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大多数国会先例源自国会山。
大多数总统先例出自宾夕法尼亚大道1600号（白宫）。
但近日，在纽约州白雪覆盖的查帕奎（Chappaqua）森林村庄中，一个可能在国会和白宫走廊回荡多年的先例悄然形成。
前总统比尔·克林顿正是在那里应传票出庭，接受众议院监督委员会的询问，这是该委员会对杰弗里·爱泼斯坦（Jeffrey Epstein）调查的一部分。议员们表示，该小组迫使前总统作证的能力可能会确立一个新的先例——这包括涉及特朗普总统和爱泼斯坦相关文件的事务。
据国会历史学家称，国会委员会从未传讯过前总统。前第一夫人、前国务卿希拉里·克林顿（Hillary Clinton）前一天作证，这已经十分罕见。共和党人指出，克林顿曾承认认识爱泼斯坦，并乘坐过包含他的航班。
“我不记得曾见过爱泼斯坦先生。我从未乘坐过他的飞机，也从未访问过他的岛屿、住宅或办公室。”希拉里·克林顿在闭门作证近6小时后表示。
众议院监督委员会主席詹姆斯·科默（James Comer，肯塔基州共和党人）表示，希拉里·克林顿在次日比尔·克林顿作证前的证词中，“超过十几次”说“你得去问我丈夫”。
克林顿夫妇与爱泼斯坦并无不当行为指控，但前总统与爱泼斯坦的过往联系引发了议员们的质疑。
[记者笔记：邦迪的“活页夹策略”将众议院听证会变成政治风暴]
“让位高权重的人参与这些证词录十分困难。”科默说，“我们花了七个月才让克林顿夫妇来到这里，但现在他们来了。”
“这里”指的是距离纽约市以北约一小时车程的查帕奎。自2001年克林顿总统卸任、2000年希拉里·克林顿竞选纽约州参议员以来，这对夫妇便居住于此。希拉里·克林顿2001年至2009年担任纽约州参议员，之后成为奥巴马总统的第一任国务卿。
具体而言，克林顿夫妇作证的“这里”并非雷伯恩众议院办公楼的普通办公室。众议院成员在查帕奎表演艺术中心（当地称为“ChappPAC”）对他们进行了询问，这是一座白色建筑，带有简洁的拱廊和山顶的希腊式立柱，位于Saw Mill河上方。
爱泼斯坦调查十分严肃，而这一不同寻常的地点凸显了此次程序的特殊性。
科罗拉多州共和党众议员劳伦·博伯特（Lauren Boebert）在证词录中似乎拍摄了希拉里·克林顿的照片，随后分享给保守派媒体。
“我很欣赏希拉里·克林顿的蓝色西装，所以想为大家记录下来。”博伯特在会场外表示。
“你为什么要发送这张照片？”记者问道。
“为什么不呢？”博伯特反驳道。
“我们正经历一场极其不严肃的‘小丑表演’式证词录，国会议员和共和党人更关心与希拉里国务卿的合影，而非探寻真相或追究责任。”亚利桑那州民主党众议员亚萨明·安萨里（Yassamin Ansari）指控道。
[比尔·克林顿称在爱泼斯坦闭门证词中不认识著名水疗浴缸照片中的女性]
结束作证后，希拉里·克林顿告诉记者，她觉得证词录的结尾“很不寻常，因为我开始被问及不明飞行物（UFO），以及一系列关于披萨门（Pizzagate）的问题——这是网络上传播的最恶劣、最虚假的阴谋论之一。”
这一阴谋论源于2016年总统竞选期间，虚假声称民主党人在华盛顿的Comet Ping Pong披萨店经营儿童性交易团伙。一名北卡罗来纳州男子随后驱车前往华盛顿特区，在餐厅内开枪，称自己是去“营救儿童”。
北卡罗来纳州共和党众议员南希·梅斯（Nancy Mace）断言，希拉里·克林顿在证词录中对议员们“尖叫”。
“她精神失常了。”梅斯说，“我希望克林顿总统今天比他妻子昨天的状态更理智。”
佛罗里达州共和党众议员安娜·保利娜·卢娜（Anna Paulina Luna）在克林顿前总统证词录开始约90分钟后从查帕奎表演艺术中心走出，推测爱泼斯坦及其性交易行动背后可能存在的情况。卢娜表示，她仅代表自己发言，而非委员会其他成员。
“即使在过去24小时的询问中，也很明显爱泼斯坦在经营一个情报收集行动。”卢娜说，“我确实认为这是一个‘蜂蜜罐’行动。”
她补充说，可能有美国情报盟友参与其中，但未提供任何证据支持这一说法。
对克林顿夫妇的五项一致询问主题之一，是爱泼斯坦如何利用与权贵的联系掩盖罪行。这也是为何前总统克林顿和特朗普总统等人物出现在此前公布的爱泼斯坦相关文件中。
总统职位是一个独特的职位，即便是特朗普总统也对克林顿前总统接受监督委员会询问表示了某种同情。
“我不喜欢看到他被传讯，但他们对我的调查力度肯定比这大得多。”总统表示。
周五被追问时，特朗普总统称自己不了解爱泼斯坦文件。
“我对爱泼斯坦文件一无所知。我完全被无罪释放了。”特朗普总统说。
监督委员会共和党人被问及是否同意这一说法。
“根据我看到的所有证据，他早已被无罪释放。”科默回答。
“爱泼斯坦受害者已经为特朗普总统洗清了嫌疑。你们正在陷入一个误区——你们在深挖一条兔子洞。但爱泼斯坦的受害者们一次次证明他是无罪的。”梅斯说。
但民主党人质疑为何委员会寻求前总统克林顿而非特朗普总统的证词。
“有大量包含克林顿总统的电子邮件往来。”科默回应。
监督委员会民主党高级成员、加利福尼亚州共和党众议员罗伯特·加西亚（Robert Garcia）认为此举确立了更广泛的标准。
“现在有了一个先例。”加西亚说，“我们希望特朗普总统宣誓在监督委员会面前作证。我们希望我们知道与爱泼斯坦也有联系的第一夫人在监督委员会面前宣誓作证。这就是共和党人在这里想要树立的新先例。”
加西亚补充说，特朗普总统“并未被无罪释放，我们对他有严重的疑问。”
弗吉尼亚州民主党众议员苏哈斯·苏布拉马尼亚姆（Suhas Subramanyam）表示，委员会“找错了总统”。
目前尚不清楚该小组是否会要求特朗普总统作证。民主党人表示，如果他们在秋季中期选举中控制众议院，可能会考虑这样做。
