Good evening, and welcome to Raw America. I’m British Chris.
Tonight, new details are emerging about Trump’s DOJ launching a criminal investigation into one of his longtime political enemies. The nation’s top health official was brutally grilled by Congress and confronted over a report that he cut off a dead raccoon’s penis while his family was steps away. Trump’s inner circle is worried that they could still go to prison despite any preemptive pardons from the commander in chief. And an ICE agent now has a warrant out for his arrest. Let’s dive in.
But before we do, please consider updating your free Raw America subscription to a paying one. Independent outlets like this one are the last line of defense against the wholesale gutting of American journalism. Right-wing billionaires are determined to dictate what stories get told and which ones get buried. The only way to fight back is to fund news outlets that refuse to be bought. If you believe the work we’re doing here matters, please click the button below and become a paying subscriber today. Every subscription is an act of resistance against the right-wing billionaires seeking to control what you read and watch.
Trump’s DOJ Now Going After Obama’s CIA Director
Reuters is reporting that the FBI is preparing to question roughly half a dozen witnesses in a criminal inquiry targeting former CIA Director John Brennan. And what’s this about, exactly? The 2017 intelligence assessment, the one that concluded Russia interfered in the 2016 election specifically to help Donald Trump win.
The probe has been quietly underway for months. The focus appears to be on congressional testimony Brennan gave in 2023 about how that assessment was put together. The core conclusions of that 2017 assessment weren’t just Brennan’s opinion. They were later affirmed by the Justice Department itself, by a bipartisan Senate committee, and by a CIA review. And yet here we are, with Trump’s DOJ treating the people who produced that intelligence as criminals.
Brennan has called the whole thing politically biased and a flat-out misuse of the legal system. His lawyer says there’s no legally justifiable basis for it.
Legal experts are pointing out that prosecuting Brennan in Florida, when his testimony took place before a House committee in Washington, is going to face serious legal hurdles. Courts in Washington have already pushed back hard on previous efforts to go after Trump’s perceived enemies.
But the point, of course, may not be to actually convict anyone. The point is the investigation itself.
RFK Jr. Confronted Over Mutilating Dead Raccoon in Front of His Family
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sat before Congress Thursday for a pair of hearings, and it didn’t go well for him. Democrats came loaded for bear, and they didn’t miss.
Representative Linda Sánchez of California hit Kennedy hard on vaccines, pointing out that the CDC removed its universal childhood vaccine recommendations for seven immunizations under his watch, including coverage for flu, hepatitis, and rotavirus. That policy change came, she noted, right as measles was spiking in the United States. When pressed about whether the measles vaccine could have saved a child’s life in Texas, Kennedy conceded it was “possible.”
Then there was Representative Terri Sewell of Alabama, who pressed Kennedy on remarks he made in 2024 suggesting that Black children diagnosed with ADHD should be, quote, “re-parented” and sent somewhere without screens. Kennedy said he didn’t know what that phrase meant and denied saying it, despite the fact that the recording exists.
And then, because this is RFK Jr., TMZ DC caught him outside the hearing and asked him the question everyone else was apparently too polished to ask: what happened to the roadkill raccoon penis he reportedly cut off while his family waited in his car? Kennedy’s response was complete silence, followed by a laugh that seemed to be carrying a lot of additional information. His new biography confirms the roadkill story. The laugh is doing the rest of the work.
Trump Officials Worry His Preemptive Pardons Won’t Save Them
There’s a fascinating piece out from Zeteo’s Asawin Suebsaeng, and the upshot is this: a significant number of senior Trump administration officials are genuinely worried they’re going to end up in prison.
Stephen Miller. Pete Hegseth. Officials spread across multiple departments. According to administration insiders, they’re watching the polling data, they know Democrats are likely to retake the House in 2026, and they’re under no illusions about what that could mean.
They’ve already noticed Democratic politicians making increasingly public calls for aggressive prosecutions of Trump officials. One Trump aide described the trend as, quote, “kind of worrisome.” Many of these officials don’t believe that even presidential pardons will be enough to protect them once the political winds shift.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Trump has promised to sign mass pardons for administration officials before leaving office. But apparently that promise isn’t as reassuring as it sounds. Last year, multiple Trump officials quietly purchased new legal insurance and professional liability coverage in anticipation of future investigations and subpoenas.
