Nick Shirley, the vlogger who tried to peddle video he shot at the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol to news orgs, went viral last month with his video in which he revealed a nine-figure fraud scheme in Minnesota that, turns out, had already been revealed years ago, during the first weeks of the Biden administration.
The MAGA high-school grad from Utah was determined to hit it big eventually.
This is an example of stumbling into it, if there ever was one.
If you’re wondering why this is just now making national news – seriously, 78 people have been already been indicted in the scheme, 50 have pleaded guilty, with seven others convicted at trial – it’s because the Trumpers were looking for something to distract from the Epstein files.
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So, when the White kid who used to make videos of himself crashing celebrity weddings, then graduated, after a two-year Mormon mission trip, to videos at anti-Trump and anti-ICE protests, gave them ammunition, in the form of videos digging up old news involving a fraud scheme headed up by a White woman, but also involving Somali-Americans, well, this was all entirely predictable.
“I’m here today to speak on behalf of all hardworking, law-abiding, taxpaying citizens here inside of the United States. We the people have had enough of our hard-earned money going towards fraudsters, as if it’s no big deal,” said Shirley, testifying at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday.
Seriously, y’all, they had a kid who crashed Jake Paul’s wedding for clicks testifying in front of Congress about … anything.
Among his stans – Ben Cline, our feckless Sixth District MAGA congressman, who posted a fanboy photo of himself shaking hands with Shirley on his socials.
“The House Judiciary Committee just heard from Nick Shirley, who testified about the rampant welfare fraud in Minnesota that stole taxpayer dollars meant for the disabled and children. We are grateful to Nick for his role in bringing these abuses to light for the American people,” Cline wrote in the caption to his posts.
Ahem, the first charges handed down in the case date to 2022; the fraud was first discovered in 2019.
The IRS revoked the nonprofit status of Feeding Our Future, the Minnesota nonprofit that led the scheme, in 2020.
The FBI began its investigation in February 2021, weeks into the Biden term in the White House.
To say that the White kid from Utah brought anything “to light” is laughable.
Is it too much to expect our congressman to pay attention to the news – not that a fraud case dating back seven years is exactly news, but still.
The video just happened to go viral as Team Trump, and its partners in the MAGA PR/media complex, scoured the gristmill for distractions.
“I made this video to document the widespread fraud that has been taking place, as I truly believe that all fraud is bad,” Shirley said today. “People like me, my generation, are sick of seeing tax dollars go toward fraud. We just want to have the same opportunities our fathers and our grandparents had.”
Shirley wasn’t asked his thoughts on the latest trove of pardons handed down by Trump to convicted fraudsters, like:
- the twice-pardoned Adriana Camberos, who scored her second pardon, on a mail and wire fraud conviction, earlier this month, after getting a get-out-of-jail free card from Trump in 2021.
- the TV fraud couple Julie and Todd Chrisley, who provided false information to banks and fabricated bank statements when applying for and receiving millions of dollars in loans before declaring bankruptcy.
- former Tennessee state senator Brian Kelsey, who had pleaded guilty to campaign fraud, but then, he’s a Republican, there’s no such thing, right?
Not to mention, you know, Donald Trump himself – convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
Nick Shirley is “sick of seeing tax dollars go toward fraud.”
I mean, I guess, technically, Trump, Kelsey, the Chrisleys, Camberos, they were only defrauding banks, investors and campaign donors.
Maybe the vlog prankster is OK with that.
We know that Team Trump is joyed to have found a reason to sic ICE agents on Minnesota, to round up brown-skinned people, citizens and lawful immigrants included.
The White woman who got shot in the head was just icing on the cake.