Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson on September 18, 2025, when he announced that eight individuals had been charged federally for allegedly billing for services they did not provide through Minnesota Housing Stabilization Services. (Photo: Michelle Griffith/Minnesota Reformer)
The career prosecutor overseeing a wide-ranging federal investigation into welfare program fraud in Minnesota abruptly resigned this week.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson was one of at least six senior attorneys who left the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota on Tuesday. according to New York Times and other facilities.
Thompson was a top lieutenant of Daniel N. Rosen, an appointee of President Donald Trump. Last year, before Rosen’s confirmation, he served as acting U.S. attorney in Minnesota.
The exodus follows reports that the US Department of Justice was investigating the political activities of a woman murdered last Wednesday by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. New York Times reported on Monday that federal investigators sought to uncover connections between Renee Good, her wife, Becca Good, and “activist groups” pushing back against perceived overreach by federal law enforcement.
On Sunday, Trump called the women “professional agitators.” Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem previously called Renee Nicole Good a “terrorist.”
Elsewhere, at least four senior leaders in the Washington office of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division have resigned. The departures, which vacated top positions in the Civil Rights Division’s criminal section, were “the most significant mass resignation” at the Justice Department since early last year. As reported by MS Now on Monday.
Over the years, under both Democratic and Republican administrations, Thompson led a far-reaching federal investigation into widespread fraud that siphoned hundreds of millions of dollars from numerous federal and state welfare programs. His investigation into so-called Feeding Our Future – aimed at feeding hungry children during the pandemic – made the first accusations in 2022 and finally fell into the trap over 70 defendants. The program cost taxpayers at least $250 million and probably more.
Thompson’s influence has grown in recent years following high-profile raids, prosecutions and convictions, including attempt to bribe a judge during the first Feeding Our Future study. He used his prominent position and reputation as a career prosecutor to bring attention to widespread safety net fraud in Minnesota.
Trump then amplified the steady stream of fraud-related news out of Minnesota. Last month Trump called the state “center for fraudulent money laundering.” He has repeatedly recognized members of the Somali-American community, most of whom are U.S. citizens.
At a press conference on December 18 Thompson said fraud in state Medicaid programs likely exceeds $9 billion. Thompson did not provide direct evidence to support Gov. Tim Walz’s claim called “sensational” the next day at a press conference.
At the news conference, Walz acknowledged that welfare fraud is a problem in Minnesota, but suggested that Thompson was part of Trump’s campaign to punish the state that voted against him three times. Since then, multiple federal agencies have suspended billions of dollars in congressionally mandated aid to Minnesota.
“They’re going to continue to put out numbers that don’t have them in them, and it’s going to create a sensation. I don’t expect anything different from this administration,” said Walz, who was then seeking a third term as governor.
Walz withdrew from the race earlier this month, two days before Good’s murder.
Democratic, Farmer and Labor Governor praised Thompson on Tuesday on X: “Joe is a principled public servant who has spent over a decade bringing justice to the people of Minnesota. This is a tremendous loss for our state.”
On Tuesday, confusion at the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota appeared to have little effect on the more than 2,000 federal immigration agents operating in Minnesota. AND video shared on social media freelance journalist Amanda Moore showed multiple agents arresting a woman after pulling her from her vehicle and cutting her seat belts.
According to Moore, the woman said she was going to a doctor’s appointment.
This story was originally produced by Minnesota reformerswhich is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network that includes Pennsylvania Capital-Star, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