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分权制衡是美国宪法体系的关键组成部分。历史上只有少数总统曾在国会作证——此前从未有前总统被传讯过。
美国历史上有一些小社区承担了巨大的政治意义。议员和法律观察人士表示，如果总统在国会作证变得更加普遍，查帕奎现在可能会加入这个名单。
布拉德福德·贝茨（Bradford Betz）是福克斯新闻数字版突发新闻记者，报道犯罪、政治问题等。
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Most congressional precedents emanate from Capitol Hill.
Most presidential precedents emerge from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
But a precedent which may echo around the halls of Congress and the White House for years materialized in recent days in the snow-covered, wooded village of Chappaqua, New York.
That’s where former President Bill Clinton testified under subpoena to the House Oversight Committee as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Lawmakers said the panel’s ability to compel testimony from a former president could establish a new precedent going forward — including in matters involving President Trump and the Epstein files.
According to congressional historians, never before has a congressional committee deposed a former president. It was rare enough to have former First Lady and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testify the day before. Republicans noted that former President Clinton had previously acknowledged knowing Epstein and traveling on trips that included him.
“I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices,” said Hillary Clinton after nearly six hours of closed-door testimony before the panel.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said Hillary Clinton declared “‘You’ll have to ask my husband,’” more than “a dozen” times during her deposition ahead of Bill Clinton’s the following day.
There are no accusations of wrongdoing against either of the Clintons in connection with Epstein. But the former president’s past ties to Jeffrey Epstein have spurred questions from lawmakers.
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“It’s very difficult to get people in for these depositions of great power and great wealth,” said Comer. “It took seven months, seven months to get the Clintons in here. But we’ve got them in here.”
“Here” was Chappaqua, about an hour north of New York City. The Clintons have resided in Chappaqua since President Clinton left office in 2001 and when Hillary Clinton ran for Senate from New York in 2000. Hillary Clinton served as a senator from New York from 2001 until 2009, when she became President Obama’s first Secretary of State.
