Preempt the Hearing — Bartlet's Line in the Sand for Leo
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Bartlet pulls Josh and Sam aside for a clandestine directive: prevent House hearings on Leo's past at any cost, authorizing whatever political deal necessary to protect his Chief of Staff.
Bartlet confronts Leo about meeting with Simon Blye, delivering a stark warning about fair-weather friends and questioning why Leo seeks counsel outside their tight inner circle during crisis.
Leo defensively justifies seeking outside help while Bartlet expresses loving concern about his trusting nature, creating tension between Leo's need for broad support and the President's protective loyalty.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Controlled, quietly resolute — a calm exterior carrying personal loyalty and impatience with political gamesmanship.
President Bartlet interrupts a leaving briefing, pulls Josh and Sam into the hallway to give a blunt, pre‑emptive order protecting Leo from congressional hearings, then returns to the Oval and directly questions Leo about meeting with Simon Blye.
- • Prevent any House hearing into Leo's past from proceeding or gaining leverage.
- • Reassert control over the administration's response and preserve staff morale and privacy.
- • Clarify Leo's motives for meeting with Simon Blye and express mistrust.
- • Public hearings into a close aide's past will be damaging to individuals and the administration.
- • Leo deserves protection and counsel from the President rather than public exposure.
- • Some outside political operatives (e.g., Simon Blye) are opportunistic and cannot be trusted in crisis.
Vulnerable and apologetic — feels exposed yet reluctant to cast off personal loyalties even when questioned by the President.
Leo stands with Bartlet through the briefing, listens as Bartlet orders protections on his behalf, and is then privately confronted in the Oval about meeting Simon Blye — he defends Blye as a friend and seeks counsel, appearing rueful and slightly defensive.
- • Secure counsel and support during a potentially embarrassing inquiry.
- • Preserve personal relationships (defend his friendship with Simon Blye).
- • Avoid escalating the public dimension of his private past.
- • Friends like Simon have been helpful in good times and may provide needed counsel now.
- • The President values and protects him; he should be honest about his needs.
Professional detachment — performing duties without intrusion into the content of the conversation.
The Secret Service agent posted at the Oval doorway politely steps aside when Bartlet asks to speak privately in the hallway, physically enforcing access and signaling the corridor's temporary privacy for an executive directive.
- • Maintain Presidential security and control access to the Oval.
- • Allow senior staff a private moment while preserving protocol.
- • Access to the President is controlled and must be enforced.
- • Non‑interference with internal staff discussions is part of duty.
Alert, professionally focused — ready to convert the President's directive into tactical action while masking any personal concern.
Joshua Lyman receives Bartlet's order in the hallway, acknowledges the timing for going up to the Hill, and accepts the instruction to preserve options and check with the President before conceding anything to opponents.
- • Protect Leo and the administration from a damaging, public hearing.
- • Maintain maximum leverage when negotiating with House members ('don't take anything off the table').
- • House actors will attempt to trade hearings for concessions.
- • Immediate, unified White House direction minimizes political damage.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The Sex Education report is verbally raised by C.J. and Leo as a consequential policy packet requiring presidential review; it functions as a narrative pressure point—something the President must choose to release or stage, and a deadline that competes with the emergent personnel crisis.
Bartlet references his compact camera as the comedic device that 'proved' he saw Leo's meeting on the schedule—used rhetorically to disarm Leo and to assert knowingness. It functions narratively as a small, humanizing prop that punctures tension and enables an intimate reprimand.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Oval Office is the central battleground for the substantive briefing—where policy details (bananas, CPB appointments) meet personnel politics. It hosts the formal exchange where Bartlet puts institutional muscle behind a personal protection order.
The West Wing Hallway functions as the private corridor where Bartlet pulls Josh and Sam aside to give the explicit order to pre‑empt a hearing—a liminal space enabling confidential tactical directives away from the wider group.
The Outer Oval Office serves as the initial threshold where domestic staff (Mrs. Landingham, Nancy) and the President exchange banter, establishing informal tone. It frames entry into formal council and stages the shift from casual to urgent political business.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Bartlet's protective loyalty to Leo remains consistent across both moments."
"Bartlet's protective loyalty to Leo remains consistent across both moments."
Key Dialogue
"BARTLET: "I want to pre-empt a hearing. I don't want it. I don't want it for Leo. I don't want it for his family. I don't want it for us. They know that, and they're gonna play 'Let's Make a Deal.' Don't take anything off the table until you've talked to me. You understand?""
"LEO: "He's a good friend.""
"BARTLET: "No, he's not.""
"BARTLET: "You put a lot of faith in people, Leo, and I love you for that. I just don't want to see you get disappointed.""