Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Historic photos show the differences between Nixon, Clinton, and Trump's impeachment hearings

begin quote from:

https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-impeachment-compared-to-nixon-clinton-photos-2019-11

Historic photos show the differences between Nixon, Clinton, and Trump's impeachment hearings

James Pasley

7 hours ago

Americans watch the impeachment inquiries for former presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton.

clinton nixon impeachment — Americans watch the impeachment inquiries for former presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton.

President Donald Trump's impeachment hearing went public on Wednesday, and it's a foreign landscape compared to the two presidents who went before him.
He's the fourth president to face impeachment proceedings, after Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, and Andrew Johnson. But Johnson's was hugely different since it took place in 1868.
Media coverage makes a big difference. For Nixon, since coverage was mostly in television and print, it was communal, and the nation gathered together to watch his hearings unfold on primetime TV.
For Clinton, television news was becoming more politicized, and the internet and talk radio were just beginning to flourish.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A president facing impeachment might be America's greatest drama.

President Donald Trump's impeachment hearing went public this week, and it's a foreign landscape compared to the two presidents who went before him.

It won't be the communal experience of a nation watching, like it was with former President Richard Nixon. But it's still going to hold the nation's attention.

In 1973, when the Watergate impeachment hearing was happening, America only had three television networks. It's estimated that 80% of Americans tuned in for at least part of the telecasts. Variety called it "the hottest daytime soap opera."

When former President Bill Clinton's impeachment proceedings were broadcast in 1998, television news had become politicized and diversified, and the internet was in its infancy. It was the first proper ratings competition for CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC.

For Trump, there'll be no singular television audience. Instead there'll be a direct channel to the president through his Twitter account. There'll be live-streaming, blog updates, and 24/7 news. It's going to be a spectacle.

These historic photos show what the last two impeachment proceedings looked like, and how they compare to Trump's.

In the summer of 1973, millions of Americans gathered in their living rooms to watch former President Richard Nixon's impeachment hearings on television at 8 p.m. ET for weeks on end.

Senator Daniel Inouye (R), a member of the Senate Watergate Committee, watched President Nixon deliver his speech Wednesday with family and friends.

Sources: Washington Post, Senate

Almost 25 years later, in 1998, America still watched former President Bill Clinton's impeachment hearings, but they did it from a variety of places. No more popcorn on the couch — people could work out while watching the latest developments.

A group of people exercise 07 January at the Manhattan Athletic Club in New York as they watch a live television broadcast of the impeachment trial of US President Bill Clinton. US Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist will preside over the trial — A group of people exercise 07 January at the Manhattan Athletic Club in New York as they watch a live television broadcast of the impeachment trial of US President Bill Clinton.

Source: Forbes

With Nixon, people become obsessed, watching the saga unfold day after day, seeing disclosures about the cover-up to get dirt on his political opponents come one after another that summer. They got to decide who was the villain and who was the hero.

Richard Milhous Nixon (1913 - 1994) 37th President of the USA who resigned in 1974 under threat of impeachment after the Watergate scandal.

Source: Washington Post

Clinton's impeachment proceedings were less about villains and heroes. The special counsel Ken Starr's probe into Clinton's real estate investments morphed into an investigation into his affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

monica lewinsky bill clinton — Official White House photo taken Nov. 17, 1995 from page 3179 of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's report on President Clinton, showing President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky at the White House.

Updates on Watergate came through the television, or in newspapers. Variety called the hearings the "hottest daytime soap opera." ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS televised the hearing. But while most networks rotated coverage to make space for soap operas and game shows, PBS televised all 250 hours.

In this May 18, 1973, file photo, the hearing of the Senate select committee on the Watergate case on Capitol Hill in Washington. In 1973, millions of Americans tuned in to what Variety called "the hottest daytime soap opera" _ the Senate Watergate hearings that eventually led to President Richard Nixon's resignation. — In this May 18, 1973, file photo, the hearing of the Senate select committee on the Watergate case on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Source: CBC

Since Fox News and MSNBC had only launched in 1996, Clinton's televised hearing became the first proper ratings competition between the three networks, including CNN, which launched in 1980. All three rose during the heights of the hearing, and all three networks' ratings dropped right after the trial.

Independent counsel Ken Starr (C) raising hand, swearing-in before House Judiciary Committee, testifying in impeachment inquiry against Pres. Clinton in Capitol Hill committee room panorama.

