The Impeachment Trial of Clinton: A Constitutional Crossroads

As President Trump’s impeachment trial resumes this afternoon, we look back two decades to a time when Google was in its infancy, Y2K was stoking anxiety and partisanship in Congress was not quite so entrenched. That year, 1999, was the last time the Senate considered whether a president had committed high crimes and misdemeanors. So what has changed since the Senate trial of President Bill Clinton, and why is this impeachment such a different story?

Guest: Peter Baker, chief White House correspondent for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Background reading:

• Four journalists at The Times tell their stories of covering the last impeachment trial.
• Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican majority leader, announced rules to try to implement a speedy trial. Here’s how the framework differs from the Clinton precedent.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.