The West Wing
S1E13
· Take Out The Trash Day

Backstairs Standoff: C.J. and Danny

Late at night in the press room C.J. sits on the back steps weighing how far she'll push to shape the White House narrative — whether to prompt the Lydells, suppress leaks, or quietly steer coverage. Danny arrives, reads the familiar look, and refuses to take a planted lead from her. Their exchange is equal parts professional boundary and private history: flirtation undercuts ethical firmness as both acknowledge a practiced dance. The scene crystallizes the administration's struggle to control information and establishes a durable line between C.J.'s influence and a reporter's independence.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

4

C.J. is caught in a moment of contemplation by Danny, who probes her seemingly idle state.

contemplation to curiosity ['back steps leading out of the …

Danny deflects C.J.'s attempt to potentially leak a story, asserting his boundaries as a journalist.

hesitation to assertiveness

Danny reveals his refusal to take a story from C.J., hinting at the potential fallout for their professional and personal relationship.

confrontation to playful tension

The interaction concludes with mutual acknowledgments of their professional prowess, with C.J. asserting the administration's capability to manage information.

tension to mutual respect

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

2
C.J. Cregg
primary

Controlled and conflicted — outwardly composed, internally calculating the political cost, with a fatigued impatience softened by a private, wry intimacy.

Sitting on the press room back steps, C.J. weighs tactical options aloud, probes Danny for cooperation, and ultimately uses flirtation and practiced banter to test boundaries before standing and re-entering the briefing room.

Goals in this moment
  • • Determine whether a sympathetic reporter will accept a planted lead to shape coverage.
  • • Protect the administration's preferred narrative and limit damaging leaks or unsanctioned stories.
Active beliefs
  • • Information can and should be managed to protect institutional interests.
  • • Personal rapport with reporters is a tool — useful but risky — in shaping coverage.
Character traits
strategic guarded disciplined calculatedly flirtatious
Follow C.J. Cregg's journey
Danny Concannon
primary

Amused and firm — professionally alert to opportunity but determined to maintain independence, using humor and personal history to deflect manipulation.

Enters from the back room, reads C.J.'s expression, verbally refuses to accept a fed lead, reinstates a professional boundary while allowing flirtation to undercut the tension; follows C.J. into the briefing room when she leaves.

Goals in this moment
  • • Preserve journalistic independence by refusing planted or steered leads.
  • • Signal to C.J. (and himself) that he will pursue any real story on his own terms.
Active beliefs
  • • A reporter's credibility depends on finding, not accepting, leads from sources with agendas.
  • • Personal relationships with press operatives complicate but do not override professional ethics.
Character traits
principled wry steadfast playfully provocative
Follow Danny Concannon's journey

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

1
White House Press Briefing Room (Press Room)

The Press Room's back steps function as an intimate threshold where private persuasion attempts occur away from microphones. The steps provide a semi-private stage for the ethical exchange between press secretary and reporter, letting them trade banter and test boundaries before entering the public briefing area.

Atmosphere Tension-filled with low-light solitude and quiet, charged conversation — a liminal, conspiratorial hush.
Function Intimate meeting place and threshold for private negotiation before the formal briefing; a backstage where …
Symbolism Represents the moral liminality between private persuasion and public accountability; a place where institutional control …
Access Semi-restricted: frequented by aides and reporters; not open to the public but accessible to credentialed …
Dim or fluorescent late-night lighting that isolates faces and expressions. Physical back steps that create a lower, private vantage point apart from the briefing podium. Ambient sounds muted — the hum of building systems and distant footsteps, emphasizing intimacy.

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What led here 2
Character Continuity medium

"C.J.'s boundary-setting with Danny regarding leaks persists across scenes."

The Leak Question — C.J. Draws a Line
S1E13 · Take Out The Trash Day
Character Continuity medium

"C.J.'s boundary-setting with Danny regarding leaks persists across scenes."

Toby's Gentle Probe — Zoey and the Leak
S1E13 · Take Out The Trash Day

Key Dialogue

"DANNY: Don't. (Don't leak me a story.)"
"DANNY: I've seen this look on the face of four other press secretaries before you. You've got a story in the trash this week that's a story, you want it out there and someone said no."
"DANNY: Cause twenty minutes from now you're gonna remember you're a professional and you're not gonna like me anymore."