Source: Forbes

PBS anchor Robert MacNeil said the televised broadcast of Nixon's impeachment was a Shakespearean drama. "The forces hostile to the king are rising on all sides," he said, as "messenger after messenger rushes in with bad news."

Source: Washington Post

Clinton's impeachment, by contrast, was a strange time for the media and the public. Some felt queasy about having a national debate over the president's sex life.

In the Senate Press Gallery, members of the press take notes and watch Monica Lewinsky testify on television, February 6, 1999 in Washington D.C.

Source: The New York Times

But as the editor in chief of The American Spectator said, "If you have a tabloid president, you're going to be tabloid."

British newspaper headlines published in London Saturday, Sept.12 1998 reporting the the reaction to the Kenneth Starr report on grounds for impeachment of President Clinton.

Source: The New York Times

The key piece of evidence of Nixon's wrongdoing was secret White House tapes, edited transcripts of which are seen here. He refused to release them, only acquiescing after the Supreme Court ruled he had to turn them over to Congress.

President Richard Nixon, conceding that his refusal to surrender secret White House tapes had "heightened the mystery about Watergate" and caused suspicions about his own role, said Apr. 29 that he would send edited transcripts to the House Judiciary Committee. President Nixon is shown in his office after his nationwide television address. Folders containing the transcripts are in front of the presidential flag. 5/6/1974 — President Richard Nixon said that he would send edited transcripts of secret White House tapes to the House Judiciary Committee.

Clinton's inquiry was summarized by the reveal of Lewinsky's semen-stained dress. The dress destroyed his claim that he'd never had sexual relations with her.

A photograph showing the blue dress worn by former White House intern Monica Lewinsky stained during a sexual encounter with President Bill Clinton submitted as evidence in documents Ken Starr investigation and released by the House Judicary committee September 21, 1998. — A photograph showing the blue dress worn by former White House intern Monica Lewinsky stained during a sexual encounter with President Bill Clinton submitted as evidence in documents Ken Starr investigation and released by the House Judiciary committee September 21, 1998.

Source: The Washington Post

Dramatic testimonies were given about burglaries and lies, and Nixon struggled to communicate his own message to the public. In retrospect, some people thought Nixon was buried by the controversy because he talked about it so often.

Pres. Richard M. Nixon addresses a gathering at dedication ceremonies of the Cedars of Lebanon Health Care Center. In the background are protesters carrying signs asking for his impeachment and "Exorcise Nixon."

Sources: The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The New York Times

Clinton and his staff didn't make that same mistake. They tried to do their jobs and never talk about it. The New York Times reported that Clinton's chief of staff John D. Podesta told staff he'd break their necks if they talked about Lewinsky. In Clinton's 1998 State of the Union address, he didn't mention his scandals at all.

President Clinton delivers his state of the Union address just eight hours after his Senate impeachment trial defense began.

Source: The New York Times

Television and print journalists flocked to the spectacle around Nixon.

Congressman Peter Rodino (D-New Jersey), chair of the House Judicial Committee that oversaw the Richard Nixon impeachment hearings, surrounding by journalists, including Sam Donaldson (left of the congressman) in Washington DC, on April 25, 1974.

Sources: The Washington Post, Forbes

And it was the same for journalists covering Clinton.

Unidentified members of the press wait outside the Senate chamber as the impeachment trial of US President Bill Clinton begins 07 January on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Clinton's impeachment trial opened 07 January -- the first such proceeding in 131 years -- as senators weighed his ouster over lying about sex in the White House. ( — Unidentified members of the press wait outside the Senate chamber as the impeachment trial of US President Bill Clinton begins 07 January on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

Sources: Forbes, Politico, The Washington Post

Except his impeachment trial happened during the boom of the internet. For the first time, people could find salacious details about a president's love life online. And news was unfolding in real time there. The Drudge Report, an online news site, broke the story about the Lewinsky affair before Newsweek.

An unidentified reporter watches 06 February at his desk in the White House press room as the videotaped testimony of Monica Lewinsky is played in the US Senate during the impeachment trial of US President Bill Clinton.

Sources: Forbes, Politico, The Washington Post

The other big player was talk radio. In 1987, the FCC had abolished a rule requiring broadcasters to provide multiple perspectives on issues, allowing politically leaning radio personalities like Rush Limbaugh to rise to prominence. It changed the way news was delivered. Radio hosts like G. Gordon Liddy could joke crassly about Clinton sitting in the "Oral Office."

Rush Limbaugh in His Studio During His Radio Show.

Source: Forbes

There were similarities between the hearings themselves, too. Those working on Nixon's hearing weren't extraordinarily diverse back in 1973.

