Good morning. I’m Thom Hartmann, and you’re watching Raw America.
Big Brother isn’t just watching us: The surveillance state is now targeting elected officials who dared to investigate Jeffrey Epstein and those who enabled his crimes. This is the kind of authoritarian overreach that should alarm every American who still believes in constitutional government.
But before we dive deeper into this dystopian development, it’s important to stress that independent media outlets like Raw America exist only because of your support. Legacy media has been wholly captured by corporate special interests and right-wing billionaires, as we’ll discuss in just a moment. If you value honest journalism that boldly challenges autocracy, subscribe now and consider becoming a paying member. Democracy depends on unbought journalism shining a light on those in power, and your support is essential to that mission.
Republican Confirms Trump’s DOJ Is Spying on Congress
Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina dropped a bombshell this week that should send chills down the spine of anyone who remembers their high school civics class. According to Mace, the Department of Justice has been actively tracking which members of Congress search for, open, and review documents related to Jeffrey Epstein.
She confirmed that the DOJ is tagging all documents that members access, complete with timestamps. We have crossed the Rubicon: The executive branch, under Donald Trump’s control, is monitoring the legislative branch’s investigation into one of the most explosive scandals in modern American history.
Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, who is the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, didn’t mince words about the constitutional crisis this represents. Raskin called it Orwellian, and a clear violation of the separation of powers. When asked if this monitoring was limited to Representative Pramila Jayapal, whose search history was seen in a folder Attorney General Pam Bondi brought to her recent Judiciary Committee hearing, Raskin made clear that every member of Congress accessing these files is being tracked.
This is Nixon-era stuff, except Nixon didn’t have the technological capabilities that Trump’s Justice Department now wields. The separation of powers isn’t just some dusty constitutional principle. It’s the firewall that prevents authoritarian takeover. And that firewall is being systematically dismantled.
CBS Producer Fires Parting Shot at Bari Weiss in Farewell Message
Meanwhile, the corporate capture of an American journalism staple is playing out in real time, in front of our eyes. CBS News producer Alicia Hastey penned a devastating farewell letter after taking a buyout from the network, and her words should be required reading for anyone who still trusts the evening news.
Hastey described how CBS’ new ownership, who installed right-wing provocateur Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief, is now evaluating stories not on journalistic merit, but on whether they conform to ideological expectations designed to appease a MAGA audience.
Hastey’s letter was both heartbreaking and illuminating. She recounted powerful stories the network covered under her tenure that make up the fabric of American life. But according to Hastey, telling those stories has become increasingly impossible as pressure mounts on producers and reporters to self-censor or avoid narratives that might trigger backlash from the far right. She invoked Walter Cronkite’s response to critics who called him liberal: if adhering to fairness, accuracy, and unbiased reporting makes journalists liberal, so be it. Cronkite understood that standards matter more than labels. But standards require vigilance and courage, and both are in short supply when right-wing billionaires remake newsrooms to serve their own corrupt agenda.
This isn’t just about CBS. It’s about the broader transformation of American media into craven propaganda. When journalism becomes afraid of facts because those facts might upset powerful interests, democracy itself is in great peril.
This is why we’re committed to bringing you honest and bold journalism at Raw America. Our mission is to give you the truth corporate media outlets are too afraid to report. But we can only do that with your support. Take a moment to share this video, subscribe to Raw America, and become a paying member.
Johnson Begs Republicans Headed for the Exits to Delay Retirement
Over in the House of Representatives, Speaker Mike Johnson is facing yet another crisis in his razor-thin majority. Johnson has publicly asked retiring Florida Representative Neal Dunn to serve out his term amid concerns that Dunn might resign early. Currently, Republicans can afford to lose no more than one vote. But according to senior House Republicans speaking anonymously, Dunn, who is 72, intends to step down in the coming months despite efforts to convince him otherwise.
When pressed by reporters, Johnson tried to put the best face on it, praising Dunn and encouraging him to stay, but Dunn himself refused to comment on his intentions. This matters because Johnson’s speakership has been defined by chaos and near-constant challenges to his authority. Every defection or resignation threatens his ability to pass Trump’s agenda, and the vultures are always circling. The House Republican caucus is held together by duct tape and fear, and that’s no way to govern.
Republicans Defy Trump in Striking Down His Tariffs
Finally, in a remarkable rebuke to Trump’s authoritarian instincts, the House voted 219 to 211 to pass a resolution ending Trump’s tariffs on Canada, with six Republicans breaking ranks and joining Democrats. They include Don Bacon of Nebraska, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Jeff Hurd of Colorado, Kevin Kiley of California, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, and Dan Newhouse of Washington. Their votes are particularly noteworthy, as Trump had threatened Republicans on his Truth Social account just hours before the vote, warning that anyone opposing his tariffs would “seriously suffer the consequences come Election time.” Trump asserted that his tariffs have given America great national security and economic security, and that Republicans would be wise to leave them in place.
The resolution now moves to the Senate, where it would need four Republican defections to pass with all 47 Democrats voting yes. Even if it somehow passes both chambers, Trump will almost certainly veto it. But the vote itself is significant. It shows that even in Trump’s Republican Party, some members still remember that Congress is supposed to be a co-equal branch of government, not a rubber stamp for presidential whims. Tariffs are taxes on American consumers and businesses. Trump can dress them up in nationalist rhetoric all he wants, but economics doesn’t care about his all-caps social media meltdowns. These representatives at least now recognized that representing their constituents matters more than avoiding Trump’s wrath.
That’s all for Raw America this Thursday morning. Share this video with someone who you think would benefit from it, and be sure to subscribe so we can continue getting real news directly to the people.
I’m Thom Hartmann. Stay vigilant, stay informed, and stay courageous. We’ll see you tomorrow. Have a great morning.
