Hennepin County attorney says no reports of 'ballot harvesting' prior to allegations from Project Veritas, MPD evaluating 'validity'

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said if the conservative group has actual evidence of election law violations, the evidence needs to be turned over to the Minneapolis Police Department.

An official with the Minneapolis Police Department says the department is aware of the claims made by Project Veritas and is investigating the validity of the allegations.

Omar's campaign released a statement after the report was released.

"The amount of truth to this story is equal to the amount Donald Trump paid in taxes in ten out of the last fifteen years: zero," said Jeremy Slevin, a senior advisor to the campaign. "And amplifying a coordinated right-wing campaign to delegitimize a free and fair election this fall undermines our democracy."

The Minnesota DFL also sent out a statement, refuting the claims made by the Project Veritas video, saying "Project Veritas is a discredited, far-right propaganda outfit known for lying, entrapment, and breaking the law."

Monday afternoon, Minnesota House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt and State Jim Nash, both Republicans, issued a statement saying they have requested the Secretary of State's Office investigate the claim.

A spokesperson from the Secretary of State's Office says the office has no investigating power and that any investigation needs to be handled by the county attorney's office where the fraud is alleged.

Attorney General Keith Ellison also issued a statement calling the Project Veritas report into question.

"Anyone with legitimate information about any possible violation of Minnesota elections law should present it to the proper authority, just as I would do," Ellison said. "Project Veritas, a highly partisan outfit with a history of running cons, founded by someone who pled guilty to a serious federal crime, is not a trustworthy source. The timing of their allegations — within weeks of the election, and on the same day the New York Times published a carefully sourced story on the President's failure to pay taxes — should cause all Minnesotans to be highly skeptical."

After the report, Jennifer Carnahan, the chairwoman of the Republican Party of Minnesota, called for an investigation into Omar's midterm victory.

"The voter turnout in Hennepin County in 2018 was shockingly high. We may now have the explanation. If what appears in the Project Veritas video is accurate the results of every election that touched Hennepin County in 2018 are in question," Carnahan said in a statement. "An investigation needs to be by somebody from outside the MN DFL power structure and outside of Minnesota, we call on US Attorney General William Barr to launch a full investigation

Lacy Johnson, Omar's Republican opponent in the upcoming election, called on her to resign over the allegations Monday afternoon on Twitter.