Madam Secretary (2014) s06e07 Episode Script
Accountability
Alex and Ellie-Rose are serving salmon.
So, we could do, like, a Pinot gris or maybe just, like, a light red, like a Pinot noir, or I don't know.
We can go off the grid and do something effervescent.
Yeah, just like you in the mornings.
Please just weigh in so I don't have to decide.
I will drink anything that pairs well with an inverted yield curve.
Leaving finance was the smartest thing I ever did.
- Well, second smartest.
- Mm.
Ah - Coffee breath.
Thank you.
- Mmm.
- Did you use the elliptical? - Yeah.
- Did you fix the elliptical? - No.
Which means 304 is about to give you an earful for the unexpected wake-me-up.
Oh, this woman is a nightmare.
Just back me up, please.
Yeah.
Right behind you.
- Yes.
- Blake Moran? Yes.
Special Agent Belstaff with the FBI.
We have a warrant for the search of your premises.
- Please step back.
- Uh Hey, uh, this is a private residence, okay? I understand.
Trevor, don't say anything.
Just let them do their thing.
Russell, hi.
Yeah, we got a, um, little s-situation.
The FBI is part of the DOJ, and the DOJ is run by the attorney general, who answers to POTUS, so - Guys, I think - stop me if I'm missing something, but if A.
G.
Lambert was read in on a warrant to raid the residence of the aide-de-camp of the president without so much as notifying her, - he should be shot into space.
- What you're missing is her internal mandate to pursue - the investigation wherever it leads.
- Guys, listen - Hanson is setting a trap.
- Huh.
Referring this matter to Justice for a concurrent investigation was a brilliant overreach.
Because he knows the A.
G.
has to carry water for him.
The slightest opposition from the administration will smack of obstruction.
Which means under no circumstances can we move to quash the warrant.
Except the more rope we give Hanson, the easier it is - to fashion a noose.
- Guys! The only one being fit for a noose here is me.
Okay? They-they took my phone, my laptop.
Six years of-of unclassified documents Six years? What kind of demented pack rat are you? Okay, look, I knew she was special from the minute I started working for her.
I-I had a front-row seat from day one.
I was going to write a book about the secretary when she finished public service, which became a book about the first female president.
Which i-is now a book about a starry-eyed kid from Newton who follows his dreams to Sing Sing.
- You're not going to Sing Sing.
- Right.
That's a state facility.
You'll be doing federal time.
Oh, God! Blake, look at me.
Have you ever broken the law during your government tenure? Absolutely not.
Then you have no exposure.
It's a fishing expedition.
Nothing more.
The question is, what is Hanson fishing for? He already grilled Blake for 12 hours.
I think Blake's role as the president's unofficial archivist may be an open secret, which is why the warrant's so broad.
This search is a naked pretext to breathe life into an investigation that was flatlining.
And is suddenly metastasizing.
We walled off the president.
But we may be past that stage now.
I'll read her in.
Thank you.
Mia Costello.
- Yes? - Jason McCord.
I know.
Hi.
I'm sorry to bother you, I'm just such a big fan.
Cambridge Rubric's one of my favorite blogs.
- Thank you.
- You've you got this great voice.
You know? It's, uh, it's like Maureen Dowd meets Ronan Farrow.
- Red eye.
- That's nice of you to say.
Are you okay with a little friendly criticism? - Sure.
- 'Cause it's-it's quibbling, really.
- Um - What? Your last column.
You called my mom a "corrupt, unqualified crypto-fascist.
" - It was an opinion piece.
- Yeah.
And the accompanying cartoon of her in fetish wear being whipped by Senator Hanson, that was - Satire.
- Satire.
Yeah.
But, you know, it could be misconstrued by some as misogyny.
Or even slander.
You know, Jason, your mom is a public figure.
Yeah.
And the Rubric is a nonpartisan student publication, yet no other politician comes in for this type of treatment.
Well, no other politician is president.
The first female president.
Hmm? Yeah, I think I get the drift.
There's no drift.
I mean, Elizabeth McCord's the most powerful person in the world.
She can handle a little incoming, so Jason? - Here you go, man.
- I got to run.
Detail gets kind of itchy when I stand around, so I'm looking forward to your next issue.
- I-It's a nonstarter.
- I'm not telling you - not to go to the Correspondents' Dinner.
- You're telling me to be pulled away five minutes after I arrive.
Which means you were there.
As our dutiful White House photographer will document.
The dinner is a hallowed tradition.
Presidents attend whether their political fortunes are rising or falling.
Reagan bailed.
Because he was shot.
Okay, you're nervous about telling jokes anyway, which you should be because you're not funny.
- What? - I hmm.
That is so not true.
I have chops.
Serious chops.
And I've been working on my monologue.
And it's actually, it's pretty good.
Be that as it may, this dinner is not exactly ideal timing.
You just locked up a reporter.
Valerie Guillen, remember? And pardoned her.
Even if people aren't talking about your predilection for jailing reporters, they will be talking about the search warrant that was executed on your aide's private residence.
Look, I'm not gonna worry about a stunt that was engineered - to give a failed investigation oxygen.
- It won't play as a stunt.
The White House press corps is not exactly home team right now.
It'll play as an escalation of a news cycle we've been trying to change for months.
It'll juice impeachment talk, cast a shadow of a looming constitutional crisis.
And then there's the bad stuff.
So it's the perfect time to inject some levity.
But, Bess, you're not funny.
Well - Russell.
- Mike's right.
Not your strong suit.
Listen, I think we've caught a break.
After a month and a half of intensive investigations by our intelligence services, we've isolated the culprits of Iran's hack of our election.
I'm just getting word that this morning, a federal grand jury has issued indictments of five Iranian nationals - Ah - for election interference.
Finally.
Oh, uh, Blake.
Alerting President Shiraz's office.
Yeah.
Also, can I get the, uh The full background files on the Iranians? - But I'm gonna need - Photos as well.
How are you doing? Uh, nothing to brighten your morning like a battalion of Feds rifling through your underwear.
The worst is behind you.
Yeah.
Oh.
Underwear, behind.
Nice.
I am so gonna rock that ballroom.
You are seeking extradition of Reza Mousavi, our Quds Force commander.
For his criminal role in masterminding a cyber attack on my electoral opponent.
Elizabeth, I'm an ally, not a foe.
We have done such important work together.
The rapprochement between our countries, the nuclear treaty.
All of which you jeopardized by tampering with our election.
This alleged tampering which we strenuously deny was on your behalf.
It's perverse you would seek to punish us for your success.
What's perverse is assuming that I'd endorse behavior merely because it benefited me.
Interfering with our elections was the act of an enemy.
That is reckless talk.
Not as reckless as your breach of our democracy.
You have 48 hours to extradite the people responsible, or the price that Iran pays will grow exponentially steeper.
Well, you cornered him.
And cornered prey either rolls over or Or lashes out.
We'll monitor developments.
You're already dressed, which means you're not coming back to bed.
I would love to, but I am, I'm pretty late as it is and I'm actually not done with this yet, so - Yeah.
Sorry I kept you.
- No.
I think we kept each other, right? Yeah, that's been happening a lot lately, huh? Oy hey.
This is, this is important.
- Hey.
I have an idea.
- Okay.
How about we go out this evening? Uh, yeah, if I don't have to work late again.
Take a stand.
Tell them that you're the president's daughter.
Are you upset? No, I'm It's not you.
It's just we haven't left the bedroom in weeks.
Are you seriously complaining that you're oversexed? No, of course not.
I'm just beginning to feel like a kept man.
- Ah - Okay.
Okay.
Cabin fever.
I get it.
I will tell the office that I have a hard out.
- Good.
- Okay.
All right, I've got another one for you.
Odontalgia.
