The idea behind a federal anti-fraud task force is not inherently absurd. Independent estimates show billions of dollars are lost every year to fraud and abuse, and if officials have a credible idea about how to combat the problem, more power to them.
Seven months after the launch of the White House’s anti-fraud task force, however, the list of problems is not short.
From the outset, there was ample reason for skepticism. The effort, Donald Trump said, would be led by JD Vance, who was an unfortunate choice: Not only was the vice president unqualified for such a task, but the administration made little effort to hide its partisan political motivations, which meant it was eager to target blue states.
What’s more, this is a delicate issue for the president, given his unfortunate record on committing fraud, benefiting from fraud, and issuing pardons to those who have been convicted of fraud.
Making matters worse is the task force’s actual performance: Vance insists he and his team have uncovered more than $260 billion in fraud, but those claims have largely unraveled under scrutiny.
With this in mind, the White House is apparently trying a new tack: crowdsourcing.
On Tuesday afternoon, Trump and Vance announced a $25 million whistleblower program, to be administered by the Justice Department, which is designed to offer cash rewards to those who uncover and report cases of fraud.
I suppose it’s possible that this will be an amazing success, and Americans will succeed in...
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