At 9:27 in the Oval Office, Donald Trump stood beside a gold bell and turned what should have been a staged presidential moment into another glimpse of how casually he wields the power of the presidency. When asked about cryptocurrency, he said something very disturbing. “Every time I see a crypto guy where they dropped an investigation,” he said, “I tell them, ‘You’re lucky I’m president.’” It was a stunning admission from a president tied to an industry that has made him more than a billion dollars.
On the same day, Wired reported that ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility has opened more than 100 cases involving Americans accused by ICE officials of doxing or threatening ICE employees. That office was created to investigate misconduct inside ICE, including corruption, abuse of authority, excessive force, and civil rights violations by the agency’s own officers. Now it is being aimed outward at civilians. FIRE has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of David Streever, a 45-year-old from Rochester, New York, who sent an angry email to then-acting ICE Director Todd Lyons after federal agents shot and killed two American citizens in Minneapolis. Five months later, Homeland Security Investigations agents appeared at Streever’s home, handed his wife an official warning notice, and later left a notice at the hotel where he was staying. In Syracuse, agents approached Paigelynne Gonyea over an Instagram post while she was working at a polling place. These are not abstract warnings about what government intimidation could become. These are documented examples of federal power being used to make speech feel dangerous.
The First Amendment was placed first because the founders understood that every other liberty becomes negotiable when citizens are afraid to criticize those who govern them. Authoritarian movements do not always begin with mass arrests or shuttered newsrooms. They often begin by making examples of a few people and waiting to see whether fear spreads faster than outrage. That is why the response cannot be silence. It has to be peaceful, public, collective speech. That is how courage spreads. They can intimidate one person. They can intimidate a hundred. They cannot intimidate an entire country that refuses to surrender its voice.
See the full story in the video.
We are living through a pivotal moment for our country, and my goal is to reach as many people as possible with clear, factual information about what is happening. The more people who understand what is unfolding, the better our chances of pushing back against chaos, cruelty, and corruption ahead of the midterms.
Thank you for your continued support. Your paid subscriptions have enabled me to add a video editor and reach more people.
Independent journalism is under attack. You can make a difference with a $5/month paid subscription. Your support allows me to keep telling the truth about the lies and destruction unfolding in our country, defend myself from constant pressure from MAGA extremists, and ultimately spread the message to more people.
I’m fighting to save our country (before it’s too late).
I’ll see you tomorrow,
Heather
This video is based on my written post, available HERE, and based on the events of 7-6-2026.
*This commentary represents my personal opinions and analysis of matters of public concern, informed by publicly available information. Any references to individuals constitute opinion and commentary protected under the First Amendment.
Sources:
President Trump Participates in the Launch of Trump Accounts: YouTube Video
https://www.wired.com/story/ices-internal-watchdog-is-now-investigating-online-critics/
https://www.npr.org/2026/07/06/nx-s1-5883784/dhs-ice-critic-lawsuit-free-speech
https://www.npr.org/2026/07/01/nx-s1-5874124/dhs-tracks-ice-critic
https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/06/politics/dhs-lawsuit-ice-threats-free-speech
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/07/06/he-wrote-scathing-message-ice-federal-agents-showed-up-his-door/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2026/01/27/ice-border-patrol-shootings-immigration-trump/
https://www.fire.org/news/ice-lawsuit-rochester-criticism-dhs
https://www.fire.org/research-learn/complaint-streever-v-mullin-et-al
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/ice-wants-go-after-dissenters-well-immigrants
https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/trump-brags-about-dropping-investigations-into-crypto-corruption-youre-lucky-im-president/
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/06/trump-opening-bell-ceo-nyse-nasdaq-stocks-accounts.html
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/financial-disclosure-1-billion-cryptocurrency-earnings-meme-coins-rcna352497
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/01/trump-money-financial-disclosure-crypto-billions.html
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/alex-pretti-fatally-shot-federal-officers-minneapolis-identified-paren-rcna255758
https://www.levernews.com/the-watchdog-designed-to-keep-ice-in-check-is-being-quietly-erased/