Odontalgia.
O-D-O-N-T-A-L-G-I-A.
Odontalgia.
Right again.
Ladies and gentlemen, your national spelling bee champion Oscar Rubis.
Congratulations, sir.
Very well done.
The president and our champion will take a few questions.
- Madam President - Keira.
President McCord, as a CIA operative in Baghdad, did you order the torture of Safeer Al-Jamil while he was in CIA custody? We're taking questions about the administration's educational What's your response to the allegation that you assaulted Philippine President Datu Andrada after he made an unwanted sexual advance? That's all we have for you today.
Thank you, everyone.
Uh, Russell, do you have a second? - Not now.
- I know where they, um, I think I know where they got their questions.
Come with me.
The oppo was on a flash drive given to me by Neal Shin from the Chronicle, when he shadowed you three years ago.
In what universe is squirreling away material whose only use could be to undermine the president a good idea? Boswell here's writing a tell-all, - remember? - Shin told me to keep it safe.
That one day the secretary might need what's on the drive.
He meant she needed it buried at sea, not enshrined in your museum.
It was in a safe.
Ma'am, I'm really sorry.
It's all right, Blake.
I mean, you couldn't have anticipated the warrant - or its scope.
- Yeah, or that some ally of Hanson's in the FBI is obviously leaking to the press.
The timing's right out of Hanson's playbook.
Releasing dirt just before the Correspondents' Dinner, he's chumming the waters.
Thank you, Blake.
Yeah, thanks, Blake.
Ma'am.
Olivia, I want I.
G.
to investigate who at Justice was behind the leak.
I mean that is a dangerous partisan move for a department that is supposed to be apolitical.
- I'll take care of it.
- On the down low, please.
Otherwise the president looks like the captain of the Good Ship Paranoid.
We have a massive political problem.
Daisy's resignation was blunting Hanson's momentum, but this raid jump-starts his investigation.
And it's the first salvo of a concurrent FBI inquiry that could drag on for months.
So now we're fighting a two-fronted war.
We should reach out to Hanson's camp, see what he wants for a truce.
Russell, put out a feeler, but let's keep in mind that a truce is not surrender.
Well, we have a foreign relations problem, too.
Shiraz might be less likely to cave if he thinks you're under siege at home.
Make that will be less likely.
Two hours ago, Hezbollah cells in Lebanon fired 26 mobile-launched surface-to-air missiles into Northern Israel.
Fatalities? Three dead in Nahariya.
Millions of dollars in damage.
Israel has already responded by blowing up a Hezbollah radar installation and two suspected weapons manufacturing sites in Dahieh.
Well, I guess we have Iran's response to your ultimatum, madam.
They're using their terrorist proxy to attack Israel, sending a message that they will drag the region into chaos if we don't back off our extradition request.
Did you reach out to Foreign Minister Tousi? My Iranian counterpart professes surprise.
He claims Iran has no influence over renegade cells.
Shiraz is squeezing you, Madam President, betting your domestic distractions will weaken your appetite for international conflict.
Well, unfortunately for him, I can walk and chew gum at the same time.
How's the rial doing, Susan? It's in free fall.
The Iranian economy is teetering on the brink of collapse.
Reach out to the G8 members.
I want to turn the screws, - step up multilateral sanctions.
- Immediately.
And add the head of the Revolutionary Guard and the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament - to the SDN and Blocked Persons List.
- Yes, ma'am.
Russell, you've got a personal relationship with the Israeli prime minister.
You tell him to keep his powder dry.
Doron will do that for only so long.
We're playing with fire here.
I know.
Coffee this late? You're gonna be up all night.
- It's not coffee.
- Oh.
It's a perfectly alkaline chicory matcha superdrink with ayurvedic herbs that Chef Cindy whipped up for me.
Whoa.
What does that taste like? Despair.
It's good to see you.
- Hmm.
Oh.
- Yeah.
Yum.
Yeah, I'm sorry I've been a little scarce - the past few weeks.
- Well, I was young once, too.
So, how's Dmitri? - He's good.
- Good.
He's great.
Actually, can I ask you? You know what, if you're too busy No, I Dish away.
So Dmitri wants to do, um, traditional couples stuff, like, in public.
- Swell.
- Yeah, except here's the thing.
I, I was just with Griffin.
I mean, God.
And our relationship was all over Instagram and-and tabloids, and, like, what, a few weeks later I'm coming out like, - "Hey, here's my new" - What's your concern? I mean, judgment.
What's your real concern? Stevie, you are the most private of my three kids.
And you're also the one who cares the least about what other people think.
Yeah.
I guess it's more about what I think.
Which is? That I was devastated when this didn't work before.
And if I commit again and we fail - You'll take it even harder.
- Yeah.
Because this time, you know, there's nobody to blame but me.
Oh, sweetie.
It's scary.
Try terrifying.
Love is all about You have to risk everything to gain everything.
Do you think that we'll make it? Well, I think that you should take it one step at a time.
Go to dinner, then come back and tell me what real food tastes like.
- I was just going to come to see you.
- I was crawling - out of my skin.
Just show me.
- Okay.
This was posted - Don't preface, just give it to me.
- on a website of a publication - called the Rubric at 6:00 this morning.
- What ooh, wait.
Okay.
"A dislike of a free press seems to run in the McCord family, "as first son Jason demonstrated by confronting "the Rubric's editor over a description of his mother "he labeled misogynistic and slanderous, "then baldly suggesting the first female president - deserved preferential treatment.
" - Oh, come on.
- You can take it from here.
- What um "When his charm offensive ran aground, "McCord resorted to ham-fisted threats, "alluding to his Secret Service detail and their - guns.
" - Guns.
"The implication being they might be deployed "to muzzle yours truly.
After all, Jason warned, his mother was 'the most powerful person in the world.
'" Nearly two million retweets.
Picked up by the AP, foreign media, it's Yeah.
Because I'm not already in Dutch enough with the press corps, who I will be schmoozing tomorrow night.
Yep.
He is going to issue an apology.
Yes, agreed.
Then we are going to shave his head and ship him off to military school.
Well, h-he's not 12, but that is a good thought.
Madam President, you're needed in the Sit Room immediately.
Okay, listen, I will have him on the next train down here to give us time to give him a proper neck-wringing.
Okay.
- You just go save the world.
- Okay, okay.
Yep, yep, yep.
At 9:00 a.
m.
Greenwich Mean Time, the G8 member nations notified Tehran that the sanctions on the Shiraz regime were being trebled.
Three hours later, the U.
K.
's two largest banks reported data breaches on their cloud servers.
And the London and Frankfurt stock exchanges just suspended trading after their own breaches.
We confirm Iran was behind it? We know they are.
They have hacking mills now.
People on the job 24/7.
And Tehran's aggression isn't limited to financial markets.
A French-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz nearly capsized after the automated ballast control system was remotely compromised.
And British ships in the region are reporting problems with GPS.
Meaning traffic through the most important oil-shipping route in the world - has come to a complete standstill.
- All of which is a prelude to an inevitable spike in oil prices, which you will be blamed for.
There is nothing subtle about this, ma'am.
Shiraz is under pressure by the hard-liners.
He wants to stay in power, he has to appease them.
So, unless we back off, this is just the beginning.
Well, I'll personally reach out to our allies.
Reinforce the coalition.
Our allies aren't going to spend political capital on an embattled president.
The undermining of democracy should concern all free nations.
Well, our friends aren't as like-minded.
And we won't be able to exert enough pressure on Shiraz independently to force him to cough up the hackers.
Then we'll go it alone.
Ellen, have JSOC pull up scenarios for the extraction of the five Iranian nationals responsible for the attack on our elections.
You are talking about breaching Iranian sovereignty.
