Barry Haskell (Federal Election Commission Commissioner)

nervous defensive reticent politically malleable

Barry Haskell is a Federal Election Commission commissioner who occupies a pivotal swing vote in the administration's campaign‑finance maneuvering. He arrives in the West Wing as a private, off‑record sympathizer to a soft‑money ban and becomes the target of staged theatrical pressure intended to convert personal sympathy into a public commitment. Socially connected but cautious, he reacts defensively when exposed and agrees — under institutional pressure and polished ritual — to align with the White House’s strategic vote arithmetic.

5 appearances

Campaign finance regulation / Federal Election oversight

Also known as: Commissioner Haskel, Commissioner Haskell, Barry Haskel, Barry

Barry Haskell …'s Journey

A timeline through the narrative

5 moments

S1E21 · Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics

Staged Welcome — Leo Parks Barry in the Fold

Flustered, embarrassed, and increasingly exposed — oscillates between defensiveness and the urge to comply to avoid further humiliation.

Nervous, deferential visitor: asks for a drink, startles at the rifle drill, resists Leo's claim that he favors a ban but is progressively cornered by Leo's use of his anonymous …

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S1E21 · Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics

Outing, Pressure, and the White House Trap

Anxious, embarrassed, cornered — oscillating between defensive indignation and fearful compliance.

Barry arrives nervous and deferential, is startled by the Marine's rifle drill, tries to assert that his newspaper quotes were given anonymously, is overruled by Leo's reframing, accepts the escorted …

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S1E21 · Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics

Oval Pressure Play — Polls as Leverage

Flustered and ashamed on the surface; anxious about career and social judgment, resistant but ultimately cornered.

Nervous and deferential; enters the West Wing wary, jumps at the rifle thump, is confronted with his own anonymous quotes, and responds with self‑justifying, embarrassed rationales about Senate confirmation and …

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S1E21 · Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics

Containment: Bartlet's Quiet Trades and the White House in Crisis

Uneasy and reactive; fear of exposure and institutional embarrassment makes him susceptible to performative coercion.

Barry Haskell arrives as a cautious, wavering F.E.C. commissioner; he is viscerally startled by a ceremonial rifle drill and socially pressured into publicly aligning with the administration's regulatory aim.

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S1E21 · Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics

Closing the Soft‑Money Loophole — Bartlet's Lobell Deal

Guarded but cooperative (as inferred from Bartlet’s characterization of him).

Barry Haskell is referenced by Bartlet as an existing sympathizer whose position has been publicly secured ('we took him out of the closet'), acting as the third vote already aligned …

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