Tim Walz blasted for costing Minnesota taxpayers $430K in legal prep ahead of Hill hearing

Republican state lawmakers in Minnesota have not held back with criticism after news Gov Tim Walz spent in taxpayer money to prepare for a House congressional hearing probing blue state governors on their sanctuary city policies Invoices obtained by the Star Tribune of Minnesota uncovered that Walz's office contracted with high-powered global law firm K L Gates to prepare for the governor's mid-June hearing in front of the GOP-controlled House Oversight Committee which included questions about his and other blue state governors' sanctuary city policies In May alone Walz incurred legal fees of around according to invoices the Star Tribune obtained This balanced out to a rate of about per hour the local outlet noted In total according to the Star Tribune K L Gates worked with Walz's office from April until the June hearing costing taxpayers for the legal preparation TAXPAYERS COULD BE FORCED TO FUND TRUMP FOE LETITIA JAMES LEGAL DEFENSE IF DEM BUDGET ITEM PASSESMinnesota GOP Rep Jim Nash one of two Republicans on the state's Legislative Advisory Commission questioned why Walz felt compelled to get outside counsel rather than work with the state's attorneys and populace relations specialists A half a million dollars of taxpayer money to prepare the governor to go to his old stomping grounds seems exorbitant particularly since the AG for the state of Minnesota was in Congress with Walz at the same time and the two of them certainly could have figured out how to do what they were needing to do he mentioned Nash added that he intends to dig deeper into scrutinizing the invoices obtained by the Star Tribune NEW BOOK SHEDS LIGHT ON HARRIS' DECISION TO PICK WALZ AS HER RUNNING MATE OVER SHAPIRO 'WENT WITH HER GUT' Republican Minnesota state Rep Harry Niska noted there appears to be no legitimate legal interest in the state racking up nearly half-a-million dollars in what amounts to PR consulting Tim Walz spent years in Congress he knows those hearing rooms inside and out and he certainly knows how to conduct himself in that type of setting So why did the governor feel the need to spend of taxpayer money on a private firm to prepare for this hearing Niska appealed To be clear there appears to be no legitimate legal interest of the state in racking up nearly half a million dollars in what amounts to PR consulting as he tries to lay the groundwork for a presidential campaign that s going absolutely nowhere It is unconscionable to make hardworking Minnesota taxpayers pay for the governor s personal national political aspirations In response to the criticism over Walz's decision to contract with K L Gates both the governor and his squad sidestepped offering an explanation Instead they suggested the blame fell at the feet of Republicans for holding a hearing that served no other purpose than to grandstand according to the Star Tribune TIM WALZ CRITICIZED FOR 'NAIVE' CLAIM ON WORLD'S 'MORAL AUTHORITY' 'MIGHT BE THE CHINESE'Teddy Tschann a Walz spokesperson described the hearing as a planned political stunt on the taxpayer dime the Star Tribune revealed They were too busy performing for the cameras to even feign interest in hearing from Gov Walz about Minnesota s balanced approach to immigration Tschann added What s the greater part frustrating is that Tom Emmer and Pete Stauber planned this spectacle knowing what it would cost and went through with it anyway When questioned directly about the legal bill Walz recounted reporters the GOP-led hearing was not where I craved to spend money It s not where I yearned to spend my time and it certainly proved that there was nothing there other than using it as grandstanding While the hefty legal bill has garnered Walz backlash this week it wouldn't be the first time a governor has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal advice Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced earlier this year after attending a hearing in the nation's capital she expected to pay around to the law firm that helped her prepare The City of Denver also forked over for outside legal counsel earlier this year to prepare the city's mayor Mike Johnston for a congressional hearing Fox News Digital reached out to Walz's office and K L Gates for comment but did not receive a response from either