Special counsel John Doar of the House Judiciary Committee said the White House had submitted insufficient impeachment evidence and the committee should issue another subpoena for more. Her during press conference on the eve of Committee hearings into whether there are grounds to impeach President Nixon, are left to right: Albert Jenner, minority counsel; Rep. Edward Hutchinson (R-Mich.) Rep. Peter Rodino (D-N.J.), chairman; and Doar. — Special counsel John Doar of the House Judiciary Committee said the White House had submitted insufficient impeachment evidence and the committee should issue another subpoena for more.

They weren't much more diverse in 1999.

House managers Steve Buyer, R-Ind., Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, Bob Barr, R-Ga., Asa Hutchinson, R-Ark., and Henry Hyde, R-Ill., wait for the start of a news conference in the House Judiciary meeting room after the vote .

Lengthy petitions were hand delivered. This one, demanding Nixon's impeachment, was filled with 10,000 signatures and went for 80 yards.

Democratic United States Representative Ralph Metcalfe of Illinois (C) holding a petition from his district measuring over 80-yards and with more than 10,000 names on calling for the impeachment of President Richard M. Nixon, Washington, DC. Metcalfe, along with eight other men and women are holding the petition on the steps of the Capitol Building. — Democratic United States Representative Ralph Metcalfe of Illinois (C) holding a petition from his district measuring over 80-yards and with more than 10,000 names on calling for the impeachment of President Richard M. Nixon.

Here, a woman stacks boxes filled with letters and petitions urging Congress to stop impeaching Clinton and censure him instead.

An unidentified member of an organization called "Censure and Move On" stacks boxes of letters and petitions at the US Capitol 16 December that are addressed to every member of the US Congress urging them not to impeach, but to censure US President Bill Clinton. Earlier

Transcripts of Nixon's Watergate conversations were so bulky the men appear to be struggling to carry them.

Transcripts of edited versions of many of Pres. Nixon's Watergate conversations arrive on Capitol Hill 4/30 to be turned over to the House Judiciary Committee. The documents were not actually delivered to the committee offices. They went instead to the old Congressional Hotel, which has been taken over by teh committee staff for the impeachment inquiry. 4/30/1974 — Transcripts of edited versions of many of Pres. Nixon's Watergate conversations arrive on Capitol Hill 4/30 to be turned over to the House Judiciary Committee. The documents were not actually delivered to the committee offices.

Evidence for Clinton's hearing came in large boxes, just like with Nixon.

Surrounded by boxes of evidence against President Clinton, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., accompanied by committee member Rep. Mary Bono, R-Calif., gestures during a Capitol Hill news conference.

As Nixon's inquiry progressed on television, the public wanted him to be impeached more and more, politics professor Arthur Sanders told the Washington Post.

In this Aug. 3, 1973, file photo, the Senate Watergate Committee hearings continue on Capitol Hill in Washington. Testifying is Lt. Gen. Vernon Walters.

Source: The Washington Post

Nixon did have his supporters. This group prayed and fasted while the House Judiciary Committee continued its impeachment inquiry. But they weren't the majority.

Supporters of President Nixon pray as they continue their fast and vigil as the House Judiciary Committee continues its impeachment inquiry, in Washington, D.C., July 23, 1974.

In comparison, as Clinton's impeachment hearing progressed, he had most of America on his side.

Actor Jack Nicholson speaks at an anti-impeachment rally at the Federal Building in the Westwood section of Los Angeles, Wednesday, Dec. 16, 1998. Nearly 1,000 people attended the star-studded rally supporting President Clinton.

Source: Washington Post

Although he didn't have everyone. Here, protesters demanded his impeachment, with one sign reading, "Impeach Butthead."

Unidentified protestors demanding the impeachment of US President Bill Clinton conduct their noontime protest from the park benches in Lafayette Park across from the White House 07 December. Clinton's lawyers "will present a case that is robust" in up to 30 hours of hearings Tuesday and Wednesday before the House Judiciary committee on Capitol Hill. — Unidentified protesters demanding the impeachment of US President Bill Clinton conduct their noontime protest from the park benches in Lafayette Park across from the White House 07 December.

Source: The Washington Post

For Clinton, as the coverage of the trial continued, the nation's interest wavered. By the time the Senate voted on impeachment, more people were watching the NFL on CBS than the combined total of viewers watching the vote on all of the other networks.

