Gov. Walz spent $430K in taxpayer money for legal prep ahead of GOP grilling

Republican state lawmakers in Minnesota have not held back with criticism after news Gov. Tim Walz spent $430,000 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 $232,000, according to invoices the Star Tribune obtained. This balanced out to a rate of about $516 per hour, the local outlet noted.

In total, according to the Star Tribune, K&L Gates worked with Walz’s office from April 10 until the June 12 hearing, costing taxpayers $430,000 for the legal preparation. 

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Minnesota 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 public 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 said.

Nash added that he intends to dig deeper into scrutinizing the invoices obtained by the Star Tribune.

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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 12 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 $430,000 of taxpayer money on a private firm to ‘prepare’ for this hearing?” Niska asked. 

“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 team 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.

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Teddy Tschann, a Walz spokesperson, described the hearing as a “planned political stunt on the taxpayer dime,” the Star Tribune reported.

“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 most frustrating is that Tom Emmer and Pete Stauber planned this spectacle knowing what it would cost and went through with it anyway.”

When asked directly about the legal bill, Walz told reporters the GOP-led hearing was “not where I wanted to spend money. It’s not where I wanted to spend my time, and it certainly proved that there was nothing there other than using it as grandstanding.”

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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 said earlier this year after attending a hearing in the nation’s capital she expected to pay around $650,000 to the law firm that helped her prepare. 

The City of Denver also forked over $250,000 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.