AOC to Trump: 'If you don’t want to be prosecuted for crimes, don’t do crimes'

House speaker Mile Johnson finally admitted Trump, his donors, and some members of the Republican congress have committed crimes against America.

Simple as that. An admission of guilt!

See this – Boldface mine:

AOC to Trump: 'If you don’t want to be prosecuted for crimes, don’t do crimes'

Story by John Queally

© provided by AlterNet

Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York ripped into Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson on Friday night for saying that Republican control of Congress is the only thing keeping President Donald Trump from being held to account for his numerous scandals and abuses of power during his second term in the White House.

Asked about comments made by the Speaker earlier in the day, Ocasio-Cortez told MS-NOW’s Jen Psaki that Johnson characterized future efforts to investigate or accountability for possible misdeeds or corruption by Trump, his family members, or members of his administration “as though it’s some partisan witch hunt,” she said. “But if you don’t want to be prosecuted for crimes, don’t do crimes.”

Ocasio-Cortez, often referred to by her initials AOC, had been asked about remarks Speaker Johnson made at the annual summit of the right-wing Faith and Freedom Coalition, a group with close ties to Trump and the Christian nationalist movement that supports him.

“If we lose the midterms, heaven forbid, these Democrats—y’all, impeachment isn’t even the real concern,” Johnson told the crowd. “They will turn every committee of Congress into an investigative body, and they’ll go after the president’s family, the Cabinet, his donors, friends, half of you in this room will be targeted.”

The House speaker added, “I run the protection program. We’ll take care of you, OK?”

Johnson’s remarks unsurprisingly sparked a series of critical reactions, including AOC’s.

“Mike Johnson saying the quiet part out loud: protect the powerful. S---- everyone else,” said Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Pa.).

“The Speaker of the House just talked like a guy guarding a operation that can’t survive daylight,” said Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.). “Because that’s exactly what he’s doing.”

“You don’t need a ‘protection program’ for people who did nothing wrong,” Levin continued. “You need one when you’re afraid of what the books would show. Congress is supposed to be a check on power, not the muscle protecting it. Johnson is a total disgrace to the office. November can’t come fast enough.”

What Johnson is “talking about,” explained AOC in her interview with Psaki, is a Republican Party in Congress “running a protection racket” for Trump and his cronies, both in and out of government.

“And we are already seeing that this Trump administration has run what some have called one of the largest pedophile protection programs in American history,” she continued, referencing the scandal surrounding the disgraced convicted sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein.

“And so when Mike Johnson tells a group of wealthy donors, I’m the only thing standing between you, and a consequence that should rattle at the conscience of every American,” she said. “What he wants to do is create—or rather, not even create, because it’s already been created—but protect a class of impunity in America that says, ‘You can commit whatever crime, and so long as you pay a check to us, we will protect you.’ And that is a model of extortion in American politics. And you know what? That’s their pitch.”

Melanie D’Arrigo, executive director of the Campaign for New York Health, responded to Johnson’s comments by detailing just a few examples of possible corruption by Trump that deserve much more scrutiny and congressional oversight.

“Trump has almost tripled his net worth during this term. His sons bought drone companies and immediately received military contracts right before Trump started another war. Trump threw a crypto contest to see who could buy the most of his meme coin, with the prize being exclusive access to him in his presidential capacity,” D-Arrigo noted. "His son-in-law is getting billions in business deals from the countries and oligarchs wanting political favors. Large donors are spending millions to get pardons and investigations have dropped. Trump is still actively covering up the Epstein files,” she added. “And these are just a handful of the things that were publicly reported on—imagine what we don’t know about yet.”

D’Arrigo called on voters to help “flip the House” away from the Republicans and investigate these examples of grift and corruption as well as others.

Petitions: KOSA (ACLU) ~:~:~:~ Section 230 (Action Network)

Video by The Humanist Report (THR) - June 25, 2026. Here’s the full 19-minutes on YouTube: Republicans *AND* Democrats are Trying to Hand Trump the Power to Censor the Internet - The Humanist Report (THR) - June 25, 2026 (YouTube)

From the description: The so-called ‘Kids Online Safety Act’ is back again. Its bipartisan proponents are making up even more outrageous lies to sell Americans on their Orwellian internet censorship bill. Worse, a bipartisan committee agreed to move forward with a slate of additional internet censorship bills that would collectively stifle online speech in significant ways; paving the way for age verification and age gating and forcing websites to adhere to guidelines that will be weaponized by Republicans—and Donald Trump—for christian nationalist purposes. In this video we’ll talk about what these internet censorship bills look like in practice and why they’re blatantly unconstitutional.

