Journalist who exposed alleged Minnesota fraud says Newsom, California are his next targets

Independent journalist Nick Shirley says exposing government fraud has made him a target, and now he’s turning his focus to California.

Shirley gained national attention after releasing videos he says expose fraud in Minnesota. He testified before House lawmakers earlier this week during a hearing investigating the state’s fraud scandals. 

Shirley said the work has been dangerous, but California is his next target.

“Fraud will be exposed in California. It’ll be exposed all across the United States, because we’re learning that there’s so much fraud that’s taking place,” Shirley said Wednesday on “The Ingraham Angle.”

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Conservative influencer Nick Shirley films protesters demonstrating against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests in New York City on Oct. 22, 2025. (Adam Gray/Getty Images)

“Whether it be through daycares or these projects like that high-speed light rail that Newsom’s been trying to build for years,” he added.

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Critics have accused Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state of California of allowing fraud to prosper under a lack of oversight. 

First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli launched a task force in April to investigate corruption in the state, with a focus on programs for the homeless.

“California has spent $24 billion in the last five years on homelessness, and no one can account for where that money has really gone,” Essayli said on “Fox & Friends” in early January.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom looks on during a bill-signing event related to redrawing the state’s congressional maps in Sacramento on Aug. 21, 2025. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Shirley warned that investigating government fraud has become increasingly dangerous, with the backlash extending beyond online harassment into real-world threats. He said he was forced to hire 24-hour security after his home address was doxxed, and his family members received calls from the public.

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“I was just exposing fraud, and then you see all this hatred come at you for doing a giant public service for America,” Shirley said.

“The majority of Americans are super happy, I’d say 99%, but then you have that crazy 1% that just gets super upset because they’re the fraudsters,” he added.

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Shirley’s reporting in Minnesota helped bring national scrutiny to the alleged misuse of taxpayer dollars, though Minnesota officials have disputed aspects of the fraud claims, saying previous inspections of childcare centers did not uncover widespread wrongdoing.

Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz pushed back on what he argued are politically motivated allegations, writing in a post on X, “This is Trump’s long game. We’ve spent years cracking down on fraudsters. It’s a serious issue – but this has been his plan all along.”