Yes.
That is an extreme response.
To an extreme provocation, which we have tried to address diplomatically with Tehran.
And through the use of sanctions.
Those measures have not only failed, but Iran has become emboldened.
Ma'am, I'm duty bound to advise you that this could be seen as an act of war.
One which puts U.
S.
citizens and service members overseas in the line of fire.
Not to mention our allies.
Does anyone here doubt that interfering with our elections was an act of war? What we do here or don't do will have consequences.
Because America is the bellwether for freedom.
If we look away, then democracies everywhere are at risk.
I expect a full range of options as soon as you gather them.
I'm not saying "Congressman Codeine.
" Why? He's out of rehab.
Fine.
Senator Lithium? Oh, for God - I - Hey, Russell.
Welcome to the laugh-free zone, starring your headliner Mike B.
Yeah, the gang at Cactus Norm's - open mic night would beg to differ.
- Uh-huh.
By the way, two-for-one margaritas on Sundays, but, uh, skip the tuna nachos.
I think you're gonna find this update aggressively unfunny, too.
I back-channeled with Hanson's chief of staff.
He named his price for shutting down the investigation.
One kidney or two? Oh, the whole body, I'm afraid.
He's demanding rollbacks on the ESI bill, approval rights on all judicial nominees.
- Well, that's sort of funny.
- Yeah, well, I won't even mention the raft of anti-environment initiatives, corporate tax cuts, weakening gun control and health care legislation, all of which he is expecting you to cosign.
If I don't? Well, then he and his allies will beat the impeachment drum for the rest of your term.
I agree to his demands, I'll be functionally impeached anyway.
It's still worth considering.
- On what basis? - Political winds can shift, leverage can change.
Deals can be unmade.
I have no interest in this office if I can't do what the people put me here for.
I'd rather be on the farm in Virginia writing my memoirs.
With all due respect, ma'am, that might be sooner than you think.
I'll find time to speak with Senator Hanson at the Correspondents' Dinner.
Maybe we'll find some common ground.
I'll pass the word.
Excuse me, ma'am.
Uh, Jason is in the Residence.
Would you like me to invite him down? No.
Ask Henry to meet me there.
Yes, ma'am.
First off, every word I said was taken out of context.
Oh, a hit job, huh? Yeah, totally.
And Well, we happen to have the piece right here, so we can go over the inaccuracies.
Okay, maybe I was a tiny bit clumsy.
Breaking a vase is clumsy, Jason.
Accusing a female writer of misogyny while flagging the fact that your detail is packing heat that's just dumb.
I was defending you.
I know it came from a good place, but you don't help me by throwing your weight around.
And when you talk to journalists, your words are going to be scrutinized.
Real journalists don't tote around Hello Kitty knapsacks.
No, no, the blog's a farce, okay? I'm the victim here.
- Oh, boy.
- See, that's just not the way - you want to play this, sport.
- No, everyone attacks you.
And you just turn the other cheek.
Don't you get sick of that? I don't have that luxury, and neither does my family.
And I'm sorry, but that's the way it is.
Okay.
I Lesson learned.
Are we done here? We are, but you're not.
A full-throated apology posted online before the Correspondents' Dinner, uh, by, let's say, noon.
Tomorrow.
Okay.
Yeah.
I can, I'll mock up a clarification.
- Apology.
- Okay, fine.
Isn't this nice? - Mm-hmm.
- Beautiful evening.
- You, me.
- Mm-hmm.
Four people licensed to kill.
Well, a table for six is my new normal.
I've never had a normal, except for you.
- Aw.
- Oh, it's the president's daughter.
Oh, okay.
Uh, here, let's sit down.
You're nervous.
- Yeah.
- About being seen with me? No.
Um, it's just that, if we're a couple, then we are official, and if we're official, don't know, my mind goes places.
I'll never hurt you again.
You can't promise that.
- I'll never hurt you intentionally.
- Gee.
You really know how to sweet-talk a gal.
Look, it's the best I can do.
Some things are out of our control.
Yeah.
I just can't do this again.
Like, go all in, and then maybe one day I'll-I'll wake up and you'll be gone because you have this secret life that you can't outrun.
Look, there's no more secrets and there's no more running.
All I can promise you is this: I'm not leaving again, not unless I'm dragged away, kicking and screaming.
So we leave the rest up to fate? No.
I don't trust fate.
I trust you.
Okay.
So how go the jokes? Six comedy writers, three speechwriters, endless edits by Mike B.
, and it still needs a punch-up.
You're gonna be great.
What I need is a time machine, so I can go back and fix things.
These investigations aren't going anywhere.
Nope.
Maybe my presidency is.
- Babe, don't.
- I'm just being realistic.
Been thinking a lot about the fate of pioneers.
Well, you're certainly one of them.
Yeah.
You know what pioneers get to accomplish? Being first.
That's it.
Some accomplished more than that.
Not the ones that matter.
Susan B.
Anthony paved the way for women's suffrage but died 15 years before women got to vote.
And Martin Luther King fought for equality but didn't live to see many of his dreams fulfilled.
People who provide the spark don't often get to sit by the fire.
Maybe the country just wasn't ready for the first female president.
Or maybe all this is just inevitable tectonic shifts.
The earth realigning itself.
Or opening up to swallow me whole.
You're gonna get through this.
What if I don't? Well, then you'll have a burgeoning comedy career to fall back on.
Maybe I'll just fall back on you.
Well, that works, too.
Iran's cyber force is a decentralized confederation of hackers, but our intel confirms there's nothing random about the dispersion of our five targets.
Tabriz, Mashhad, Zahedan, and Bushehr.
- The four corners of the country.
- And Reza Mousavi, the crown jewel, is in Tehran.
Our range of options, unfortunately, has boiled down to one.
We would have to have a full-scale invasion to extract all the targets.
Which sets the stage for a long and costly occupation.
- Another Iraq.
- Yes, ma'am.
Well, if we can't get into Iran, maybe we can get the targets out, at least Mousavi.
- Ma'am? - Well, do we have any - high-ranking assets left in Hezbollah? - We do.
Someone who could draw Mousavi out so he's a soft target? Our agent would have to dangle the promise of a package so sensitive, it could only be passed in person.
And we'd have to burn him.
But it can be done.
Theoretically.
But what about the other four suspects? Well, I'm willing to trade the head of the snake for the rest of its body.
HUMINT says Mousavi's in line for a big promotion, maybe as soon as tomorrow.
Shiraz keeps his inner circle a stone's throw away, - under heavy guard.
- It'll be a high-risk op.
Well, then there's no time to waste.
And if it fails, there will be American fatalities.
And fallout.
Just ask Carter the cost of botched Iranian missions.
And even if this goes off without a hitch, your political enemies will accuse you of wagging the dog.
Even if you win, - you'll lose.
- Yeah.
Yup.
I want Mousavi on American soil to face justice.
I'll deal with the rest later.
- Set it up.
- Yes, Madam President.
Hey, Russell, Mousavi is happily ensconced at a baccarat table at the Casino de la Falaise.
It's some luxury seaside resort just south of Beirut.
There's a joint HRT/SEAL task force ready to grab him up.
Okay.
Bye.
So, what's the pretext? A stolen workup on the vulnerabilities of our electrical grids.
- Have you read in President Bashar? - No.
His loyalties are divided.
Besides, it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission.
Speaking of forgiveness, Madam President, Dr.
McCord, Jason posted, uh, an apology on social media.
Do we want to see it? Uh, in ten years.
Um, some of you may have seen a piece on me in The Cambridge Rubric discussing my interaction with a college journalist, and I would like to address the matter.
Um, I'm sorry for what happened.
An auspicious enough start.
I'm sorry I disrespected the serious field of college journalism.
