Democrats say they were shut out of fraud event after Vance says crackdown ‘should not be partisan’

Key Points:

• Three Democratic state attorneys general, including New York’s Letitia James, California’s Rob Bonta, and New Jersey’s Jennifer Davenport, reported that their deputies were denied access to a fraud roundtable hosted by Republican JD Vance, raising questions about the White House’s claim of a bipartisan fraud crackdown.
• The Democrats declined a last-minute invitation to the event, citing insufficient notice and lack of agenda, despite expressing commitment to combating fraud and highlighting their offices' ongoing efforts and successes in prosecuting fraud cases.
• Critics accused the Trump administration and Vance’s taskforce of politicizing fraud enforcement, pointing to agency budget cuts, dismantling of oversight bodies, and exclusion of Democratic voices as undermining genuine bipartisan collaboration.
• California AG Bonta refuted claims that his state was not cooperating with federal fraud investigations, emphasizing his office’s leadership in major fraud prosecutions and accusing the administration of misinformation.
• Wisconsin AG Josh Kaul and others criticized the administration for firing inspectors general and shutting out experts, arguing that these actions contradict the stated goal of effectively fighting fraud.