Since the dawn of the two-party system in American politics, bipartisan vitriol and controversy have dominated headlines and social media feeds across both sides of the aisle, fueled by algorithms designed to maximize engagement through conflict. With major news outlets and grassroots journalists constantly lobbing accusation after accusation at one another, we should instead put a greater emphasis on holding our leaders accountable rather than engaging in performative outrage that often prioritizes viral moments over substantive governance.
Recent developments involving the ongoing investigation into an alleged large-scale fraud operation in Minnesota and heavily redacted documents from the released Jeffrey Epstein files serve as reminders that we may be focused on the wrong issues in the political sphere. While these cases may seem like isolated failures, they serve as reminders and reinforcement for the idea that we should look inward rather than tearing down our fellow man across partisan lines.
Since mid-December, Gov. Tim Walz and other Minnesota lawmakers have come under fire following renewed attention on large-scale fraud through the misallocation of taxpayer funds intended to aid the state's most vulnerable populations. The bulk of the fraud was tied to the Feeding Our Future program. The program was started in 2016 by founder Aimee Bock, aiming to improve childhood nutrition through food drives and services for underserved Minnesota children.
The fraud was first suspected in 2019, with the FBI investigating in 2021. Indictments came in 2022, uncovering false attendance records and invoices in tandem with funds being used by program administrators for personal use. Allegedly, the fraud saw millions siphoned into luxury purchases and real estate rather than feeding children. The seemingly large-scale fraud represents a profound betrayal of the public trust as well as a total failure of governmental accountability.
The situation gained further national attention when self-proclaimed independent journalist Nick Shirley investigated multiple in-person daycare locations in a viral YouTube video, published on Dec. 26, 2025. The video, which garnered over 140 million views, showed empty locations, presenting a stark visual contrast to the documented claims of bustling activity. However, state inspections found children present at all sites except one not open that day. Despite the result of the inspections, the aftermath following the release of Shirley's video provided even more of an example of political actors demonizing their rivals on social platforms.
Members of the Republican Party were quick to turn Shirley's video into political ammo. These politicians used Shirley's footage to declare an immediate verdict in the court of public opinion and used it to paint a picture of systemic incompetence that resonated across Republican-friendly media ecosystems. This occurred while the case remained under federal investigation. FBI Director Kash Patel, confirmed in February 2025, has called it the "tip of the iceberg" and stated the investigation remains ongoing, leaving the public in a state of speculative limbo.
On the other hand, the U.S. Department of Justice was required to release a major quantity of the previously withheld Jeffrey Epstein files on Dec. 19, 2025, under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was signed in November 2025. Despite the legal requirement, the DOJ has acknowledged that less than 1% of the files have been released — approximately 12,285 documents out of over 2 million — as of January 2026. The DOJ has cited bureaucratic hurdles, though skeptics argue these are merely delay tactics potentially fueled by a desire to protect the reputations of powerful figures across the political spectrum.
Consequently, it is plausible that a comprehensive release of the entire quantity of files won't occur until after President Donald Trump leaves office, further deepening the cynicism of an electorate that has grown tired of waiting for the truth. The files that were released featured Trump's flight records showing he traveled on Epstein's jet at least eight times between 1993 and 1996, as well as photos of Bill Clinton and large amounts of redacted text and images. Nineteen survivors filed complaints with the DOJ's Office of Inspector General over the redaction process.
Critics were quick to point out the apparent dishonesty and stalling of the DOJ; however, the situation quickly turned from public outcry to a political battlefield. Similar to the reaction to the Minnesota fraud case, members of the Democratic Party were quick to turn mentions of Trump and the implied meaning of heavily redacted documents into ammo against their political enemies. They treated blacked-out text as a canvas to project their worst suspicions onto the opposition rather than waiting for the full context to be revealed.
While both of these cases serve as recent examples of shady activity by our elected officials, the public outcry on both sides of the aisle has led me to a simple conclusion. As a population, it would be in our best interest to unite and use events like these to question our leaders, hold them accountable and demand transparency instead of tearing each other down.
Due to the nature of the American two-party system and the vested interests of different voting blocks and politicians, it's easy to see why our political landscape often reacts how it does, reducing complex legal and ethical failures into simple partisan scoreboards. However, it is important to remember that we are all united under the same flag with the same goals of prosperity and strength domestically and abroad. The constant name-calling and hatred between citizens, voters and politicians distracts us from achieving justice and answers for events and developments that require it, ultimately allowing systemic corruption to fester unchecked while the true perpetrators of these injustices rely on our division to escape scrutiny.