ISTANBUL
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Vice President JD Vance will be investigating alleged fraud in Democratic-run states in his new position as "fraud czar."
“Vice President JD Vance is now in charge of ‘FRAUD’ in the United States,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding: "His focus will be 'EVERYWHERE,' but primarily in those Blue [Democratic] States."
He claimed that states such as California, Illinois, Minnesota, Maine, New York, and many others “have had a ‘free for all’ in the unprecedented theft of Taxpayer Money.”
Trump added that "raids have already started" in Los Angeles, without providing details.
Last month, Trump signed an executive order establishing a national task force, led by Vance, to support the president’s claims that federal funds meant for social welfare programs are being misappropriated in certain states.
Critics of Trump say fraud is rampant in his administration, from hiring relatives with conflicts of interest as aides to giving greenlights for merger deals only to businesspeople politically aligned with the president.
They also say pursuing possible fraud cases in Democratic-run states ignores fraud in Republican-one states, and so is politically motivated.