Double Leak: NASA Suppression and DOJ Settlement Force Leo's Hand
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Joe Quincy enters and asks Josh about protocol for approaching Leo McGarry, establishing his role and the White House's working dynamics.
Quincy reveals the NASA commission report rumor, linking it to the earlier inquiry and suggesting a possible coordinated leak.
Josh confirms the connection between the inquiries and decides they need to escalate to Leo, showing growing urgency.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Not present; implicated as part of the informed group (inferred).
Seymour Little appears in Leo's roll-call of officials who knew about the settlement — his inclusion helps define the leak's narrow scope and political reach.
- • (Inferred) Protect bargaining outcomes
- • (Inferred) Avoid being dragged into scandal
- • Sensitive interagency deals require discretion
- • Leaks undermine negotiated policy outcomes
Irritated at the interruption but quickly urgent and focused; his impatience masks worry about political fallout.
Josh ambles in, banters about scaring off the bird, but instantly flips to crisis manager—triaging Donna's Post tip, asking sharp questions about the quid pro quo, and pushing to take the matter immediately to Leo.
- • Identify the source of the leak and who knew settlement terms
- • Contain reputation damage and move the response up the chain
- • Leaks are deliberate and dangerous to the administration's agenda
- • The Vice President or a small inner circle likely knew sensitive terms
Not present; implicitly at risk of suspicion (inferred).
May is listed among the few NEC or staffers who were privy to the Casseon terms; invoked by Leo to map the leak's source list.
- • (Inferred) Maintain NEC confidentiality
- • (Inferred) Ensure policy continuity
- • A small NEC core is necessary for sensitive economic deals
- • Leaks are exceptional and damaging
Warmly distracted by the bird, quickly becoming pragmatic and concerned about reputational risk.
Donna notices a dove at the window, coaxes it gently, then switches to professional mode to relay a Washington Post inquiry to Josh and helps escalate the story to Leo/C.J.'s office; she supplies the specific allegation about 100,000 computers.
- • Protect the President and administration from damaging leaks
- • Get the Press Office (C.J.) engaged to trace the Post source
- • The press will escalate unverified claims unless the White House responds quickly
- • Small facts (like settlement terms) can become political weapons if leaked
Not present; politically vulnerable and implicated (inferred).
The Vice President (Hoynes) is invoked as part of the small circle who knew the Casseon settlement terms; his knowledge implicates him politically though he does not appear onstage in this event.
- • (Inferred) Protect political standing and distance from leak
- • (Inferred) Avoid being forced into public rebuttal or resignation
- • Sensitive settlement details were restricted to a small inner circle
- • Leaked association with a quid pro quo would damage political capital
Calmly concerned and conscientious — trying to get the facts through proper channels without making assumptions.
Joe Quincy arrives politely, delivering a press-related question: a reporter is probing alleged suppression of a NASA commission report. He frames the claim to Leo and the senior staff and stands back as they respond.
- • Ensure counsel and senior staff are aware of the NASA allegation
- • Learn crisis procedures and where his role fits
- • Allegations of suppression require immediate legal and PR triage
- • He should route sensitive questions to senior staff unless instructed otherwise
Assertive and probing (inferred through staff reaction to the tip).
Referenced by Quincy as the source of the reporter's question: the science editor has a blind/source claim that the White House asked for classification of a NASA commission report alleging evidence of life on Mars.
- • Uncover whether the White House suppressed a significant scientific finding
- • Validate the blind source's claim
- • A credible science scoop is worth pursuing even with a blind source
- • Institutional secrecy around space evidence is newsworthy
Not present; positioned as a repository of privileged knowledge (inferred).
The Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust is named by Leo as one of the officials who knew the Casseon settlement terms — offered as part of Leo's leak-tracing inventory rather than appearing directly.
- • (Inferred) Protect departmental confidentiality
- • (Inferred) Ensure legal framing of settlement is defensible
- • Settlement terms are sensitive and should remain within legal channels
- • Leaks jeopardize DOJ's independence and the administration
Not present; implicitly defensive of institutional secrecy (inferred).
Hackley is named by Leo among the handful who were briefed on the Casseon deal — invoked to show how small the knowledge pool was and thus narrow the likely leak sources.
