Walz files for information on Trump ‘retribution campaign’

By Elyse Apel
The Center Square

Gov. Tim Walz has filed 16 Freedom of Information Act requests with federal agencies seeking records he says could reveal what he has labeled as the Trump administration’s “campaign of retribution” against Minnesota.

The requests seek records, communications and other documents referencing terms including “Minnesota,” “Walz,” “reckoning,” “retribution,” “punish” and “Democrat” since Jan. 20, 2025.

Walz’s office said the records could reveal whether federal agencies “coordinated actions targeting Minnesota” and who was responsible for directing them.

“Minnesotans are living through a coordinated campaign of retribution from the Trump Administration,” Walz said in a social media post. “Funding cuts. Lawsuits. Terrorizing our citizens.”

The filings come just after U.S. District Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz, appointed by President George W. Bush, denied federal subpoenas directed at Walz and other Minnesota elected officials as “unconstitutional.”

“In sum, because the Court finds that the dominant purpose of the challenged subpoenas is to coerce Minnesota officials into assisting the federal government with enforcing civil immigration law and to harass and retaliate against them for failing to do so, the Court grants the motions to quash,” the ruling stated.

Following the ruling, Walz labeled the decision as a win for the “rule of law.”

“The U.S. Justice Department is pursuing criminal investigations into the President’s political opponents,” he said. “This case was just one example of that, but we are seeing daily reminders of this administration’s lawlessness—in Minnesota and around the country. We all must continue to seek justice and uphold the rule of law.”

On Tuesday, Walz said the FOIA requests are part of that effort and seek “to find out exactly how far this campaign reaches, who’s directing it, and what it has cost Minnesotans.”

The requests were filed with 16 federal agencies and departments, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Agriculture, Department of Transportation, Department of the Treasury and Department of Education.

DHS and DOJ did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Center Square.

According to a news release from the governor’s office, Minnesota has been subject to more than 100 federal demands, investigations, lawsuits and threats to “illegally” withhold federal funding.

These are not the first requests Walz’s office has sent to the federal government. Earlier this year, he sent letters seeking information on the number of children currently held in federal detention centers.

“Those requests remain unanswered,” his office said on Tuesday.