Politics and views in the United States.

President Trump says Obama committed treason to skew the 2016 election results. House Speaker Mike Johnson grows frustrated with attempts to release Epstein files. And a new agreement lets the Department of Homeland Security access personal information from Centers for Medicaid and Medicare.

TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to 2025 Talks.

We're following our democracy in historic times.

They caught President Obama absolutely cold, Tulsi Gabbard.

What they did to this country starting in 2016 but going up all the way to 2020 in the election.

They tried to rig the election and they got caught and there should be very severe consequences for that.

President Donald Trump says former President Barack Obama committed treason and should be criminally charged for allegedly meddling in the 2016 election.

Deflecting questions about his ties to convicted child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, Trump cited information from Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, arguing Obama administration officials falsely accused Russia of election interference to sway voters, but two separate investigations found Russia did work to help elect Trump.

The Justice and Intelligence agencies have also released more files on civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server. say neither release contained anything of importance.

House GOP leadership is growing frustrated by members of the chamber trying to force the release of the Epstein files.

Congressman Thomas Massie has been leading a coalition of lawmakers to compel a vote on the issue, but House Speaker Mike Johnson says he's skeptical of the Kentucky Republican's motives.

Thomas Massie could have brought his discharge petition any time over the last four and a half years.

Over the last four years of Biden administration, he could have done that at any time.

And now he's clamoring as if there's some sort of timeline on it.

It's interesting to me that he chose the election of President Trump to bring this.

House Republicans blocked two votes on a Democratic bill forcing Justice to release the Epstein files last week.

Johnson announced the chamber will start its August recess early, avoiding another vote on the Epstein documents.

Meanwhile, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare formally agreed to share personal information with the Department of Homeland Security that will allow ICE to find and detain immigrants nationwide making some migrants anxious about going to the doctor.

Catherine Villegas is with Connecticut's Husky for Immigrants Coalition.

What we're primarily hearing is fear from folks. around like how safe it is to continue to see their healthcare providers, to continue to use the cover they have access to.

She says adults tell them they're especially concerned about how this will impact their children, including those who are citizens, since many are enrolled in Medicaid.

And healthcare providers say people foregoing medical care will mean working migrants will end up in the emergency room, have unpaid hospital bills, and incur family medical debt.

A similar pattern was already starting in other states even before the new information sharing agreement.

Immigrants rights groups say ICE officers were recently at a mobile health clinic near Los Angeles.

And Cecia Aquino with the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California says some of their clinic partners have seen a drop in visits because people are afraid to leave their homes.

She calls it a pandemic of fear.

We're all would much rather wait for something to be an acute emergency rather than prevent because they need to protect themselves and their families.

California lets migrants enroll in Medi-Cal no matter their legal status.

Under the Biden administration, promotores, navigators who speak Spanish, would specifically help people sign up and wouldn't share information with ICE, but the Trump administration reversed that policy.

I'm Edwin J. Veiera for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.