# DOJ's Quid Pro Quo with St. Paul *2013 joint congressional staff report and hearing on Department of Justice declinations in two False Claims Act matters against Saint Paul, Minnesota* *DOJ's Quid Pro Quo with St. Paul* is a 64-page joint staff report released on April 15, 2013 by the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees and the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.[^1] The project's dossier records its full title as *Department of Justice's Quid Pro Quo with St. Paul: How Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez Manipulated Justice and Ignored the Rule of Law*.[^2] The project's record marks the report's finding as contested. That finding is that the Department of Justice dropped two False Claims Act cases against the [[City of St. Paul]], worth as much as $200 million, in exchange for the City withdrawing *Magner* from the Supreme Court.[^1] A joint hearing, *DOJ's Quid Pro Quo with St. Paul: A Whistleblower's Perspective*, was held on May 7, 2013. Its transcript is published as Serial Nos. 113-23 and 113-6.[^3] Democrats on [[House Oversight]] issued a minority memorandum that reached the opposite conclusion about the conduct of Department officials.[^4] The project's dossier located no [[Office of Inspector General]] report on the matter.[^5] The project's at-issue record states that nothing in the record shows Saint Paul refiling the case.[^3] The project's at-issue record pairs the 2013 report with the 2026 congressional investigation of fraud in [[Minnesota]]. It states that the same committee conducted both investigations, thirteen years apart.[^1] ## Who According to the project's dossier, three members released the report: House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa, House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, and Senate Judiciary Ranking Member Chuck Grassley.[^2] The dossier lists the persons named in the report: - Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division. - Fredrick Newell, the relator. - Mayor [[Christopher Coleman]]. - Saint Paul City Attorney Sara Grewing. - [[David Lillehaug]], Saint Paul's outside counsel, who negotiated with Perez.[^6] The at-issue record states that the whistleblower and two sitting United States Senators testified at the May 7, 2013 hearing. The dossier identifies the witnesses as Newell, Sen. Grassley, and Sen. Isakson.[^3] ## What As summarized in the project's dossier, the report makes four allegations: - DOJ agreed to decline intervention in two qui tam cases under the False Claims Act against Saint Paul, in exchange for the City withdrawing *Magner* from the Supreme Court. - Career staff described the situation as "weirdness" and "ridiculous". - Newell was reduced to a "bargaining chip." - The Assistant Attorney General instructed career attorneys to leave *Magner* out of the declination memoranda.[^2] The project's at-issue summary describes the cases as "dropped". The dossier's more specific account describes the government as declining to intervene.[^1][^2] The first case was *United States ex rel. Newell v. City of St. Paul* ([[Newell]]), filed in May 2009. It alleged that the City obtained approximately $62 million in HUD grants from 2003 to 2009 by falsely certifying compliance with [[Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act]] of 1968.[^7] The government declined to intervene in February 2012, the same month *Magner* was dismissed. On August 28, 2013, the Eighth Circuit affirmed dismissal of the case (No. 12-3894) on "original source" grounds.[^7] The second case is [[Ellis]] v. City of St. Paul. No public docket number for it is recoverable. Its existence rests on the congressional record and on a DOJ internal email.[^8] The House Oversight Democrats' memorandum reviewed more than 3,500 pages and six interviews. It concluded that "Mr. Perez and other Department officials acted professionally." The memorandum also described the investigation as part of "a broader political campaign to undermine the legal safeguards against discrimination." An ethics statement by Prof. Stephen Gillers was submitted for the minority.[^4] ## When - May 2009: *Newell* filed.[^7] - February 2012: the government declined to intervene in *Newell*, the same month *Magner* was dismissed.[^7] - March 8, 2012: date of the DOJ internal email on the *Newell* and *Ellis* declinations.[^8] - April 15, 2013: the joint staff report was released.[^1] - May 7, 2013: joint hearing held.[^3] - August 28, 2013: the Eighth Circuit affirmed dismissal in *Newell*.[^7] ## Where The hearing was held in Rayburn 2154.[^3] The underlying matters concern the City of Saint Paul.