Democratic state AGs say their staff excluded from Vance anti-fraud meeting

WASHINGTON — A handful of Democratic state attorneys general said Tuesday that expert officials from their offices were denied access to a major White House anti-fraud meeting convened by Vice President JD Vance and attended by Republican AGs.

Two dozen Democratic attorneys general had earlier declined invitations for their own attendance at the White House anti-fraud roundtable, citing extremely short notice and a lack of an agenda in a letter to Vance, who has helmed the Trump administration’s sweeping anti-fraud effort.  

Instead, some sent top officials from their offices to Washington. Democratic attorneys general in California, New York and New Jersey said at a press conference later Tuesday that officials from their states were not allowed to attend the anti-fraud meeting. 

New York Attorney General Letitia James said officials from Minnesota, Massachusetts, Maryland and Nevada were also turned away and that part of the reason apparently had to do with the officials’ titles. 

“They gave various reasons that conflicted, and that didn’t really make sense,” James said. “At the end of the day, the message is, is, that there were experts who have been working on complex fraud cases, that have worked in our respective offices over the year — they have engaged in successful criminal prosecutions, investigations and settlements resulting in millions and millions of dollars, and they were all turned away, despite the fact that they had RSVP’d on Friday evening, and in some cases on Saturday.”  

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who led the press conference, said “we won’t be used as props in Vance’s political performance.”

Bonta was joined by James, along with Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul. 

“The truth is, Democratic AGs have recovered billions of taxpayer dollars, secured criminal convictions and implemented reforms to strengthen the security of our programs,” Bonta added.

The California attorney general noted that “the short notice we were given sends a clear message that we were either an afterthought or we weren’t really welcome.”

Trump administration anti-fraud campaign

At the meeting, Vance and administration officials gave brief remarks before ushering out the press so that they could have “the real conversation.”

Minnesota has taken center stage in the administration’s efforts to combat alleged fraud. Just last week, administration officials announced they were charging 15 people in the state for alleged Medicaid fraud schemes totaling millions of dollars in intended loss. 

In a list provided by the Republican Attorneys General Association ahead of the event, the attorneys general slated to attend the Vance meeting included: Tim Griffin of Arkansas; Raúl Labrador of Idaho; Todd Rokita of Indiana; Brenna Bird of Iowa; Kris Kobach of Kansas; Russell Coleman of Kentucky; Lynn Fitch of Mississippi; Austin Knudsen of Montana; Mike Hilgers of Nebraska; Drew Wrigley of North Dakota; Andy Wilson of Ohio, Gentner Drummond of Oklahoma; Marty Jackley of South Dakota; and Derek Brown of Utah.  

Bird, of Iowa, said in a press release that she attended the fraud task force meeting with other AGs to “discuss collaborative efforts between the White House and state attorneys general on combating benefits fraud, as well as the resources needed by attorneys general to fight fraud in their states.”

She added, “When bad actors commit fraud—whether it’s against the government, against businesses, or against individuals, the American taxpayer always ends up on the hook. I’ve been fighting to protect Iowans against fraud for the last four years as attorney general, and I don’t intend to stop.”

Dems complain about short notice

The two dozen state Democratic attorneys general had written to Vance earlier Tuesday that while they “would appreciate the opportunity to engage in serious discussions, the invitation was provided with less than one business day’s notice with no agenda,” per a letter obtained by States Newsroom. 

The group added that “this short notice does not match the spirit of collaboration that has long defined our joint efforts with federal partners.” 

POLITICO, which first reported on the letter and the Democrats’ choice to not partake in the meeting, noted that Republican attorneys general were invited days earlier and initially the event was only supposed to include them. 

“As I’ve said repeatedly, this does not need to be — this should not be — a partisan effort,” Vance said during the roundtable. 

“Everybody should care about fraud, everybody should care about rooting out fraud, everybody should care about saving the American taxpayers money, and importantly, everybody should care about actually protecting the programs that only work and are only properly funded if the money funding those programs isn’t being stolen by fraudsters.” 

The vice president said at the meeting that representatives from the attorneys general in Connecticut and Oregon were in attendance. 

In a statement after the meeting, the executive director of the Republican Attorneys General Association bashed Democrats.

“While Republican Attorneys General are aggressively fighting fraud, waste, and abuse, Democrat AGs like Keith Ellison in Minnesota and Letitia James in New York knowingly aid and abet scams and fraud in their states,” said Adam Piper, the executive director. “Republican AGs are thrilled to roll up our sleeves and work with JD Vance, Republican AG staff alum Andrew Ferguson, Scott Brady, and the White House Task Force to save taxpayers billions of dollars and deliver maximum accountability. Vice President Vance is right – this is not a partisan issue. However, historical Democrat inaction speaks volumes.”