And I'm sorry I failed to recognize that the press should be free to vilify our leaders without consequence.
Oh, less auspicious.
And I was wrong to defend my mother because she has been treated so fairly by journalists and by the Senate Intelligence Committee and by conservative critics who have embraced her as the female president that they've - always been longing for.
- No, no, no And I hope one day to display the ethics and decorum so regularly evidenced by our woke media 'cause it's what they deserve.
Jason out.
Yeah.
Well, it was, technically, an apology.
So how do you want to handle it? I don't.
You're both gonna get hammered.
Well, I'm used to it.
Maybe he'll learn something about consequences - and how to talk to people.
- Speaking of which, have you decided what you're gonna say to Hanson? Yeah.
Am I sure it's the right thing to do? Well, that's a whole different animal.
Why do they call these stupid things monkey suits? No self-respecting simian would be caught dead in one of them.
I thought you liked galas.
Only when I'm trolling for business.
This place is like a casting call for The Walking Dead.
Where's the president? Uh, discussing free trade with, uh, Secretary Barnum.
- Tell her the senator's ready.
- Will do.
Cynthia.
- Great to see you.
- Hey, Paul.
- Cynthia, how are you? - Henry.
- Oh, so good to see you.
- Hey, Paul.
And my dress is biodegradable, in honor of your ESI bill.
Oh, come on.
That's fantastic.
You know what else is biodegradable? French fries, truffles, mac and cheese.
I'm actually just eating for the environment tonight.
- Really good to see you both.
- Good to see you.
Take care.
- Hey, guys.
Hi.
- Hi.
Mom, Dad.
Oh.
Sorry.
Uh, this is Shasta.
Yeah, hi, Shasta.
It is an honor to meet you, Mr.
and Mrs.
President.
Yeah, that's not that's not how that - My-my mom - This is huge.
I Just go and have fun.
Just don't worry.
- We'll see you at the table.
- Hi.
Uh, - Madam President? - Yes? Uh, Senator Hanson is ready for you.
Good luck.
- Madam President.
- Senator.
I hope you're enjoying your evening.
Well, so far, so good.
Have you considered my offer? I have.
At some length.
Before I respond to it, I-I do want to acknowledge something.
I have made mistakes.
I can be too single-minded in my pursuit of progress.
Not solicitous enough of opposing viewpoints.
And the charge that I haven't always been quick to compromise well, that hits the mark, too.
Well said.
Compromise is the key to effective leadership.
- It is.
- But here's the thing, Senator.
You don't want compromise.
You want my complete and unconditional surrender - to your demands.
- That's a bit over the top, - don't you think? - No.
What's over the top is months of hearings engineered only to further your boundless ambition.
The relentless persecution of my staff, the most devoted and selfless public servants I have ever had the privilege of serving with.
You're a cheap shakedown artist, Senator.
And I am not willing to sell out my agenda to sit in the Oval and take orders from a partisan hack, who puts his own self-interest before the national good.
I'm gonna continue serving the American people.
You're just gonna have to try and stop me.
When the end comes, and it will, soon, remember I gave you a chance, Elizabeth.
It's Madam President.
You remember that.
- Um, this is my date Shasta.
- Hi.
Nice to meet you.
drivers here this evening.
Please feel free to drink up.
Yep, the administration has graciously arranged for free rides home care of the U.
S.
Marshals Service.
So buckle up, guys! Here we go.
Speaking of McCords who hate the media, there is the president's son Jason.
Hello, Jason, it's great to see you.
Uh, Jason is now a college junior.
He is majoring in affluenza and minoring in celibacy.
Jason, uh, does intend - to follow in his mom's footsteps.
- Extraction team is in place.
- It's awaiting your okay.
- He hopes to enter - the political arena - They have it.
as the subject of simultaneous federal investigations.
No, seriously, don't worry, Jason, in ten years no one will remember how you publicly humiliated yourself.
I, I do think I speak for everyone here tonight when I say, thank God for the Internet.
Can we switch seats? Our president is a woman of conviction.
Or soon will be.
Um But she is a good sport, and now I'm gonna give her the chance to take a few shots at all of us.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome President Elizabeth McCord! Thank you.
Good evening.
Traditionally, this is a night for humor, but some people in my administration have informed me that I am not funny.
I will miss all of them dearly.
Yet while it pains me to say this, these people were right.
Truth is, I'm not that funny, and sometimes the truth hurts and it isn't what we want to hear.
But truth is the fabric that binds society together.
What makes our government work.
What gives people trust in their leaders.
And no one is a more important defender of the truth than the people in this room.
What you do is serious, and it is important and as critical to our liberty as the work of any branch of government.
The people in this room have the unassailable right to document, to editorialize, to criticize, and to do so without fear of reprisal.
Yeah! Because without a free press, truth is not reported, power is not held accountable, and democracy cannot survive.
The founders had the wisdom to understand this and to enshrine this understanding in our holiest of civic documents.
Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of the press.
So says the First Amendment, the elemental freedom without which all other freedoms are imperiled.
May we all cherish the freedom that we honor tonight and protect it.
Thank you.
You're all under arrest.
Fellow members, it is my solemn duty to update you on the fruits of my committee's investigation.
What began as a targeted inquiry He's not wasting any time.
Hanson's addressing the full Senate.
At least he's finally putting all of his cards on the table.
Let's see what kind of hand he has.
by President McCord's own FBI.
And while the shameless obstruction of President McCord's staff means my committee's work is still ongoing, I can say with confidence that we have uncovered a pervasive pattern of secrecy and corruption in the White House, contempt for truth and transparency coordinated by President McCord that should trouble every American.
The evidence is overwhelming and irrefutable.
Her former press secretary Daisy Grant fired for concealing her receipt of hacked election materials from Iranian asset Claudine Bernard.
Her closest aide Blake Moran caught in a scheme he and the president's own daughter executed to circumvent campaign finance disclosure requirements.
Her longtime fixer and bagman Mike Barnow implicated in covering up the suspicious death of a government official.
In every instance President McCord's reward for these acts of malfeasance? A high-ranking job in the White House.
It pains me to say this culture of corruption and self-dealing extends to the president's own family.
To her husband, who has ironically been gifted the role of ethics czar in her administration.
To her daughter, who was brazenly seen in the company of former spy Dmitri Petrov at last night's Correspondents' Dinner.
Mr.
Petrov's presence was made possible because the administration negotiated an amnesty deal with Russia that greased his return, apparently so the president could facilitate her daughter's romantic yearnings.
- And still there's more.
- That son of a bitch.
The recent revelations that then Secretary of State McCord assaulted a foreign leader and concealed it.
That as a rogue agent, she authorized the torture the torture of a suspected terrorist.
In the wake of this accumulation of damning evidence, how does President McCord respond? By trying to distract the public with a sensational mission to kidnap a member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, a desperate act of adventurism to convince us she is not in league with the country that facilitated her election.
Where does this lawlessness end? With accountability.
Which is why I have referred the work product of this investigation to Representative Canning of the House Judiciary Committee for proceedings consistent with their charter.
"Consistent with their charter.
" Oh, my God.
Impeachment.
It's beginning.
All right, here we go.
We need to war game this.
Let's, uh, let's grab Olivia.
Hunker down with our allies.
Start deploying them.
A media onslaught.
Print, broadcast, digital.
Guys.
Do you think you could give me a minute, please? Madam President.
Yes, ma'am.
Blake? When is my meeting with the Council of Economic Advisers? - 10:30.
- Move it up.
I also need the OMB report on carbon reductions and the latest slate on potential judicial nominees, all right? - Right away.
- It's not your fault.
Ma'am? The flash drive.
The oppo file.
You were with me here at the very beginning.
You'll be here at the end.