Photographers take pictures of David E. Kendall and Charles C. Ruff, White House counsel, as they wait for the start of the hearing before the House Judiciary Committee regarding articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton. (

Source: Los Angeles Times

Nixon didn't lose attention in the same way. When he resigned to avoid being impeached, there were more than 60 million copies of weekday newspapers in circulation. Here tourists read a historic headline: "Nixon Resigning."

Newspaper headlines being read by tourists in front of the White House tell of history in the making. It is said to be imminent that President Nixon will become the first President of the country to resign.

Source: Forbes

When the Senate acquitted Clinton, it was also on every newspaper front page.

The Saturday, Feb. 13, 1999 editions of Newsday, Daily News, the New York Post and The New York Times feature the acquittal of President Clinton on their front pages.

On August 9, 1974, 110 million viewers tuned in to watch Nixon resign. At that time, it was the most-viewed show ever, except for the Apollo 11 moon landing. The population of the US that year was 214 million.

Richard Nixon (1913 - 1994) gives the thumbs up as he addresses the White House staff upon his resignation as 37th President of the United States, Washington, DC, 9th August 1974.

Sources: Los Angeles Times, US Census

After Clinton was acquitted, NBC's jumbotron in New York's Time Square declared the president was "Not Guilty."

The NBC jumbotron in Times Square displays the "Not Guilty" verdict on the Obstruction of Justice charges against US President Bill Clinton during his impeachment trial on Capitol Hill 12 February. The Senate failed to convict Clinton on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. — The NBC jumbotron in Times Square displays the "Not Guilty" verdict on the Obstruction of Justice charges against US President Bill Clinton during his impeachment trial on Capitol Hill 12 February.

People on the streets took a moment to let it sink in.

New Yorkers and tourists watch the NBC jumbotron in Times Square display the "Not Guilty" verdict on the obstruction of justice charges against US President Bill Clinton during his impeachment trial on Capitol Hill 12 February.

Now, it's Trump's turn. On Wednesday, the House of Representatives launched public hearings about whether he should be impeached. They're being televised, because the Democrats want to take control of the news cycle and garner as much support as they can get before formally impeaching him.

Sources: Reuters, BuzzFeed News

Differences are already noticeable. Journalists' notepads have been put aside for the recording functions of their phones.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., responds to reporters at the Capitol after he threatened to reveal the name of the Ukraine whistleblower who helped initiate the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump by providing details of Trump's call with the Ukrainian president, in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019.

But some are worried about the coverage. Journalists Michael Winship and Bill Moyers, who worked for PBS during Nixon's reign, called on PBS to broadcast the hearings, like they did with Nixon, in a full-page New York Times ad. However, a spokeswoman for PBS said "we live in a vastly different media universe than we did 45-plus years ago."

President of the Writers Guild Michael Winship, writer/producer Norman Lear, Journalist Bill Moyers and

Source: Washington Post

C-SPAN started in 1979, so it didn't exist during Nixon's impeachment hearings. It broadcast Clinton's, though, and is broadcasting Trump's.

Clinton Impeachment Roll Call Vote C SPAN — The Senate's roll call vote on former President Bill Clinton's impeachment on February 12, 1999.

Source: C-SPAN

Fox News' coverage could also change the public's perception. Since 2002 it's been America's most-watched cable network. And it's going to be providing two forms of coverage, one during the day of factual news, and one by night, from its opinion hosts like Tucker Carlson, which will likely spin things in Trump's favor.

Sources: Adweek, The Guardian

What happened to Nixon and Clinton is important for Trump's future. Sanders told the Washington Post that Democrats are hoping for a repeat of the Nixon model, while Trump's hoping for a repeat of the Clinton one.

donald trump — President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump participate in Remarks and Wreath Laying at a New York City Veterans Day Parade event Monday, November 11, 2019, in New York City, New York.

Source: The Washington Post

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Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Historic photos show the differences between Nixon, Clinton, and Trump's impeachment hearings

begin quote from:

Historic photos show the differences between Nixon, Clinton, and Trump's impeachment hearings

In the summer of 1973, millions of Americans gathered in their living rooms to watch former President Richard Nixon's impeachment hearings on television at 8 p.m. ET for weeks on end.

Almost 25 years later, in 1998, America still watched former President Bill Clinton's impeachment hearings, but they did it from a variety of places. No more popcorn on the couch — people could work out while watching the latest developments.

With Nixon, people become obsessed, watching the saga unfold day after day, seeing disclosures about the cover-up to get dirt on his political opponents come one after another that summer. They got to decide who was the villain and who was the hero.

