2026年10月6日 美国东部时间下午1:09 / 福克斯新闻频道
众议院司法委员会民主党前首席顾问朱利安·爱泼斯坦表示，相关负责人需要“拿出无可辩驳的合理解释”
作者：查尔斯·克赖茨，福克斯新闻
参议院司法委员会共和党议员、爱荷华州参议员查尔斯·格拉斯利在周二的听证会上披露，从特朗普首届白宫手机中获取的记录中，包含政府官员与福克斯新闻、CNN、CBS、NBC、路透社等主流媒体记者的通讯内容。
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拜登执政时期的FBI追踪特朗普家族行踪以及高级助手苏西·怀尔斯的手机通话记录的消息曝光后，遭到了一名前民主党高级官员的严厉抨击，该官员将这种行为比作水门事件中暴露的尼克松时期联邦权力滥用行为。
这项代号为“等离子回声”的FBI调查后来由特别检察官杰克·史密斯接手，调查内容包括特朗普被指控不当留存机密和国防材料以及可能存在的妨碍司法行为。记录显示，在规划2022年海湖庄园搜查行动期间，特工追踪了第一夫人梅拉尼娅·特朗普和巴伦·特朗普的行踪，随后又调取了现已担任白宫办公厅主任的苏西·怀尔斯与律师、记者及其他人通话的元数据。
众议院司法委员会民主党核心小组前首席顾问朱利安·爱泼斯坦将这一情况与导致理查德·尼克松总统倒台的丑闻相提并论。
杰克·史密斯的调查波及福克斯新闻及其他媒体与政府消息人士的通讯
“很难想象对此有什么合理的辩解。在我看来，这有点尼克松式的作风，”爱泼斯坦说道，他还曾担任另一个强势委员会——众议院监督委员会民主党人的幕僚长。
“如果这份报告属实，那情况就相当糟糕了。如果属实，当时的负责人必须就监视家庭成员和顾问与律师私下沟通或通过新闻媒体行使言论自由权利的行为，给出无可辩驳的合理解释，”他说。
作为加州共和党人的尼克松曾由白宫高级助手查尔斯·科尔森牵头制定一份“敌人名单”，后来由白宫法律顾问约翰·迪安正式化。如今直言不讳批评特朗普等共和党人的迪安曾在1971年的一份备忘录中称，该名单旨在“动用现有的联邦机器打压我们的政治对手”。
爱泼斯坦质疑调查人员监视相关通讯，尤其是涉及律师和记者的通讯的法律依据。
“这看起来有些牵强，”他说。
爱泼斯坦似乎是周二为数不多公开批评新披露的调查手段的知名民主党人之一，这些手段包括追踪梅拉尼娅和巴伦·特朗普的行踪，以及收集怀尔斯的通话元数据。
秘密调取通话记录引发共和党议员提起个人诉讼
福克斯新闻数字频道联系了康涅狄格州民主党参议员理查德·布卢门撒尔，就在几个月前，他也曾打破党内沉默，对史密斯调查此前披露的信息提出异议。
布卢门撒尔在7月告诉福克斯新闻数字频道，共和党人对部分议员的通讯在未通知本人的情况下被 subpoena（传票传唤）感到不满是合理的。
“我认为我们需要了解更多事实。展开调查。共和党人对可能存在的规范破坏和不当获取电子邮件的担忧是合理的，”布卢门撒尔当时说道。
在7月14日的另一项披露中，由共和党主导的参议院司法委员会公布的记录显示，史密斯针对2020年大选的调查获取并查看了特朗普白宫官员与44名现任及前任国会议员之间的短信往来，其中包括共和党人和民主党人。
曾在特朗普政府时期担任代理助理司法部长、后来出任爱达荷州副检察长的西奥·沃尔德表示，新披露的涉及梅拉尼娅、巴伦和怀尔斯的调查结果，印证了长期以来警告所谓“深层国家”存在的共和党人的观点。
“但现在我们知道，司法部、FBI以及更广泛的情报社区将目标对准了天主教徒、在家上学的家庭、反堕胎祈祷者，甚至是当时领先的共和党总统候选人及其家人，”沃尔德说。
“深层国家确实存在。他们为了政治利益滥用职权。他们动用政府权力对付无辜的美国人，以协调他们对反对党政治人物和异见运动的攻击。”
白宫也谴责了新披露的监视特朗普家族行踪和收集怀尔斯通话元数据的行为。
“杰克·史密斯的监视行动是对政府权力的可耻滥用。监视政治对手就是将执法工具武器化，简单明了，”白宫发言人劳伦·比斯告诉福克斯新闻数字频道。“相关责任人必须被追究责任。”
文件显示，在2023年3月的某一天，调查人员记录了怀尔斯打出和接听的39通电话的元数据。
这些通话包括与多位竞选联系人、一名律师以及与梅拉尼娅·特朗普相关的分机号码的通话，均被纳入怀尔斯的通话元数据记录中。
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前共和党全国委员会官员伊丽莎白·皮普科强调，怀尔斯本应成为批评者效仿的榜样，而不是成为监视的对象。
“她执掌了一场具有历史意义的胜利总统竞选，成为首位担任白宫办公厅主任的女性。她的故事本应激励年轻女性。但相反，特朗普总统的对手的仇恨向年轻人传递了这样一个信息：如果你为‘错误’的候选人工作，你和你身边的人都可能成为目标，”皮普科告诉福克斯新闻数字频道。
这些披露是在爱荷华州共和党参议员查尔斯·格拉斯利独家告诉福克斯新闻数字频道之后出现的，格拉斯利表示，史密斯的调查还截获了与数十名记者的通讯，其中包括一些来自福克斯新闻的记者。
福克斯新闻数字频道已联系史密斯的律师置评。
本文作者在宾夕法尼亚州阿伦顿出生并长大，自2013年起在福克斯新闻纽约和华盛顿分社工作。
Biden-era FBI’s ‘Nixonian’ Trump family surveillance draws scrutiny from unlikely corner
October 6, 2026 1:09pm EDT / Fox News
Julian Epstein, ex-chief counsel for House Judiciary Democrats, says those in charge need ‘darn good explanations’
By Charles Creitz, Fox News
Records obtained from first-Trump White House phones included communications between government officials and journalists from Fox News, CNN, CBS, NBC, Reuters and other major outlets, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, revealed during Tuesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
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Revelations that the Biden-era FBI tracked Trump family travel and top aide Susie Wiles’ phone records received a blistering rebuke from a former top Democratic official who compared the behavior to Nixon-era abuses of federal power that surfaced amid the Watergate scandal.
