Leo Stonewalls Rathburn's Probes on Early MS Disclosure
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Rathburn presses Leo about whether Bartlet disclosed his health condition during their initial meetings, and Leo firmly denies any such disclosure.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Exasperated impatience laced with concern for Leo's risky tactics.
Jordan huddles close as Leo covers his mic, responding to his absurd lunch banter with genuine confusion and insistence, urging him sharply to 'answer the question,' acting as his exasperated confidante and tactical check amid the hearing's tension.
- • Prompt Leo to directly address Rathburn's question
- • Support Leo's defense without enabling reckless stalling
- • Direct answers minimize hearing risks more than evasion
- • Leo's loyalty must be tempered with strategic discipline
Feigned casual composure masking fierce protectiveness and calculated resolve.
Leo sits composed at the witness stand, delivering curt 'No's to direct questions on Bartlet's health disclosures, covers his mic to whisper strategy with Jordan, stalls via lunch banter and feigned forgetfulness, repeating 'I don't know' to the hypothetical, masterfully controlling the exchange.
- • Shield Bartlet from early disclosure accusations
- • Delay and deflect Rathburn's line of inquiry through stalling
- • Absolute loyalty to Bartlet demands total denial
- • Tactical evasion preserves political integrity under scrutiny
Aggressively frustrated, barely containing irritation at Leo's evasions.
Rathburn relentlessly questions Leo from the committee dais, pressing on health disclosures in past meetings and a hypothetical about Bartlet's candidacy, growing impatient and calling out 'Mr. McGarry' as Leo stalls, embodying prosecutorial aggression in the hearing.
- • Elicit admission of early cover-up knowledge from Leo
- • Force Leo into damaging hypothetical concession on Bartlet's fitness
- • Leo is withholding critical information about Bartlet's health
- • Persistent pressure will crack executive stonewalling
N/A (referenced only)
Jed Bartlet is invoked hypothetically by Rathburn's questions about health disclosures in past meetings and candidacy support, absent physically but central to the interrogation's stakes as Leo denies any mention.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Leo covers the compact mic with his hand to create a private whisper channel with Jordan, enabling off-record strategy talk and lunch banter amid Rathburn's probing; it symbolizes fleeting privacy in the public hearing glare, functionally shielding sensitive counsel while heightening tension over potential leaks.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The House Hearing Room hosts Rathburn's aggressive cross-examination of Leo at the witness stand, with Jordan huddled nearby; its formal setup amplifies the interrogation's intensity, camera glare underscoring public scrutiny as Leo's mic-covering stall unfolds, turning the space into a high-stakes gladiatorial arena for loyalty and evasion.
The Marriott is referenced by Rathburn as site of Leo and Bartlet's second meeting, invoked to probe for health disclosure; it lingers as a shadow of private political intimacy now weaponized in public scrutiny, contrasting the hearing room's exposure with past confidentiality.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
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Key Dialogue
"RATHBURN: "He never mentioned his health?" LEO: "No.""
"RATHBURN: "Not during the first meeting in his office?" LEO: "No.""
"RATHBURN: "Not during the second meeting at the Marriott?" LEO: "No.""