Local lawyer Erick Kaardal accused Minnesota Governor Tim Walz of “acting like a drunken monarch” in court documents, a claim he doubled down on via Fox News recently.
Kaardal is representing a group of Minnesota business people who feel that Walz’s dozens of executive orders related to the coronavirus pandemic have directly and unfairly impacted their constitutional rights. The prolific anti-government attorney first launched his lawsuit late April and just recently made his first oral arguments before a court. If successful, Kaardal’s suit will block Walz from exercising further executive power under his emergency declaration.
Kaardal appeared on Fox News alongside one of the business owners represented in his lawsuit, Sunday.
“The governor, under our [Minnesota] Constitution has to work with the legislative branch,” he explained to Fox News’s Griff Jenkins. Becuase, in Kaardal’s view, Walz has failed to fulfill this prerogative, he has acted “like a drunk monarch because he’s not following any of the rules. Rather than working with the legislature, the agencies and the judges he’s just doing his own thing,” he concluded.
The lawyer appeared alongside Larvita LeGrand McFarquhar who said it’s unfair that her three small businesses have all been shut down by the governor’s orders while massive corporations like Walmart are allowed to operate without inhibition.
“Governor Walz said we’re a nonessential business when he left other business like Walmart [and] Target open, and he left the small businesses suffering,” she said.
Fox News reached out to Walz directly, asking him how he responds to Kaardal’s lawsuit and accusations.
“The virus has forced the state to take drastic action to keep Minnesotans safe, but it’s action that is within the Governor’s authority,” his office wrote.
When presented with this statement, Kaardal used his airtime to speak to the governor directly: “governor Walz, you have to work with the legislature,” he said. “You can’t do it all on your own, and to ignore these legal limitations you’re acting like a monarch, it’s not good, you have to stop now… You’re not listening to anyone… It can’t just be you governor, making all the decisions.”
Kaardal is not alone in his legal fight against the governor. No less than 13 legislators support his lawsuit under the banner of the Free Minnesota Coalition.
Meanwhile, Kaardal’s lawsuit isn’t the only important legal battle occuring in Minnesota. State Attorney General Keith Ellison is pursuing action against ExxonMobil, Koch Industries and the American Petroleum Institute, claiming that they have “defrauded” Minnesotans by lying about climate change.
Kyle Hooten
Kyle Hooten is Managing Editor of Alpha News. His coverage of Minneapolis has been featured on television shows like Tucker Carlson Tonight and in print media outlets like the Wall Street Journal.