- • (Inferred) Maintain confidentiality
- • (Inferred) Avoid association with political fallout
- • Small, need-to-know circles are necessary for sensitive negotiations
- • Leaks are a betrayal of internal trust
Playful and irreverent (inferred through Margaret's line).
Referenced by Margaret in a teasing aside to Joe Quincy about a parking prank — they provide a humanizing, comic counterpoint that briefly punctures the rising tension.
- • Tease newcomers and maintain office camaraderie
- • Relieve tension with pranks
- • Humor/teasing helps cope with West Wing pressure
- • Newcomers are part of office rituals
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The NASA Commission report is the central allegation Quincy brings: a claimed classified study alleging fossilized carbonate molecules in a Martian meteorite. It functions narratively as a destabilizing, surreal claim that heightens stakes by suggesting the White House suppressed earth-shifting science.
The white dove pecks at Josh's office window, creating the opening comic beat and grounding the scene in domestic detail; it humanizes Donna, delays immediate crisis reaction, and then contrasts the sudden seriousness of the leaks.
Josh's office window functions as the literal barrier between the dove and the interior, a visual that allows Donna's tenderness to play out and then becomes incidental as staff move past it to urgent business.
The mayonnaise used in the parking spot prank is referenced conversationally by Margaret as a comedic aside toward Quincy, momentarily humanizing the staff and offsetting the urgency of the leaks.
The '100,000 computers for classrooms' are cited by Donna as the alleged quid pro quo in the DOJ/Casseon settlement — a concrete, easily visualized accusation that turns a legal settlement into a political scandal.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The West Wing Basement Hallway is referenced as part of the staff circulation routes during orientation and movement; though not the center of the leak, it contextualizes Quincy's newcomer's path through the building.
The Outer Oval Office functions as transitional West Wing space where Charlie and other staff circulate; here it's a staging area as staff move from Josh's office toward Leo's, reinforcing the intimacy and informal pathways of power.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
The Department of the Treasury is named by Leo among offices that knew the settlement terms — included to show how interagency counsel was involved and to narrow leak vectors.
The Department of Commerce is listed among those whose counsel knew the settlement — its role reinforces that multiple executive agencies were in the loop, making the leak's origin a cross-cutting problem.
The Press Office (C.J.'s shop) is the conduit through which the Washington Post's inquiry arrived (Carol called in). It is tasked with running down the Post's source and coordinating the outward message, even as staffers in Josh's office decide whom to brief.
The NEC is invoked by Leo as part of the small group that was privy to the settlement terms; its inclusion narrows possible leak sources and highlights interagency policy coordination.
The White House is the institutional stage of the event — its senior staff scramble to contain allegations that its officers intervened in DOJ business and suppressed scientific findings. The institution's credibility and the administration's agenda are immediately at stake.
The NASA Commission on Space Science and Research is the origin of the alleged report that Quincy references; its purported findings (fossil carbonate molecules from a Martian meteorite) are the substance of the suppression allegation.
The Washington Post acts as the instigator of the crisis through its science editor and reporters; its publication of the Casseon/100,000-computers allegation and the Mars suppression claim converts private knowledge into public scandal.
Casseon is the corporate party to the DOJ settlement whose terms (100,000 classroom computers) are alleged to be the quid pro quo for leniency; its settlement becomes the raw material of a political attack.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"The discovery of a possible coordinated leak escalates the situation, leading Leo to task the team with crisis management."
"The discovery of a possible coordinated leak escalates the situation, leading Leo to task the team with crisis management."
"The discovery of a possible coordinated leak escalates the situation, leading Leo to task the team with crisis management."
"The discovery of a possible coordinated leak escalates the situation, leading Leo to task the team with crisis management."
Key Dialogue
"QUINCY: "A reporter looking into the White House suppressing a NASA Commision.""
"QUINCY: "That... sir, I'm, you know... they claim it said that a meteorite from Mars... from Mars was discovered in Antarctica about 30 years ago and that we found fossilized carbonate molecules. That we know there's life on Mars, that's what they're saying we're suppressing.""
"LEO: "The Defense Department classified the NASA Commision report.""