Clinton's impeachment proceedings were less about villains and heroes. The special counsel Ken Starr's probe into Clinton's real estate investments morphed into an investigation into his affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

Updates on Watergate came through the television, or in newspapers. Variety called the hearings the "hottest daytime soap opera." ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS televised the hearing. But while most networks rotated coverage to make space for soap operas and game shows, PBS televised all 250 hours.

PBS anchor Robert MacNeil said the televised broadcast of Nixon's impeachment was a Shakespearean drama. "The forces hostile to the king are rising on all sides," he said, as "messenger after messenger rushes in with bad news."

Clinton's impeachment, by contrast, was a strange time for the media and the public. Some felt queasy about having a national debate over the president's sex life.

But as the editor in chief of The American Spectator said, "If you have a tabloid president, you're going to be tabloid."

The key piece of evidence of Nixon's wrongdoing was secret White House tapes, edited transcripts of which are seen here. He refused to release them, only acquiescing after the Supreme Court ruled he had to turn them over to Congress.

Clinton's inquiry was summarized by the reveal of Lewinsky's semen-stained dress. The dress destroyed his claim that he'd never had sexual relations with her.

Dramatic testimonies were given about burglaries and lies, and Nixon struggled to communicate his own message to the public. In retrospect, some people thought Nixon was buried by the controversy because he talked about it so often.

Television and print journalists flocked to the spectacle around Nixon.

And it was the same for journalists covering Clinton.

There were similarities between the hearings themselves, too. Those working on Nixon's hearing weren't extraordinarily diverse back in 1973.

They weren't much more diverse in 1999.

Lengthy petitions were hand delivered. This one, demanding Nixon's impeachment, was filled with 10,000 signatures and went for 80 yards.

Here, a woman stacks boxes filled with letters and petitions urging Congress to stop impeaching Clinton and censure him instead.

Transcripts of Nixon's Watergate conversations were so bulky the men appear to be struggling to carry them.

Evidence for Clinton's hearing came in large boxes, just like with Nixon.

As Nixon's inquiry progressed on television, the public wanted him to be impeached more and more, politics professor Arthur Sanders told the Washington Post.

Nixon did have his supporters. This group prayed and fasted while the House Judiciary Committee continued its impeachment inquiry. But they weren't the majority.

In comparison, as Clinton's impeachment hearing progressed, he had most of America on his side.

Although he didn't have everyone. Here, protesters demanded his impeachment, with one sign reading, "Impeach Butthead."

For Clinton, as the coverage of the trial continued, the nation's interest wavered. By the time the Senate voted on impeachment, more people were watching the NFL on CBS than the combined total of viewers watching the vote on all of the other networks.

Nixon didn't lose attention in the same way. When he resigned to avoid being impeached, there were more than 60 million copies of weekday newspapers in circulation. Here tourists read a historic headline: "Nixon Resigning."

When the Senate acquitted Clinton, it was also on every newspaper front page.

On August 9, 1974, 110 million viewers tuned in to watch Nixon resign. At that time, it was the most-viewed show ever, except for the Apollo 11 moon landing. The population of the US that year was 214 million.

After Clinton was acquitted, NBC's jumbotron in New York's Time Square declared the president was "Not Guilty."

People on the streets took a moment to let it sink in.

Now, it's Trump's turn. On Wednesday, the House of Representatives launched public hearings about whether he should be impeached. They're being televised, because the Democrats want to take control of the news cycle and garner as much support as they can get before formally impeaching him.

Differences are already noticeable. Journalists' notepads have been put aside for the recording functions of their phones.

Viewers will be able to stream the hearings on their phones and laptops, from a variety of networks, including Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, and C-SPAN throughout the day, plus YouTube. Social media and news sites will deliver a constant flow of information.

C-SPAN started in 1979, so it didn't exist during Nixon's impeachment hearings. It broadcast Clinton's, though, and is broadcasting Trump's.

Trump has already been harnessing social media to ensure he keeps his base locked down. His daily output on Twitter will add another dimension as the hearing goes public.

What happened to Nixon and Clinton is important for Trump's future. Sanders told the Washington Post that Democrats are hoping for a repeat of the Nixon model, while Trump's hoping for a repeat of the Clinton one.

Stay tuned. It's going to be a spectacle.

SEE ALSO: What happened when US presidents Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton faced impeachment, and how it compares to today

DON'T MISS: The public Trump impeachment hearings begin Wednesday. Here's who's testifying and how to watch.

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