How did one get tickets to Nixon's impeachment hearings? Or Clinton's?

In the local paper today there was story about a woman who collected Watergate memorabilia. Among the items of her collection was a complete set of tickets to Nixon’s impeachment hearing, which never happened since he resigned.

How were these tickets distributed? Did just the press get them? I suspect one didn’t get them from Ticketmaster.

And were tickets to Clinton’s hearings distributed any differently?

Journalists weren’t given tickets, per se. There were a certain number of seats set aside for reporters and they were doled out to various news organizations. Entry was obtained by showing one’s credentials. Most of the seat were probably reserved by officials of various kinds. A limited number of tickets were given out on a first-come, first-served basis to the public. You had to show up early in the morning at some office on Capitol Hill and stand in line for them.

Presumably you would get them the same way you get into to see Congress, which is by asking your local representative or a Senator for a ticket.

There was likely a lottery of some kind and you probably only got to stay for a few minutes. They would just shuttle people in and out during breaks in the action.

Well at Clinton’s you had to sleep with the president.

(someone hit me, those jokes died a LONG time ago)

Smacks upside the head with a very wet haddock

WHAP!!!

AFAIK, Nixon never underwent impeachment hearings before Congress. He resigned. Only Andrew Johnson and William Jefferson Clinton have the dubious distinction of having undergone impeachment.

From the OP, which you might want to try reading before replying to a thread: “Among the items of her collection was a complete set of tickets to Nixon’s impeachment hearing, which never happened since he resigned.”

I had just moved to Washington when the impeachment trial was going on. The missus and I were exploring our new city when we came to the US Capitol. As it was a cold, late-afternoon Tuesday in January, we waited in line for no more than 10 minutes before we were allowed into the Senate gallery.

We were told that we’d get only 15 minutes of viewing time before we were rotated out to make room for people behind us. The only thing was, there was nobody behind us! We sat there for more than two hours watching the trial of the President of the United States.

So there you have it from someone who did it: No tickets, no going through a member of Congress, no sleeping with the President – just show up, wait a few minutes, and stroll on in.

Of course, had the trial been held in – oh, say April, it would have been a much different story. With millions of tourists descending on the city, I shudder to think what a circus that would have been.

As I said in my post, Nixon never underwent an impeachment trial. That is a fact. And yes, I did red the OP and I’m quite qware of the facts about Watergate and the Clinton charges that led to his impeachment. And yes, the fact is that Clinton WAS impeached, and was the only sitting President besides Andrew Johnson to have that distinction in our history. I’m sure that there are many people who wish that Nixon shared in that distinction, but that is another matter…

So it is clear that I am aware of the facts in this matter. You seem to imply that I should not have said what I said in my post. I’m not sure what you wanted me to do, however.

:smack: