At today's House Oversight Committee hearing, Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) grilled Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN).
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00:00Gentleman yields back. Chair now recognizes Mr. Fallon from Texas.
00:04Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Governor Walts, would you say that one of the most important things any governor,
00:10or quite frankly any elected official, can do is to keep their citizens and constituents safe?
00:15I would, Congressman.
00:16Great, I would agree. And I ask this because when I was reading your bio that you provided,
00:21nowhere did you mention the safety and security of Minnesotans or fighting crime or supporting law enforcement
00:26or, for that matter, the rule of law. So I want to take you back to 2020.
00:30You were the governor of Minnesota. There were summer protests.
00:34You referred to them as peaceful demonstrations. In hindsight, would you still stand by that?
00:38Were they mostly peaceful?
00:40Congressman, after the murder of George Floyd on the streets, thousands gathered in the streets.
00:45Were there those that...
00:45But, Governor, were they mostly peaceful protests?
00:48The vast majority certainly were.
00:49They were.
00:49Those that weren't...
00:50So why would you have to call out the National Guard for mostly peaceful protests?
00:53They weren't all peaceful protests.
00:55Okay, so they weren't. All right, mostly.
00:56So, Governor, the total damage in dollars, what was that in Minnesota for the peaceful protests?
01:02I don't have that in...
01:03All right, according to the insurance industry in Minnesota, they put the number between $1 and $2 billion.
01:08In your own state senate, put the price tag at $500 million.
01:11So if that's a peaceful protest in Minnesota, I shudder to think what a violent one would cost.
01:17Governor, I'd like to keep things simple.
01:19I did not call it that. We had folks who were there, and they're in prison.
01:22Okay, great.
01:24I'd like to keep things simple as far as when we talk about federal detainers, and I've talked to several federal law enforcement officials about this.
01:31So a detainer is issued when someone's already in custody and confined, jail, prison, court.
01:38It's not somebody who's plucked off the street randomly.
01:40And there's really three conditions, and it's and or probable cause that a foreign national is subject to removal from this country.
01:47Final deportation order has been issued.
01:50Or it's a foreign national that's been convicted of a crime and is about to be released.
01:56So sanctuary states won't cooperate with federal law enforcement.
02:00In Minnesota, do you cooperate sometimes, never, or all the time?
02:04We follow federal law in all 87 counties and all the jurisdictions.
02:08Some of them do honor detainer requests.
02:10Some, and some do, and some don't.
02:11That's correct.
02:12Okay.
02:12Counties have the ability.
02:13Okay.
02:14So, Governor, would you commit here and now, and this is really simple, I think it's commonsensical,
02:18to compel state and locals in Minnesota to cooperate with all federal detainers issued by federal law enforcement
02:27when it involves a foreign national that's been convicted of a felony.
02:32And I'm talking about kidnappers, rapists, child molesters, murderers, predators, parasites, scumbags.
02:40In all those instances.
02:41Convicted of a felony being held by my state corrections.
02:44We all, every time we call them.
02:45Every single time you're going to do that.
02:47Every time we call them and have them come pick it up.
02:48What I would ask you to commit to is, are you going to fund ISIS, what they don't pay us, on detainers?
02:54Well, listen, on detainers and on ICE, I don't call them the Gestapo.
02:59And this is my definition of Gestapo, Governor.
03:02Real Nazis from 1933 to 1945 that facilitated and participated in the murder of millions.
03:07I don't call federal law enforcement officers Gestapo.
03:11You were recently quoted.
03:12Where's the apology?
03:14Donald Trump.
03:15Oh, no, Donald Trump didn't.
03:16Yeah, listen, you, Donald Trump's not here.
03:19You are, Governor.
03:20Yeah.
03:20You're a big boy.
03:21Put your big boy pants on.
03:21I would ask, don't wear masks.
03:23Identify who you are.
03:24Don't pull up and un-
03:25Governor, you call them Gestapo.
03:26Will you apologize for that?
03:27And don't pull people.
03:28Will you apologize for that?
03:30Congressman, my job, I'm a history teacher.
03:31Okay, so you won't.
03:32Okay, we're going to move on.
03:33I used a historical reference.
03:34Chairman, I reclaim my time.
03:36We won't answer the question.
03:37I think that's hyperbolic demagoguery.
03:40I mean, you said that in a speech, maybe you got a little carried away.
03:43I don't know if you'll apologize for that, too, that you were, quote, going to kick Republicans' asses.
03:47I mean, I didn't say that.
03:48You said it.
03:50And that's dangerous rhetoric, especially when you use Gestapo.
03:53That's lazy, too, and it's terribly inaccurate.
03:55The fact of the matter is, again, time and again, you've excused violence, and you use dangerous, irresponsible rhetoric.
04:04And you can choose between being on the side of law enforcement or the side of vicious criminals, and you've chosen the latter.
04:10Time and again, I don't know why.
04:12Maybe it's because you want to impress your limousine liberal friends when you're eating wine and cheese, or you're getting your coffee every morning at the hemp store.
04:21I don't know, but I think it's ignorant, and I think it's culpable, and I think it's disgusting.
04:24And I can see why the American people on November 5th made it a very bad night for you and a very great night for our future.
04:29Mr. Chairman, I'll yield back.
04:32Chair now recognizes.