tribune has done incalculable damage to the cause of criminal prosecution of guilty parties.
And for what journalistic gain? Rehashing a story they were scooped on five years ago.
