\n<\/p>\n
Three Democratic state attorneys general said their deputies were turned away from a roundtable hosted by JD Vance<\/a> on Tuesday, sowing confusion about what the White House has billed as a bipartisan crackdown on fraud.<\/p>\n After attorneys general \u2013 including New York\u2019s Letitia James, California\u2019s Rob Bonta and New Jersey\u2019s Jennifer Davenport \u2013 declined a last-minute invitation to participate in the event alongside their Republican counterparts, they said representatives from their offices travelled to Washington to attend, but were shut out.<\/p>\n \u201cMy deputy attorney general went to Washington DC today, and unfortunately was not allowed access to the meeting,\u201d James told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday, after Vance convened more than a dozen Republican state attorneys general as part of the White House\u2019s campaign to root out fraud in government programs.<\/p>\n The White House did not respond to requests for comment. In his remarks at the roundtable on Tuesday, Vance, chair of the White House taskforce to eliminate fraud<\/a>, said representatives from the Democratic state attorneys general offices in Oregon and Connecticut were present.<\/p>\n \u201cThis should not be a partisan effort \u2013 everybody should care about fraud,\u201d the vice-president said, claiming that the taskforce had \u201cexposed billions of dollars in benefits that have been stolen from the American people\u201d since it was launched<\/a> in March.<\/p>\n The Democrats formally announced their decision not to attend<\/a> Tuesday\u2019s roundtable in a letter addressed to Vance and signed by 24 state attorneys general, including Dan Rayfield, of Oregon, and William Tong, of Connecticut.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are committed to stopping fraud, waste, and abuse in all government programs across our states, and are proud of our continued partnership with the federal government in this mission,\u201d they wrote, but noted that the invitation was provided with \u201cless than one business day\u2019s notice with no agenda\u201d.<\/p>\n Speaking to reporters later on Tuesday, James said her office had been a leader in prosecuting Medicaid fraud, including being cited along with three other Medicaid fraud offices as comprising half<\/a> of all civil recoveries in the US in fiscal year 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cReal collaboration between states and the federal government is critical to addressing fraud and waste, but that partnership requires proper notice, sincere engagement and a genuine opportunity for productive discussion,\u201d said James.<\/p>\n She cited Medicaid cuts and efforts to dismantle the Department of Health and Human Services as examples of the Trump administration<\/a> weakening oversight that prevents fraud.<\/p>\n \u201cEliminating fraud cannot be a partisan effort or politically motivated,\u201d Davenport, the New Jersey attorney general, said, \u201cbut I\u2019m concerned that this federal administration is using allegations of fraud in an attempt to freeze or cut funding to these critical programs.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile the Trump administration claims that it is now prioritizing fighting fraud, it has gutted many of the federal agencies that are meant to root out fraud,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Josh Kaul, Wisconsin\u2019s attorney general, also criticized the Trump administration\u2019s partisan approach toward fraud. \u201cYou cannot have a president hardening fraudster after fraudster, and then turn around and say he takes fraud seriously,\u201d said Kaul. \u201cYou\u2019re getting rid of inspectors general who root out fraud. That sends the wrong message when it comes to fighting fraud.<\/p>\n \u201cToday, the vice-president\u2019s office turned away some people from AGs offices, who are experts on these topics. You don\u2019t solve this problem by shutting out voices who know how you can fight this problem.\u201d<\/p>\n Vance\u2019s taskforce claimed fraud victories by pointing to frozen funds and several US Department of Justice cases, but the taskforce did not mention any joint investigations. Bonta pointed to<\/a> his office\u2019s joint investigation into a case, which was not mentioned. In fact, the case was used to accuse California of \u201cfailure to fight fraud\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first assistant was very irresponsible to suggest that the federal government was doing something and California<\/a> was not involved when we were actually in that very case, engaged in a partnership to tackle fraud,\u201d Bonta said. \u201cThere\u2019s other cases where we do the entire thing ourselves, like the biggest hospice fraud bust in the history of State of California. That was our investigation, that was our takedown, that\u2019s our prosecution. We\u2019re going to secure the convictions. But you can\u2019t just outright lie. And unfortunately, that\u2019s been part of what this Trump administration has been doing.\u201d<\/p>\n