Sketch Artist Captures ‘Something Unusual’ At Senate Trial

The public’s view of President Trump’s impeachment trial is limited. In an era of ubiquitous cameras, no photographs are allowed in the Senate chamber. The only video comes from a set of cameras operated by government employees that’s used by the television networks. There aren’t many camera angles. To give the public a closer view, news outlets are employing a low-tech solution. Art Lien has been giving readers of The New York Times a different view of each day’s events. From the gallery above the Senate floor, the courtroom sketch artist takes his pencil to 9-by-12 inch sheets of paper and looks for the tiny details that the cameras can miss. Details such as fidget spinners. Lien’s drawing of North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr with a fidget spinner. Kisha Ravi / NPR On Thursday, Lien drew Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., with one of the contraptions on his desk. Burr reportedly gave them out to his Republican colleagues. “This was sort of iconic yesterday. We noticed that several of the