“There is a woman I’m very close to in the midst of an affair with the President of the United States,” Linda Tripp, as played by Sarah Paulson, says in the new trailer for “Impeachment: American Crime Story.” Her decision to go public with this knowledge appears to drive the action of the new season of “ACS.”

Monica Lewinsky, played by Beanie Feldstein, confides in Tripp about her relationship with Bill Clinton (Clive Owen). Unbeknownst to her, Tripp has been recording their phone calls. Tripp ends up using the tapes as evidence when she blows the whistle on the affair.

“You will lose her as a friend,” Tripp is told. “I’ve made my peace with that,” she replies, adding, “It all has to come out.”

One character warns Tripp that “the press will destroy [Lewinsky].” And, as we know from our 2021 vantage point, it very much did. The spot traces Lewinsky’s transformation from ambitious, bubbly White House intern to national pariah.

Paulson is among the exec producers of “Impeachment,” while Feldstein and the real-life Lewinsky are producing. The cast also includes Edie Falco as Hillary Clinton, Annaleigh Ashford as Paula Jones, and Cobie Smulders as Ann Coulter.

“Impeachment: American Crime Story” premieres September 7 on FX.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtipQ3EsGWo