The FBI investigation codenamed “Plasmic Echo,” later taken over by special counsel Jack Smith, examined Trump’s alleged improper retention of classified and national-defense material and possible obstruction. Records show agents tracked first lady Melania Trump’s and Barron Trump’s travel while planning the 2022 Mar-a-Lago search and later logged metadata from now-Chief of Staff Susie Wiles’ calls with attorneys, journalists and others.
Julian Epstein, the former chief counsel for the House Judiciary Committee’s Democratic bench, compared the situation to the scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon.
JACK SMITH’S PROBE SWEPT UP FOX NEWS, OTHER MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS WITH GOVERNMENT SOURCES
“It’s hard to think of good justifications for this. To me, it feels a little Nixonian,” said Epstein, who also served as staff director to Democrats on a second powerful panel, the House Oversight Committee.
“If this report is true, then it’s pretty bad. If true, then those in charge at the time better have some darn good explanations for surveillance of family members and advisors talking privately to lawyers or exercising their free-speech rights with the news media,” he said.
Nixon, a California Republican, maintained an “Enemies List” developed by White House aides around top adviser Charles Colson and later formalized by White House counsel John Dean. Dean – now a vocal critic of Republicans like Trump – once described it in a 1971 memo as intended to “use the available federal machinery to screw our political enemies.”
Epstein questioned what legal justification investigators had for monitoring the contacts, particularly those involving lawyers and journalists.
VETERAN DEM BREAKS PARTY LINE AS JACK SMITH SPYING SCANDAL GRIPS CAPITOL HILL
President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Barron Trump, son of US President Donald Trump, Viktor Knav, father of US First Lady Melania Trump on inauguration day 2025.(Getty Images)
“[That] seems like a stretch,” he said.
Epstein appeared to be among the few prominent Democrats publicly criticizing the newly disclosed investigative tactics Tuesday, including the tracking of Melania and Barron Trump’s travel and the collection of Wiles’ call metadata.
SECRET PHONE-RECORD SEIZURE SPARKS PERSONAL LAWSUIT FROM GOP SENATOR
Fox News Digital reached out to Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat who just months ago similarly broke party-silence to object to prior revelations from Smith’s probe.
Blumenthal told Fox News Digital in July that Republicans were right to be upset that some of their communications were subpoenaed without their notice.
“I think we need to have more facts. Look into it. Republicans are rightly concerned about the possible breach of norms and improper access to email,” Blumenthal said at the time.
In a separate disclosure on July 14, the GOP-led Senate Judiciary Committee released records showing that Smith’s 2020-election investigation obtained and reviewed text messages exchanged between Trump White House officials and 44 current and former members of Congress, including Republicans and Democrats.
Theo Wold, a former acting assistant U.S. attorney general under Trump who later served as Idaho’s solicitor general, said the new disclosures involving Melania, Barron and Wiles vindicate Republicans who have long warned of a so-called “Deep State.”
“But now we know that DOJ, the FBI, and the wider intelligence community have targeted Catholics, homeschool families, pro-life prayer warriors, and even the then-leading Republican Presidential candidate and his family,” Wold said.
“The Deep State is real. They have abused their authority for political gain. They have wielded government power against innocent Americans to coordinate their attack on opposition political figures and dissident movements.”
The White House also condemned the newly disclosed tracking of Trump family travel and collection of Wiles’ call metadata.
“Jack Smith’s surveillance operation was a disgraceful abuse of government power. Spying on political opponents is weaponization of law enforcement, plain and simple,” White House spokesperson Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital. “Those responsible must be held accountable.”
On one day in March 2023, documents showed investigators logged metadata for 39 calls made or received by Wiles.
Calls to and from multiple campaign contacts, a lawyer and an extension associated with Melania Trump were among those logged in Wiles’ phone metadata.
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Former RNC official Elizabeth Pipko highlighted Wiles as someone that critics should be emulating, not celebrating the surveillance of.
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“She managed a historic and victorious presidential campaign and became the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff. Her story should inspire young women. Instead, hatred from President Trump’s opponents teaches young people that if you work for the ‘wrong’ candidate, you and those around you can become targets,” Pipko told Fox News Digital.
The revelations come after Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, told Fox News Digital exclusively that Smith’s probe had also captured communications with dozens of journalists, including some from Fox News.
Fox News Digital reached out to counsel for Smith for comment.
Born and raised in Allentown, Pennsylvania, worked in both the New York and Washington bureaus for Fox News since 2013.
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