More specifically, the “here” for the Clintons’ testimony was not a bland office in the Rayburn House Office Building. House members questioned the Clintons at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center, known locally as “ChappPAC,” a white structure with simple arcades and Greek columns atop a hillside above the Saw Mill River.
The Epstein inquiry is serious, and the unusual venue underscored the extraordinary nature of the proceeding.
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., appeared to snap a photo of Hillary Clinton during the deposition, then shared it with conservative media outlets.
“I admire (Hillary Clinton’s) blue suit. So I wanted to capture that for everyone,” said Boebert outside the venue.
“Why did you send the picture?” asked a reporter.
“Why not?” retorted Boebert.
“We are sitting through an incredibly unserious, clown show of a deposition, where Members of Congress and the Republican Party are more concerned about getting their photo op of Secretary Clinton than actually getting to the truth and actually holding anyone accountable,” charged Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz.
[BILL CLINTON SAYS HE DIDN’T KNOW WOMAN IN INFAMOUS JACUZZI PHOTO DURING CLOSED-DOOR EPSTEIN TESTIMONY]
After concluding her testimony, Hillary Clinton told reporters she found the “end” of the deposition to be “quite unusual because I started being asked about UFOs and a series of questions about Pizzagate, one of the most vile, bogus conspiracy theories that was propagated on the internet.”
That is a reference to a conspiracy theory that emerged during the 2016 presidential campaign between Hillary Clinton and President Trump. Proponents falsely claimed Democrats operated a child sex trafficking ring out of the Comet Ping Pong pizza shop in Washington. A North Carolina man later drove to Washington, D.C., and fired shots inside the restaurant, telling authorities he was there to rescue children.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-N.C., asserted that Hillary Clinton was “screaming” at lawmakers during the deposition.
“She was unhinged,” said Mace. “And I hope that President Clinton is less unhinged today than his wife was yesterday.”
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., emerged from the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center about 90 minutes into former President Clinton’s deposition to speculate about what may have been behind Epstein and his sex trafficking operation. Luna noted she was speaking only for herself and not other members of the committee.
“It has become very evident even in the last 24 hours in lines of questioning that Jeffrey Epstein was running an intelligence gathering operation,” said Luna. “I do believe it was a honey pot operation.”
Luna added that it was possible a U.S. intelligence ally was involved, though she provided no evidence for the claim.
One of the five agreed-upon areas of questioning for the Clintons was how Epstein used his connections with powerful figures to hide his crimes. That is why individuals such as former President Clinton and President Trump have surfaced in previously released Epstein-related documents.
The presidency is a unique office, and even President Trump expressed some sympathy for Bill Clinton’s appearance before the Oversight Committee.
“I don’t like seeing him deposed. But they certainly went after me a lot more than that,” said the president.
When pressed on Friday, President Trump said he was unfamiliar with the Epstein files.
“I don’t know anything about the Epstein files. I’ve been totally exonerated,” said President Trump.
Oversight Committee Republicans were asked whether they agreed with that claim.
“From all the evidence I’ve seen he’s been exonerated for a long time,” replied Comer.
“The Epstein victims have exonerated President Trump. This is a trope that you guys are — a rabbit hole you guys are going down. But he’s been exonerated over and over again by Epstein victims,” said Mace.
But Democrats questioned why the committee sought testimony from former President Clinton and not President Trump.
“There is a lot of email correspondence that included President Clinton,” said Comer.
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the Oversight panel, argued the move set a broader standard.
“There’s a precedent now,” said Garcia. “We now want President Trump to come in and to testify under oath in front of the Oversight Committee. We want the First Lady, who we know had a relationship as well with Jeffrey Epstein, to come under oath and testify to the Oversight Committee. That is the new precedent that Republicans wanted to set here.”
Garcia added that President Trump “has not been exonerated, and we have serious questions for President Trump.”
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., argued that the committee spoke “to the wrong president.”
It is unclear whether the panel will seek testimony from President Trump. Democrats have indicated they would consider doing so if they gain control of the House in the fall midterm elections.
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Separation of powers is a key component of America’s constitutional system. Only a handful of presidents have ever testified before Congress — and none had previously been deposed as a former president.
The nation’s history includes small communities that have taken on outsized political significance. Lawmakers and legal observers say Chappaqua could now join that list if presidential testimony before Congress becomes more common.
Bradford Betz is a Fox News Digital breaking reporter covering crime, political issues, and much more.
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