Whenever that day is.
Yes, ma'am.
Let's get to work.
So, we could do, like, a Pinot gris or maybe just, like, a light red, like a Pinot noir, or I don't know.
We can go off the grid and do something effervescent.
Yeah, just like you in the mornings.
Please just weigh in so I don't have to decide.
I will drink anything that pairs well with an inverted yield curve.
Leaving finance was the smartest thing I ever did.
- Well, second smartest.
- Mm.
Ah - Coffee breath.
Thank you.
- Mmm.
- Did you use the elliptical? - Yeah.
- Did you fix the elliptical? - No.
Which means 304 is about to give you an earful for the unexpected wake-me-up.
Oh, this woman is a nightmare.
Just back me up, please.
Yeah.
Right behind you.
- Yes.
- Blake Moran? Yes.
Special Agent Belstaff with the FBI.
We have a warrant for the search of your premises.
- Please step back.
- Uh Hey, uh, this is a private residence, okay? I understand.
Trevor, don't say anything.
Just let them do their thing.
Russell, hi.
Yeah, we got a, um, little s-situation.
The FBI is part of the DOJ, and the DOJ is run by the attorney general, who answers to POTUS, so - Guys, I think - stop me if I'm missing something, but if A.
G.
Lambert was read in on a warrant to raid the residence of the aide-de-camp of the president without so much as notifying her, - he should be shot into space.
- What you're missing is her internal mandate to pursue - the investigation wherever it leads.
- Guys, listen - Hanson is setting a trap.
- Huh.
Referring this matter to Justice for a concurrent investigation was a brilliant overreach.
Because he knows the A.
G.
has to carry water for him.
The slightest opposition from the administration will smack of obstruction.
Which means under no circumstances can we move to quash the warrant.
Except the more rope we give Hanson, the easier it is - to fashion a noose.
- Guys! The only one being fit for a noose here is me.
Okay? They-they took my phone, my laptop.
Six years of-of unclassified documents Six years? What kind of demented pack rat are you? Okay, look, I knew she was special from the minute I started working for her.
I-I had a front-row seat from day one.
I was going to write a book about the secretary when she finished public service, which became a book about the first female president.
Which i-is now a book about a starry-eyed kid from Newton who follows his dreams to Sing Sing.
- You're not going to Sing Sing.
- Right.
That's a state facility.
You'll be doing federal time.
Oh, God! Blake, look at me.
Have you ever broken the law during your government tenure? Absolutely not.
Then you have no exposure.
It's a fishing expedition.
Nothing more.
The question is, what is Hanson fishing for? He already grilled Blake for 12 hours.
I think Blake's role as the president's unofficial archivist may be an open secret, which is why the warrant's so broad.
This search is a naked pretext to breathe life into an investigation that was flatlining.
And is suddenly metastasizing.
We walled off the president.
But we may be past that stage now.
I'll read her in.
Thank you.
Mia Costello.
- Yes? - Jason McCord.
I know.
Hi.
I'm sorry to bother you, I'm just such a big fan.
Cambridge Rubric's one of my favorite blogs.
- Thank you.
- You've you got this great voice.
You know? It's, uh, it's like Maureen Dowd meets Ronan Farrow.
- Red eye.
- That's nice of you to say.
Are you okay with a little friendly criticism? - Sure.
- 'Cause it's-it's quibbling, really.
- Um - What? Your last column.
You called my mom a "corrupt, unqualified crypto-fascist.
" - It was an opinion piece.
- Yeah.
And the accompanying cartoon of her in fetish wear being whipped by Senator Hanson, that was - Satire.
- Satire.
Yeah.
But, you know, it could be misconstrued by some as misogyny.
Or even slander.
You know, Jason, your mom is a public figure.
Yeah.
And the Rubric is a nonpartisan student publication, yet no other politician comes in for this type of treatment.
Well, no other politician is president.
The first female president.
Hmm? Yeah, I think I get the drift.
There's no drift.
I mean, Elizabeth McCord's the most powerful person in the world.
She can handle a little incoming, so Jason? - Here you go, man.
- I got to run.
Detail gets kind of itchy when I stand around, so I'm looking forward to your next issue.
- I-It's a nonstarter.
- I'm not telling you - not to go to the Correspondents' Dinner.
- You're telling me to be pulled away five minutes after I arrive.
Which means you were there.
As our dutiful White House photographer will document.
The dinner is a hallowed tradition.
Presidents attend whether their political fortunes are rising or falling.
Reagan bailed.
Because he was shot.
Okay, you're nervous about telling jokes anyway, which you should be because you're not funny.
- What? - I hmm.
That is so not true.
I have chops.
Serious chops.
And I've been working on my monologue.
And it's actually, it's pretty good.
Be that as it may, this dinner is not exactly ideal timing.
You just locked up a reporter.
Valerie Guillen, remember? And pardoned her.
Even if people aren't talking about your predilection for jailing reporters, they will be talking about the search warrant that was executed on your aide's private residence.
Look, I'm not gonna worry about a stunt that was engineered - to give a failed investigation oxygen.
- It won't play as a stunt.
The White House press corps is not exactly home team right now.
It'll play as an escalation of a news cycle we've been trying to change for months.
It'll juice impeachment talk, cast a shadow of a looming constitutional crisis.
And then there's the bad stuff.
So it's the perfect time to inject some levity.
But, Bess, you're not funny.
Well - Russell.
- Mike's right.
Not your strong suit.
Listen, I think we've caught a break.
After a month and a half of intensive investigations by our intelligence services, we've isolated the culprits of Iran's hack of our election.
I'm just getting word that this morning, a federal grand jury has issued indictments of five Iranian nationals - Ah - for election interference.
Finally.
Oh, uh, Blake.
Alerting President Shiraz's office.
Yeah.
Also, can I get the, uh The full background files on the Iranians? - But I'm gonna need - Photos as well.
How are you doing? Uh, nothing to brighten your morning like a battalion of Feds rifling through your underwear.
The worst is behind you.
Yeah.
Oh.
Underwear, behind.
Nice.
I am so gonna rock that ballroom.
You are seeking extradition of Reza Mousavi, our Quds Force commander.
For his criminal role in masterminding a cyber attack on my electoral opponent.
Elizabeth, I'm an ally, not a foe.
We have done such important work together.
The rapprochement between our countries, the nuclear treaty.
All of which you jeopardized by tampering with our election.
This alleged tampering which we strenuously deny was on your behalf.
It's perverse you would seek to punish us for your success.
What's perverse is assuming that I'd endorse behavior merely because it benefited me.
Interfering with our elections was the act of an enemy.
That is reckless talk.
Not as reckless as your breach of our democracy.
You have 48 hours to extradite the people responsible, or the price that Iran pays will grow exponentially steeper.
Well, you cornered him.
And cornered prey either rolls over or Or lashes out.
We'll monitor developments.
You're already dressed, which means you're not coming back to bed.
I would love to, but I am, I'm pretty late as it is and I'm actually not done with this yet, so - Yeah.
Sorry I kept you.
- No.
I think we kept each other, right? Yeah, that's been happening a lot lately, huh? Oy hey.
This is, this is important.
- Hey.
I have an idea.
- Okay.
How about we go out this evening? Uh, yeah, if I don't have to work late again.
Take a stand.
Tell them that you're the president's daughter.
Are you upset? No, I'm It's not you.
It's just we haven't left the bedroom in weeks.
Are you seriously complaining that you're oversexed? No, of course not.
I'm just beginning to feel like a kept man.
- Ah - Okay.
Okay.
Cabin fever.
I get it.
I will tell the office that I have a hard out.
- Good.
- Okay.
All right, I've got another one for you.
Odontalgia.
Odontalgia.
O-D-O-N-T-A-L-G-I-A.
