Covering impeachment: Senate rules test press duty to inform

The stringent crackdown on reporters covering the impeachment trial is a marked departure from the usual open nature of Capitol Hill. Reporters and politicians are persevering, but how do those limits affect Americans’ understanding of a historical event?

The Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump started off with a straitjacket of rules, particularly on communications. No cellphones, no talking allowed for senators in the chamber. For reporters, no “walk and talk” interviews with senators in the hallways. Instead, the media were to be confined to roped-off pens at the...