The Truth Behind "American Crime Story: Impeachment"
Skullduggery
Michael Isikoff, Daniel Klaidman, Victoria Bassetti
4.0 • 2K Ratings
🗓️ 23 October 2021
⏱️ 67 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In recent weeks, a television series has been airing called American Crime Story: Impeachment that explores the events leading up to the impeachment of then U.S. President Bill Clinton. The story, mostly told through the eyes of former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, seemingly conflates and at times completely fabricates the truth to inflict maximum drama while depicting key role players involved with varying degrees of accuracy. Yet, at other times, completely nails exactly what was actually said and/or happened. One of those characters is Skullduggery's own Michael Isikoff who was the original reporter piecing together the landmark story that would change Clinton's Presidency forever. Our hosts, whom all three were involved - Isikoff and Klaidman both at Newsweek at the time, Bassetti who was in the room for Lewinsky's depositions - weigh in on what the show gets right and what it gets wrong.
HOSTS:
- Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
- Daniel Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News
- Victoria Bassetti (@VBass), fellow, Brennan Center for Justice (contributing co-host)
RESOURCES:
- Michael Isikoff's 1999 book about the events - Uncovering Clinton: A Reporter's Story - Here.
- Original Posting from the Drudge Report - Here.
- Isikoff's Original Story from 1998 for Newsweek - Diary of a Scandel - Here.
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| 0:00.0 | Is it off? |
| 0:03.0 | This is going to make the planet explode. |
| 0:06.0 | How did you get this scoop? |
| 0:08.0 | Hey, and what's your office? |
| 0:15.0 | He's proving that latest drafts, so we're all |
| 0:17.0 | be set to go to print tomorrow. |
| 0:19.0 | We're holding on the Lewinsky story, Mike. |
| 0:21.0 | I'm sorry. |
| 0:23.0 | I must have misheard you, or I'm having a stroke. |
| 0:27.0 | That's an actor named Danny Jacobs, playing me, |
| 0:30.0 | during which it's fair to say my most distressing moment |
| 0:34.0 | in many years of journalism. |
| 0:36.0 | It was the moment I learned that the editors of Newsweek |
| 0:38.0 | were holding my story on Ken Star's investigation |
| 0:41.0 | into Bill Clinton's efforts to cover up his affair |
| 0:44.0 | with a White House intern named Ron Lewinsky. |
| 0:47.0 | The scene is captured in somewhat garbled form |
| 0:50.0 | in the new American crime story impeachment series |
| 0:53.0 | that has been playing on FX in recent weeks. |
| 0:56.0 | The series offers a fresh look at the events that led |
| 0:59.0 | to Bill Clinton's impeachment, told largely through the eyes |
| 1:02.0 | of the women central to the story, Paula Jones, Linda Trip, |
... |
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