Odontalgia.
Right again.
Ladies and gentlemen, your national spelling bee champion Oscar Rubis.
Congratulations, sir.
Very well done.
The president and our champion will take a few questions.
- Madam President - Keira.
President McCord, as a CIA operative in Baghdad, did you order the torture of Safeer Al-Jamil while he was in CIA custody? We're taking questions about the administration's educational What's your response to the allegation that you assaulted Philippine President Datu Andrada after he made an unwanted sexual advance? That's all we have for you today.
Thank you, everyone.
Uh, Russell, do you have a second? - Not now.
- I know where they, um, I think I know where they got their questions.
Come with me.
The oppo was on a flash drive given to me by Neal Shin from the Chronicle, when he shadowed you three years ago.
In what universe is squirreling away material whose only use could be to undermine the president a good idea? Boswell here's writing a tell-all, - remember? - Shin told me to keep it safe.
That one day the secretary might need what's on the drive.
He meant she needed it buried at sea, not enshrined in your museum.
It was in a safe.
Ma'am, I'm really sorry.
It's all right, Blake.
I mean, you couldn't have anticipated the warrant - or its scope.
- Yeah, or that some ally of Hanson's in the FBI is obviously leaking to the press.
The timing's right out of Hanson's playbook.
Releasing dirt just before the Correspondents' Dinner, he's chumming the waters.
Thank you, Blake.
Yeah, thanks, Blake.
Ma'am.
Olivia, I want I.
G.
to investigate who at Justice was behind the leak.
I mean that is a dangerous partisan move for a department that is supposed to be apolitical.
- I'll take care of it.
- On the down low, please.
Otherwise the president looks like the captain of the Good Ship Paranoid.
We have a massive political problem.
Daisy's resignation was blunting Hanson's momentum, but this raid jump-starts his investigation.
And it's the first salvo of a concurrent FBI inquiry that could drag on for months.
So now we're fighting a two-fronted war.
We should reach out to Hanson's camp, see what he wants for a truce.
Russell, put out a feeler, but let's keep in mind that a truce is not surrender.
Well, we have a foreign relations problem, too.
Shiraz might be less likely to cave if he thinks you're under siege at home.
Make that will be less likely.
Two hours ago, Hezbollah cells in Lebanon fired 26 mobile-launched surface-to-air missiles into Northern Israel.
Fatalities? Three dead in Nahariya.
Millions of dollars in damage.
Israel has already responded by blowing up a Hezbollah radar installation and two suspected weapons manufacturing sites in Dahieh.
Well, I guess we have Iran's response to your ultimatum, madam.
They're using their terrorist proxy to attack Israel, sending a message that they will drag the region into chaos if we don't back off our extradition request.
Did you reach out to Foreign Minister Tousi? My Iranian counterpart professes surprise.
He claims Iran has no influence over renegade cells.
Shiraz is squeezing you, Madam President, betting your domestic distractions will weaken your appetite for international conflict.
Well, unfortunately for him, I can walk and chew gum at the same time.
How's the rial doing, Susan? It's in free fall.
The Iranian economy is teetering on the brink of collapse.
Reach out to the G8 members.
I want to turn the screws, - step up multilateral sanctions.
- Immediately.
And add the head of the Revolutionary Guard and the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament - to the SDN and Blocked Persons List.
- Yes, ma'am.
Russell, you've got a personal relationship with the Israeli prime minister.
You tell him to keep his powder dry.
Doron will do that for only so long.
We're playing with fire here.
I know.
Coffee this late? You're gonna be up all night.
- It's not coffee.
- Oh.
It's a perfectly alkaline chicory matcha superdrink with ayurvedic herbs that Chef Cindy whipped up for me.
Whoa.
What does that taste like? Despair.
It's good to see you.
- Hmm.
Oh.
- Yeah.
Yum.
Yeah, I'm sorry I've been a little scarce - the past few weeks.
- Well, I was young once, too.
So, how's Dmitri? - He's good.
- Good.
He's great.
Actually, can I ask you? You know what, if you're too busy No, I Dish away.
So Dmitri wants to do, um, traditional couples stuff, like, in public.
- Swell.
- Yeah, except here's the thing.
I, I was just with Griffin.
I mean, God.
And our relationship was all over Instagram and-and tabloids, and, like, what, a few weeks later I'm coming out like, - "Hey, here's my new" - What's your concern? I mean, judgment.
What's your real concern? Stevie, you are the most private of my three kids.
And you're also the one who cares the least about what other people think.
Yeah.
I guess it's more about what I think.
Which is? That I was devastated when this didn't work before.
And if I commit again and we fail - You'll take it even harder.
- Yeah.
Because this time, you know, there's nobody to blame but me.
Oh, sweetie.
It's scary.
Try terrifying.
Love is all about You have to risk everything to gain everything.
Do you think that we'll make it? Well, I think that you should take it one step at a time.
Go to dinner, then come back and tell me what real food tastes like.
- I was just going to come to see you.
- I was crawling - out of my skin.
Just show me.
- Okay.
This was posted - Don't preface, just give it to me.
- on a website of a publication - called the Rubric at 6:00 this morning.
- What ooh, wait.
Okay.
"A dislike of a free press seems to run in the McCord family, "as first son Jason demonstrated by confronting "the Rubric's editor over a description of his mother "he labeled misogynistic and slanderous, "then baldly suggesting the first female president - deserved preferential treatment.
" - Oh, come on.
- You can take it from here.
- What um "When his charm offensive ran aground, "McCord resorted to ham-fisted threats, "alluding to his Secret Service detail and their - guns.
" - Guns.
"The implication being they might be deployed "to muzzle yours truly.
After all, Jason warned, his mother was 'the most powerful person in the world.
'" Nearly two million retweets.
Picked up by the AP, foreign media, it's Yeah.
Because I'm not already in Dutch enough with the press corps, who I will be schmoozing tomorrow night.
Yep.
He is going to issue an apology.
Yes, agreed.
Then we are going to shave his head and ship him off to military school.
Well, h-he's not 12, but that is a good thought.
Madam President, you're needed in the Sit Room immediately.
Okay, listen, I will have him on the next train down here to give us time to give him a proper neck-wringing.
Okay.
- You just go save the world.
- Okay, okay.
Yep, yep, yep.
At 9:00 a.
m.
Greenwich Mean Time, the G8 member nations notified Tehran that the sanctions on the Shiraz regime were being trebled.
Three hours later, the U.
K.
's two largest banks reported data breaches on their cloud servers.
And the London and Frankfurt stock exchanges just suspended trading after their own breaches.
We confirm Iran was behind it? We know they are.
They have hacking mills now.
People on the job 24/7.
And Tehran's aggression isn't limited to financial markets.
A French-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz nearly capsized after the automated ballast control system was remotely compromised.
And British ships in the region are reporting problems with GPS.
Meaning traffic through the most important oil-shipping route in the world - has come to a complete standstill.
- All of which is a prelude to an inevitable spike in oil prices, which you will be blamed for.
There is nothing subtle about this, ma'am.
Shiraz is under pressure by the hard-liners.
He wants to stay in power, he has to appease them.
So, unless we back off, this is just the beginning.
Well, I'll personally reach out to our allies.
Reinforce the coalition.
Our allies aren't going to spend political capital on an embattled president.
The undermining of democracy should concern all free nations.
Well, our friends aren't as like-minded.
And we won't be able to exert enough pressure on Shiraz independently to force him to cough up the hackers.
Then we'll go it alone.
Ellen, have JSOC pull up scenarios for the extraction of the five Iranian nationals responsible for the attack on our elections.
You are talking about breaching Iranian sovereignty.
Yes.
That is an extreme response.
