Fabula
Object
Object

Leo McGarry's Confidential Sierra‑Tucson Treatment Records (held by Congressman Lillienfield; S01E09)

A compact, confidential personnel packet comprised of typed Sierra‑Tucson treatment paperwork — a single page or short bundle on facility letterhead with dates and clinical notations. Characters handle it as hard evidence: the document's existence is named aloud, accused as the item passed to Mr. Claypool, and its revelation sharpens Sam's interrogation and precipitates Karen Larson's immediate dismissal.
3 appearances

Purpose

To record and verify a patient's clinical treatment history at Sierra‑Tucson and to function as confidential personnel/vetting material.

Significance

Serves as the narrative fulcrum for a political leak: its unauthorized circulation creates a reputational and personnel crisis, weaponizes private medical history for political ends, destroys internal trust, and triggers Sam's summary firing of Karen.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

3 moments
S1E9 · The Short List
Mandatory Tests vs. Principle: Mandy Confronts Josh

Confidential treatment/medical records are invoked indirectly when Josh tells Donna 'I've seen your records'—the files function as the unseen evidence motivating the interrogation and the broader panic about leaked personnel information.

Before: Stored offstage or in secure files; held by investigators or the Congressman/oversight channels as implied in the conversation.
After: Still confidential and offstage, but now acknowledged in the room as known to Josh and implicated in the political leak; the threat they pose remains active.
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S1E9 · The Short List
Door Slam and the Revelation

Confidential Sierra‑Tucson treatment records are referenced as the tangible threat held by Lillienfield. The papers are the explicit instrument of blackmail that recasts a personal medical history into political leverage.

Before: Offstage and in the possession of Congressman Lillienfield (implied), confidential and secure within treatment facility protocols.
After: Revealed (by Josh's assertion) to be in Lillienfield's hands, thus becoming an active political threat.
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S1E9 · The Short List
Leo's Recovery Threatened

The confidential Sierra‑Tucson treatment records are the central implied MacGuffin. Josh reveals their existence and that Lillienfield 'has them', converting rumor into a tangible political threat. Their mention catalyzes Leo's shock and reorients the confirmation fight to a personal front.

Before: Held offstage by Congressman Lillienfield; confidential and potentially sealed in treatment facility files.
After: Still in Lillienfield's possession offstage; however, their existence is now known to Leo and Josh, escalating the urgency of damage control.
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