The reality is setting in. These people know what they’ve done. And they’re starting to realize that history has a long memory.
Minnesota Authorities Issue Nationwide Arrest Warrant for ICE Agent
State prosecutors in Minnesota have charged an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent with two counts of second-degree assault after a road rage incident in February. Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr. is accused of pointing his weapon at the heads of two people in another vehicle on a Minneapolis highway after he illegally drove his unmarked SUV on the shoulder to try to pass them.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced the charges Thursday and made clear this is the first federal agent charged in connection with Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration’s controversial immigration enforcement push in the Twin Cities. She believes it may be the first case of its kind anywhere in the country.
The context here matters. Operation Metro Surge has already been linked to the January killings of two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, by federal agents. Those deaths are still under investigation.
There’s now a nationwide warrant for Morgan’s arrest. Moriarty said ICE should make arrangements for him to turn himself in. That warrant, she said, will remain in effect until they have him in custody.
Raw America Is Growing — Help Us Keep it Up
This is exactly the kind of reporting Raw America exists to do. And we couldn’t do any of it without you.
Today, we brought you an exclusive interview with former CNN anchor and current Substack host Jim Acosta. This week, we also interviewed former Biden DOJ pardon attorney Liz Oyer, former Obama administration official Christopher Hale and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on his 100th day in office. None of these conversations happen without paying subscribers making them possible. If you haven’t subscribed yet, please do it now by clicking the button below. Raw America doesn’t have a billionaire backer, we have you.
I’m British Chris, with Raw America. Thanks for watching. We’ll see you tomorrow.
STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:
Trump Explodes at Judge Who Cancelled Construction of His Ballroom. In a lengthy post to his Truth Social platform, President Donald Trump erupted at U.S. District Judge Richard Leon (an appointee of President George W. Bush) for blocking above-ground construction of his $400 million ballroom. Leon wrote that construction couldn’t continue without Congressional approval. Trump maintained that the below-ground portion of the structure would be “useless” without the rest of the building, and said that construction of the ballroom was necessary for “national security.”
Retiring House Democrat Is Deciding Vote to Sink House War Powers Vote. A Thursday vote in the U.S. House of Representatives to assert Congress’ Article I powers over the ability to declare war failed by 213-214 margin. Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), who is not running for reelection, voted with Republicans to kill the legislation. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) voted for the measure along with 212 Democrats, while Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) voted “present.” Golden cited the temporary ceasefire due to expire next week as the reason for his vote.
Mamdani Warns Iran War Making Americans Poorer. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani accused Trump’s war in Iran of worsening the affordability crisis facing working-class Americans. The 34 year-old mayor said the war should “not just be opposed on political grounds, on moral grounds, but even just on economic grounds,” arguing that the billions of dollars being spent in the Middle East could instead help Americans meet basic needs like food and shelter. Mamdani — who was a rapper before entering politics — cited a lyric from 2Pac’s “Keep Ya Head Up” in which the California rapper said: “They got money for war, but can’t feed the poor.”
Trump Manufactures Quote from Pope Leo XIV Amid Ongoing Feud. While addressing reporters outside the White House on Thursday, Trump baselessly argued that Pope Leo XIV advocated for Iran to have nuclear weapons (which the pontiff has never done) and insisted he was correct to attack the pope due to the potential danger of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. When a reporter pointed out to the president that the pope never expressed support for a nuclear Iran, he ignored her.
Kentucky Governor Accuses JD Vance of Violating Ten Commandments. Two-term Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear (D) — who is rumored to be considering a run for president in 2028 — recently took a jab at Vice President JD Vance (who is also thought to be a Republican presidential candidate), suggesting that he’s disregarding one of the Ten Commandments. Beshear said Vance was ignoring the commandments to not worship false idols and to not tell lies, accusing him of “apologizing for a guy who is picturing himself as Jesus and then claiming, ‘No, I thought it was a doctor,’ therefore violating ‘thou shalt not lie.’”