To an extreme provocation, which we have tried to address diplomatically with Tehran.
And through the use of sanctions.
Those measures have not only failed, but Iran has become emboldened.
Ma'am, I'm duty bound to advise you that this could be seen as an act of war.
One which puts U.
S.
citizens and service members overseas in the line of fire.
Not to mention our allies.
Does anyone here doubt that interfering with our elections was an act of war? What we do here or don't do will have consequences.
Because America is the bellwether for freedom.
If we look away, then democracies everywhere are at risk.
I expect a full range of options as soon as you gather them.
I'm not saying "Congressman Codeine.
" Why? He's out of rehab.
Fine.
Senator Lithium? Oh, for God - I - Hey, Russell.
Welcome to the laugh-free zone, starring your headliner Mike B.
Yeah, the gang at Cactus Norm's - open mic night would beg to differ.
- Uh-huh.
By the way, two-for-one margaritas on Sundays, but, uh, skip the tuna nachos.
I think you're gonna find this update aggressively unfunny, too.
I back-channeled with Hanson's chief of staff.
He named his price for shutting down the investigation.
One kidney or two? Oh, the whole body, I'm afraid.
He's demanding rollbacks on the ESI bill, approval rights on all judicial nominees.
- Well, that's sort of funny.
- Yeah, well, I won't even mention the raft of anti-environment initiatives, corporate tax cuts, weakening gun control and health care legislation, all of which he is expecting you to cosign.
If I don't? Well, then he and his allies will beat the impeachment drum for the rest of your term.
I agree to his demands, I'll be functionally impeached anyway.
It's still worth considering.
- On what basis? - Political winds can shift, leverage can change.
Deals can be unmade.
I have no interest in this office if I can't do what the people put me here for.
I'd rather be on the farm in Virginia writing my memoirs.
With all due respect, ma'am, that might be sooner than you think.
I'll find time to speak with Senator Hanson at the Correspondents' Dinner.
Maybe we'll find some common ground.
I'll pass the word.
Excuse me, ma'am.
Uh, Jason is in the Residence.
Would you like me to invite him down? No.
Ask Henry to meet me there.
Yes, ma'am.
First off, every word I said was taken out of context.
Oh, a hit job, huh? Yeah, totally.
And Well, we happen to have the piece right here, so we can go over the inaccuracies.
Okay, maybe I was a tiny bit clumsy.
Breaking a vase is clumsy, Jason.
Accusing a female writer of misogyny while flagging the fact that your detail is packing heat that's just dumb.
I was defending you.
I know it came from a good place, but you don't help me by throwing your weight around.
And when you talk to journalists, your words are going to be scrutinized.
Real journalists don't tote around Hello Kitty knapsacks.
No, no, the blog's a farce, okay? I'm the victim here.
- Oh, boy.
- See, that's just not the way - you want to play this, sport.
- No, everyone attacks you.
And you just turn the other cheek.
Don't you get sick of that? I don't have that luxury, and neither does my family.
And I'm sorry, but that's the way it is.
Okay.
I Lesson learned.
Are we done here? We are, but you're not.
A full-throated apology posted online before the Correspondents' Dinner, uh, by, let's say, noon.
Tomorrow.
Okay.
Yeah.
I can, I'll mock up a clarification.
- Apology.
- Okay, fine.
Isn't this nice? - Mm-hmm.
- Beautiful evening.
- You, me.
- Mm-hmm.
Four people licensed to kill.
Well, a table for six is my new normal.
I've never had a normal, except for you.
- Aw.
- Oh, it's the president's daughter.
Oh, okay.
Uh, here, let's sit down.
You're nervous.
- Yeah.
- About being seen with me? No.
Um, it's just that, if we're a couple, then we are official, and if we're official, don't know, my mind goes places.
I'll never hurt you again.
You can't promise that.
- I'll never hurt you intentionally.
- Gee.
You really know how to sweet-talk a gal.
Look, it's the best I can do.
Some things are out of our control.
Yeah.
I just can't do this again.
Like, go all in, and then maybe one day I'll-I'll wake up and you'll be gone because you have this secret life that you can't outrun.
Look, there's no more secrets and there's no more running.
All I can promise you is this: I'm not leaving again, not unless I'm dragged away, kicking and screaming.
So we leave the rest up to fate? No.
I don't trust fate.
I trust you.
Okay.
So how go the jokes? Six comedy writers, three speechwriters, endless edits by Mike B.
, and it still needs a punch-up.
You're gonna be great.
What I need is a time machine, so I can go back and fix things.
These investigations aren't going anywhere.
Nope.
Maybe my presidency is.
- Babe, don't.
- I'm just being realistic.
Been thinking a lot about the fate of pioneers.
Well, you're certainly one of them.
Yeah.
You know what pioneers get to accomplish? Being first.
That's it.
Some accomplished more than that.
Not the ones that matter.
Susan B.
Anthony paved the way for women's suffrage but died 15 years before women got to vote.
And Martin Luther King fought for equality but didn't live to see many of his dreams fulfilled.
People who provide the spark don't often get to sit by the fire.
Maybe the country just wasn't ready for the first female president.
Or maybe all this is just inevitable tectonic shifts.
The earth realigning itself.
Or opening up to swallow me whole.
You're gonna get through this.
What if I don't? Well, then you'll have a burgeoning comedy career to fall back on.
Maybe I'll just fall back on you.
Well, that works, too.
Iran's cyber force is a decentralized confederation of hackers, but our intel confirms there's nothing random about the dispersion of our five targets.
Tabriz, Mashhad, Zahedan, and Bushehr.
- The four corners of the country.
- And Reza Mousavi, the crown jewel, is in Tehran.
Our range of options, unfortunately, has boiled down to one.
We would have to have a full-scale invasion to extract all the targets.
Which sets the stage for a long and costly occupation.
- Another Iraq.
- Yes, ma'am.
Well, if we can't get into Iran, maybe we can get the targets out, at least Mousavi.
- Ma'am? - Well, do we have any - high-ranking assets left in Hezbollah? - We do.
Someone who could draw Mousavi out so he's a soft target? Our agent would have to dangle the promise of a package so sensitive, it could only be passed in person.
And we'd have to burn him.
But it can be done.
Theoretically.
But what about the other four suspects? Well, I'm willing to trade the head of the snake for the rest of its body.
HUMINT says Mousavi's in line for a big promotion, maybe as soon as tomorrow.
Shiraz keeps his inner circle a stone's throw away, - under heavy guard.
- It'll be a high-risk op.
Well, then there's no time to waste.
And if it fails, there will be American fatalities.
And fallout.
Just ask Carter the cost of botched Iranian missions.
And even if this goes off without a hitch, your political enemies will accuse you of wagging the dog.
Even if you win, - you'll lose.
- Yeah.
Yup.
I want Mousavi on American soil to face justice.
I'll deal with the rest later.
- Set it up.
- Yes, Madam President.
Hey, Russell, Mousavi is happily ensconced at a baccarat table at the Casino de la Falaise.
It's some luxury seaside resort just south of Beirut.
There's a joint HRT/SEAL task force ready to grab him up.
Okay.
Bye.
So, what's the pretext? A stolen workup on the vulnerabilities of our electrical grids.
- Have you read in President Bashar? - No.
His loyalties are divided.
Besides, it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission.
Speaking of forgiveness, Madam President, Dr.
McCord, Jason posted, uh, an apology on social media.
Do we want to see it? Uh, in ten years.
Um, some of you may have seen a piece on me in The Cambridge Rubric discussing my interaction with a college journalist, and I would like to address the matter.
Um, I'm sorry for what happened.
An auspicious enough start.
I'm sorry I disrespected the serious field of college journalism.
And I'm sorry I failed to recognize that the press should be free to vilify our leaders without consequence.
