Jessica Tarlov, Fox News' resident liberal panelist on The Five, has demonstrated her lack of intelligence once again. When independent reporter Nick Shirley's explosive investigation into alleged fraud at Somali daycare centers in Minnesota came up for discussion, Tarlov questioned the scope of his findings while missing the point so spectacularly that I felt compelled to highlight it.
Shirley's investigation uncovered what appears to be a massive fraud scheme involving Minnesota daycare programs; we're talking over $100 million worth of alleged fraud. To her credit, she admitted that the scandal would complicate Walz’s reelection campaign and ambitions for higher office.
"It's going to get incredibly complicated for him, and I'm sure that he and his team are talking about whether he could mount another, you know, I don't want to say challenge because Donald Trump won't be running again, but obviously he's been considering 2028," she said.
She at least acknowledged that, even if Walz wasn’t personally involved, the scandal reflects poorly on his administration because it happened on his watch.
“I think that that will be more difficult when something like this has gone on in your state while you are in office, even if you're not personally involved in it. The program that he was talking about… which I've seen no fraud about that, that kids go to school and they get lunch and they should. Yes, school lunch is a good thing, sometimes breakfast too, even.”
Then came the real gem.
Tarlov actually questioned whether Shirley, working mainly on his own, could have genuinely uncovered the full scale of the alleged fraud. "Nick Shirley's reporting — there's no way that this kid walking around uncovered $100 million worth of fraud on his own," she declared.
“This kid walking around?” That's how Tarlov describes an independent journalist doing actual investigative work? The condescension is almost impressive. She went on to insist that "tons of people" have been working behind the scenes on this story. "There have been tons of people working behind the scenes quietly, including independent local journalists that have been exposing this," she said.
Recommended: The Massive Fraud Scandal No One Is Talking About
So let me get this straight. Shirley's work is questionable because he couldn't possibly have done it alone, and there were tons of other journalists working on it as well. Which is it? Either he's building on existing work, which is how journalism typically works, or he's not. You can't have it both ways.
🚨WTF?! Jessica Tarlov just LIED about Nick Shirley, saying he didn't uncover Somali fraud in Minnesota
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 29, 2025
"Nick Shirley...there's NO WAY this kid walking around uncovered $100M worth of fraud on his own!"
It's too big for the Left to even BELIEVE.
Yes, he DID, with the help of… pic.twitter.com/I5VVNM1a7u
The truth is that Tarlov can't stand that an independent reporter broke this story wide open and made it go viral. Why? Because it hurts not just Walz but the Democratic Party as a whole. Blue state fraud is finally getting the sunlight it deserves, and she has to diminish his achievement because it doesn't fit the left’s preferred narrative.
This whole segment perfectly captures why Tarlov has become such a punchline. She simultaneously tries to downplay damaging information about Democrats while accidentally highlighting just how bad the scandal is. She questions whether a single reporter could uncover $110 million in fraud. That’s all it takes. One person with a phone can do a lot these days. And the sad truth is, they’re doing what many in the mainstream media refuse to do.
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