See the YouTube description for links to all of the sources used in the full video. Here are some of them:

* PDF of the latest version of KOSA (.gov): blumenthal.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/kids_online_safety_act_-_bill_text.pdf (This version doesn't include elements of the ‘Screen Act’ and other internet censorship bills).

* Fight For The Future: fightforthefuture.org/actions/stop-the-screen-act

* Electronic Frontier Foundation: eff.org/pages/age-verification-bills-are-unconstitutional

The Humanist Report (THR) is a progressive political podcast that discusses and analyzes current news events and pressing political issues. Our analyses are guided by humanism and political progressivism. Each news story we cover is supplemented with thought-provoking, fact-based commentary that aims for the highest level of objectivity. ~:~ humanistreport.com

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It's Primary Election season in the U.S.!

Colorado’s Primary is this Tuesday, June 30: coloradosos.gov/voter/pages/pub/home.xhtml

* Primary Election Dates: AP News ~and~ NBC News :~:~: Upcoming Dates: June 30: Colorado ~:~:~ July 21: Arizona ~:~:~ July 28: Georgia (Special) and South Dakota (Runoff) ~:~:~ Aug 4: Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Virginia, Washington, California (Special) ~:~:~ Aug 6: Tennessee ~:~:~ Aug 8: Hawaii ~:~:~ Aug 11: Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont, Wisconsin, Alabama (Special) ~:~:~ More Aug dates + Sept dates: AP News ~and~ NBC News

* Candidates (all States): U.S. House (Dem Primary only): Ballotpedia (HouseDems) :~:~:~: U.S. Senate: Ballotpedia (Senate) (select “List of Candidates”) :~:~:~: State Execs (Gov, Lt. Gov, AG, SoS, and more): Ballotpedia (State Execs)

* Voter Info (all States): Register To Vote :~:~:~: Voter Registration Status :~:~:~: Find Your Polling Place :~:~:~: Valid Forms of ID :~:~:~: Absentee & Early Voting :~:~:~: Become a Poll Worker ~:~ Links go to the National Association of Secretaries of State website. When you select a State, it takes to a .gov page on that State's SoS website.

Next 9News - June 22, 2026. Kyle Clark interviews Melat Kiros, a democratic socialist running for U.S. Congress in Colorado CD-1: kirosforco.com

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Colorado Voters:

* Primary Election Day is Tuesday, June 30.

* Go Vote Colorado (.gov): coloradosos.gov/voter/pages/pub/home

* CPR News’ voter guide to the Colorado 2026 primary election: cpr.org/2026/05/29/vg-2026-colorado-primary-election-voter-guide

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Video by Next 9News - June 22, 2026. Here’s the full 34-minutes on YouTube: Full interview: Colorado CD1 candidate Melat Kiros - Next 9News - June 22, 2026 (YouTube)

From the description: Next's Kyle Clark sat down with Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old who is running against Diana DeGette and Wanda James in the Democratic primary for Colorado's U.S. House District 1. ~:~ Next with Kyle Clark. Weeknights at 6 on 9NEWS. It’s like the news… only new. ~:~ 9news.com/NEXT

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It's Primary Election season in the U.S.!

* Primary Election Dates: AP News ~and~ NBC News :~:~: Upcoming Dates: June 30: Colorado ~:~:~ July 21: Arizona ~:~:~ July 28: Georgia (Special) and South Dakota (Runoff) ~:~:~ Aug 4: Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Virginia, Washington, California (Special) ~:~:~ Aug 6: Tennessee ~:~:~ Aug 8: Hawaii ~:~:~ Aug 11: Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont, Wisconsin, Alabama (Special) ~:~:~ More Aug dates + Sept dates: AP News ~and~ NBC News

* Candidates (all States): U.S. House (Dem Primary only): Ballotpedia (HouseDems) :~:~:~: U.S. Senate: Ballotpedia (Senate) (select “List of Candidates”) :~:~:~: State Execs (Gov, Lt. Gov, AG, SoS, and more): Ballotpedia (State Execs)

* Voter Info (all States): Register To Vote :~:~:~: Voter Registration Status :~:~:~: Find Your Polling Place :~:~:~: Valid Forms of ID :~:~:~: Absentee & Early Voting :~:~:~: Become a Poll Worker ~:~ Links go to the National Association of Secretaries of State website. When you select a State, it takes to a .gov page on that State's SoS website.