[^1] ## How The dossier records a DOJ internal email dated March 8, 2012, reproduced in Senator Grassley's correspondence. The email states: "Government declined to intervene in Newell, and has agreed to decline to intervene in Ellis," and continues "in exchange for defendants withdrawal [sic] of cert. petition in Gallagher case."[^8] The *[[Gallagher]]* case named in the email is the certiorari petition the report connects to *Magner*.[^2] ## How much The dossier records three dollar figures: - As much as $200 million in potential recovery forgone, per the report and the hearing announcement. - $86 million, the DOJ Civil Fraud Section's own valuation of *Newell*. - More than $62 million in HUD funds allegedly falsely certified.[^9] ## In the at-issue record The report and the hearing are two pairs in Tier I of the project's at-issue record.[^1][^3] - Pair AI-Ramsey-004 (rank 4) sets out the April 15, 2013 report and its $200 million figure. It notes that the same committee investigated Saint Paul in 2013 and Minnesota in 2026.[^1] - Pair AI-Ramsey-011 (rank 11) sets out the May 7, 2013 hearing. It notes that the record shows no refiling.[^3] The project's history table states that "No OIG report exists." The dossier records the narrower finding that none was located. The dossier also records that a March 2013 OIG report often cited in the same news cycle concerns the Voting Section and does not address this matter.[^5] ## Notes [^1]: The White House, *Trump Administration's Full-Scale War on Fraud* (May 2026) — anchor source for the project's at-issue pair AI-Ramsey-004: the April 15, 2013 joint staff report, its finding of up to $200 million, and the same committee in 2013 and 2026. https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2026/05/trump-administrations-full-scale-war-on-fraud/ [^2]: The White House, *Trump Administration's Full-Scale War on Fraud* (May 2026) — anchor URL in this pack. The report's full title, signatories and allegations are as recorded in the project's validated dossier §V.c; the dossier's underlying citations to the report itself are not in this pack. https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2026/05/trump-administrations-full-scale-war-on-fraud/ [^3]: The White House, *Trump Administration's Full-Scale War on Fraud* (May 2026) — anchor source for at-issue pair AI-Ramsey-011: the May 7, 2013 hearing in Rayburn 2154, Serial Nos. 113-23 and 113-6, and testimony by the whistleblower and two senators. Witness names are per dossier §V.c. https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2026/05/trump-administrations-full-scale-war-on-fraud/ [^4]: The White House, *Trump Administration's Full-Scale War on Fraud* (May 2026) — anchor URL in this pack. The House Oversight Democrats' minority memorandum and the Gillers ethics statement are as recorded in the project's validated dossier §V.c. https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2026/05/trump-administrations-full-scale-war-on-fraud/ [^5]: The White House, *Trump Administration's Full-Scale War on Fraud* (May 2026) — anchor URL in this pack. The negative finding that no OIG report on *Magner/Newell/Ellis* was located is per dossier §V.c; the history table is row HE-0219. https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2026/05/trump-administrations-full-scale-war-on-fraud/ [^6]: The White House, *Trump Administration's Full-Scale War on Fraud* (May 2026) — anchor URL in this pack. The persons named in the report and their roles are as recorded in dossier §V.c. https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2026/05/trump-administrations-full-scale-war-on-fraud/ [^7]: The White House, *Trump Administration's Full-Scale War on Fraud* (May 2026) — anchor URL in this pack. The *Newell* filing date, the $62 million allegation, the February 2012 declination and the August 28, 2013 Eighth Circuit affirmance (No. 12-3894) are as recorded in dossier §V.c. https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2026/05/trump-administrations-full-scale-war-on-fraud/ [^8]: The White House, *Trump Administration's Full-Scale War on Fraud* (May 2026) — anchor URL in this pack. The March 8, 2012 DOJ internal email reproduced in Senator Grassley's correspondence, and the absence of an *Ellis* docket, are as recorded in dossier §V.c. https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2026/05/trump-administrations-full-scale-war-on-fraud/ [^9]: The White House, *Trump Administration's Full-Scale War on Fraud* (May 2026) — anchor URL in this pack. The dollar figures ($200 million, $86 million, more than $62 million) are as recorded in dossier §V.c. https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2026/05/trump-administrations-full-scale-war-on-fraud/