The Trump impeachment trial tells a bittersweet story of American dreams

The president’s lawyers, behind literal and figurative tinted windows, have little to fear from these people—or so they believe. Never mind that laying a record with testimony, documents, and the like—rather than prosecutors arguing based solely on a thwarted investigation—isn’t optional at trial, even in a political prosecution like impeachment (which doesn’t mirror criminal procedure). The Clinton rules were approved unanimously because everything—alleged impeachable offenses, their implications, investigations giving rise to trial, the partisan power dynamic, and the times—was totally different.