Oh, less auspicious.
And I was wrong to defend my mother because she has been treated so fairly by journalists and by the Senate Intelligence Committee and by conservative critics who have embraced her as the female president that they've - always been longing for.
- No, no, no And I hope one day to display the ethics and decorum so regularly evidenced by our woke media 'cause it's what they deserve.
Jason out.
Yeah.
Well, it was, technically, an apology.
So how do you want to handle it? I don't.
You're both gonna get hammered.
Well, I'm used to it.
Maybe he'll learn something about consequences - and how to talk to people.
- Speaking of which, have you decided what you're gonna say to Hanson? Yeah.
Am I sure it's the right thing to do? Well, that's a whole different animal.
Why do they call these stupid things monkey suits? No self-respecting simian would be caught dead in one of them.
I thought you liked galas.
Only when I'm trolling for business.
This place is like a casting call for The Walking Dead.
Where's the president? Uh, discussing free trade with, uh, Secretary Barnum.
- Tell her the senator's ready.
- Will do.
Cynthia.
- Great to see you.
- Hey, Paul.
- Cynthia, how are you? - Henry.
- Oh, so good to see you.
- Hey, Paul.
And my dress is biodegradable, in honor of your ESI bill.
Oh, come on.
That's fantastic.
You know what else is biodegradable? French fries, truffles, mac and cheese.
I'm actually just eating for the environment tonight.
- Really good to see you both.
- Good to see you.
Take care.
- Hey, guys.
Hi.
- Hi.
Mom, Dad.
Oh.
Sorry.
Uh, this is Shasta.
Yeah, hi, Shasta.
It is an honor to meet you, Mr.
and Mrs.
President.
Yeah, that's not that's not how that - My-my mom - This is huge.
I Just go and have fun.
Just don't worry.
- We'll see you at the table.
- Hi.
Uh, - Madam President? - Yes? Uh, Senator Hanson is ready for you.
Good luck.
- Madam President.
- Senator.
I hope you're enjoying your evening.
Well, so far, so good.
Have you considered my offer? I have.
At some length.
Before I respond to it, I-I do want to acknowledge something.
I have made mistakes.
I can be too single-minded in my pursuit of progress.
Not solicitous enough of opposing viewpoints.
And the charge that I haven't always been quick to compromise well, that hits the mark, too.
Well said.
Compromise is the key to effective leadership.
- It is.
- But here's the thing, Senator.
You don't want compromise.
You want my complete and unconditional surrender - to your demands.
- That's a bit over the top, - don't you think? - No.
What's over the top is months of hearings engineered only to further your boundless ambition.
The relentless persecution of my staff, the most devoted and selfless public servants I have ever had the privilege of serving with.
You're a cheap shakedown artist, Senator.
And I am not willing to sell out my agenda to sit in the Oval and take orders from a partisan hack, who puts his own self-interest before the national good.
I'm gonna continue serving the American people.
You're just gonna have to try and stop me.
When the end comes, and it will, soon, remember I gave you a chance, Elizabeth.
It's Madam President.
You remember that.
- Um, this is my date Shasta.
- Hi.
Nice to meet you.
drivers here this evening.
Please feel free to drink up.
Yep, the administration has graciously arranged for free rides home care of the U.
S.
Marshals Service.
So buckle up, guys! Here we go.
Speaking of McCords who hate the media, there is the president's son Jason.
Hello, Jason, it's great to see you.
Uh, Jason is now a college junior.
He is majoring in affluenza and minoring in celibacy.
Jason, uh, does intend - to follow in his mom's footsteps.
- Extraction team is in place.
- It's awaiting your okay.
- He hopes to enter - the political arena - They have it.
as the subject of simultaneous federal investigations.
No, seriously, don't worry, Jason, in ten years no one will remember how you publicly humiliated yourself.
I, I do think I speak for everyone here tonight when I say, thank God for the Internet.
Can we switch seats? Our president is a woman of conviction.
Or soon will be.
Um But she is a good sport, and now I'm gonna give her the chance to take a few shots at all of us.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome President Elizabeth McCord! Thank you.
Good evening.
Traditionally, this is a night for humor, but some people in my administration have informed me that I am not funny.
I will miss all of them dearly.
Yet while it pains me to say this, these people were right.
Truth is, I'm not that funny, and sometimes the truth hurts and it isn't what we want to hear.
But truth is the fabric that binds society together.
What makes our government work.
What gives people trust in their leaders.
And no one is a more important defender of the truth than the people in this room.
What you do is serious, and it is important and as critical to our liberty as the work of any branch of government.
The people in this room have the unassailable right to document, to editorialize, to criticize, and to do so without fear of reprisal.
Yeah! Because without a free press, truth is not reported, power is not held accountable, and democracy cannot survive.
The founders had the wisdom to understand this and to enshrine this understanding in our holiest of civic documents.
Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of the press.
So says the First Amendment, the elemental freedom without which all other freedoms are imperiled.
May we all cherish the freedom that we honor tonight and protect it.
Thank you.
You're all under arrest.
Fellow members, it is my solemn duty to update you on the fruits of my committee's investigation.
What began as a targeted inquiry He's not wasting any time.
Hanson's addressing the full Senate.
At least he's finally putting all of his cards on the table.
Let's see what kind of hand he has.
by President McCord's own FBI.
And while the shameless obstruction of President McCord's staff means my committee's work is still ongoing, I can say with confidence that we have uncovered a pervasive pattern of secrecy and corruption in the White House, contempt for truth and transparency coordinated by President McCord that should trouble every American.
The evidence is overwhelming and irrefutable.
Her former press secretary Daisy Grant fired for concealing her receipt of hacked election materials from Iranian asset Claudine Bernard.
Her closest aide Blake Moran caught in a scheme he and the president's own daughter executed to circumvent campaign finance disclosure requirements.
Her longtime fixer and bagman Mike Barnow implicated in covering up the suspicious death of a government official.
In every instance President McCord's reward for these acts of malfeasance? A high-ranking job in the White House.
It pains me to say this culture of corruption and self-dealing extends to the president's own family.
To her husband, who has ironically been gifted the role of ethics czar in her administration.
To her daughter, who was brazenly seen in the company of former spy Dmitri Petrov at last night's Correspondents' Dinner.
Mr.
Petrov's presence was made possible because the administration negotiated an amnesty deal with Russia that greased his return, apparently so the president could facilitate her daughter's romantic yearnings.
- And still there's more.
- That son of a bitch.
The recent revelations that then Secretary of State McCord assaulted a foreign leader and concealed it.
That as a rogue agent, she authorized the torture the torture of a suspected terrorist.
In the wake of this accumulation of damning evidence, how does President McCord respond? By trying to distract the public with a sensational mission to kidnap a member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, a desperate act of adventurism to convince us she is not in league with the country that facilitated her election.
Where does this lawlessness end? With accountability.
Which is why I have referred the work product of this investigation to Representative Canning of the House Judiciary Committee for proceedings consistent with their charter.
"Consistent with their charter.
" Oh, my God.
Impeachment.
It's beginning.
All right, here we go.
We need to war game this.
Let's, uh, let's grab Olivia.
Hunker down with our allies.
Start deploying them.
A media onslaught.
Print, broadcast, digital.
Guys.
Do you think you could give me a minute, please? Madam President.
Yes, ma'am.
Blake? When is my meeting with the Council of Economic Advisers? - 10:30.
- Move it up.
I also need the OMB report on carbon reductions and the latest slate on potential judicial nominees, all right? - Right away.
- It's not your fault.
Ma'am? The flash drive.
The oppo file.
You were with me here at the very beginning.
You'll be here at the end.
Whenever that day is.
Yes, ma'am.
Let's get to work.