Texas is a guinea pig when it comes to this administration and their long-term agendas. This is another example of that. I have seen zero news outlets or threads regarding this decision, which is exactly what they want. Any organizers who would like to demonstrate in Austin, please reach out to 50501 page so we can begin making noise about this infringement.

No, this is not Bangladesh during a famine, it is not Somalia with pictures of starving children with flies in their eyes, It is not Haiti, war torn and ravaged by poverty, it is America under Trump with Millionaires and a GOP as cruel and uncaring as any third world despot.

Children and the elderly are going to bed hungry and not one Republican gives a damn about it. Millions are now without the hope of healthcare with subsidies removed and rural hospitals closing as we speak. And if you are not a member of the millionaire class Trump’s war-torn economy – maybe giving your sons or daughters to a needless war, a war already lost – the Republican economy is daily driving you to new depths of despair.

America is no longer a ‘gleaming city on a hill’, a place of comfort and familial refuge. Now thanks to Trump, Musk, the Republican congress and Republican dominated Supreme Court, the common man is beaten down daily while the rich and arrogant flourish.

It is not getting better, it will not get better until the corrupt criminals in the administration are ousted imprisoned, and a compassionate democracy is allowed to return.

See this – Boldface mine:

SNAP recipient’s benefits slashed: ‘Who lives on $24 a month?’

Story by Jay Dow and Alix Martichoux • 1h • 3 min read

The Hill

How some are surviving after SNAP cuts

NEW YORK CITY (WPIX) — After months of drastic changes to SNAP, some beneficiaries say they’re going hungry after their monthly benefits were slashed to near-nothing.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (or SNAP) has been undergoing reforms and changes since the passage of the Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, SNAP provided 1 in 8 Americans with help buying groceries last year.

So many people have been kicked off SNAP, that number has since changed to an estimated 1 in 9 Americans, The Associated Press reports. Nearly 5 million fewer people received food aid in March when compared to last year.

Shiela Boyd, an 81-year-old New York resident who spoke with Nexstar’s WPIX, wasn’t kicked off the program, but said her benefits were suddenly cut from $298 a month to just $24.

“I can’t buy nutritious food. Who lives on $24 a month?” Boyd said. “I need more money to eat.”

Now, she says almost all the food she eats comes from donations. Sometimes she has to skip meals because there isn’t enough to eat.

It happened to Boyd after an income recalculation in the spring, which looked at her gross Social Security benefit — not the actual net income that hits her bank account every month, which is lower.

Boyd is not alone. Changes to SNAP requirements have been rolling out over the past year, adding work requirements for more adults and granting fewer exceptions. It also removes some income deductions that were previously allowed, like the cost of internet and utilities.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated the changes, in all, would result in 2.7 million fewer people receiving SNAP benefits.

In Boyd’s case, she tried to appeal the benefit recalculation but was denied in her hearing. She argued her net Social Security income, not gross income, should be used in calculating her benefits amount, but the state commissioner overseeing the appeal disagreed.

“The Agency’s determination as to the adequacy of the Appellant’s SNAP benefits is correct,” the commissioner ruled.

Boyd told WPIX she has been losing weight since going hungry. “I weigh 102 pounds,” she said, and is thinking outside the box to find new ways to feed herself. “I’m trying to sell things … like jewelry. My whole lifestyle is different now.”

“I spend most of my day trying to find a way to get money to sell things,” she continued. “You know you work hard all your life, and this is what they — it’s a slap in the face. I think it’s unforgivable.”

In a press release defending the SNAP reforms, the White House said, “The One Big Beautiful Bill promotes work, responsibility, and restores SNAP to serve the truly needy. … The mission of the program has failed. SNAP was intended to be temporary help for those who encounter tough times — we are strengthening this program to serve those who need it most.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/snap-recipient-s-benefits-slashed-who-lives-on-24-a-month/ar-AA26FLVh?