Situation Room: Assassination Plan Briefing and Moral Reckoning
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Bartlet enters the Situation Room, greeted by military protocol, setting the stage for a high-stakes discussion.
A military official outlines the legal framework for covert actions, emphasizing the President's sole authority and the ban on political assassinations.
Leo argues that Executive Orders can be ignored by the Executive, hinting at the moral flexibility required for the proposed action.
Fitzwallace details the Posse Comitatus Act's restrictions, forcing the operation offshore to Bermuda, where legal constraints don't apply.
Fitzwallace unveils the plan to intercept Shareef's Gulfstream mid-flight, forcing a landing in Bermuda for the assassination.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Heightened alertness under formal deference
Officer snaps room to attention with crisp 'Ten-hut!' as Bartlet enters, then sits with others, embodying rigid protocol that punctuates the shift from pre-brief tension to presidential command presence.
- • Enforce military decorum upon President's arrival
- • Signal readiness for high-stakes briefing
- • Hierarchy demands immediate respect
- • Protocol steadies crisis atmosphere
Unaware prey in plotters' calculus
Shareef looms as referenced target—Oval meeting, Gulfstream flight, RAF landing—his 'gift' exchange priming recorder trap, embodying the human face of terror Bartlet recoils from putting voice to.
- • Attend diplomatic summit oblivious (inferred)
- • Diplomatic veil shields terror operations
Neutral operational focus
Aide responds to Man 3rd's nod by unzipping jacket, extracting pen-recorder, and handing it directly to Bartlet, who flinches and drops it, standing silently as President departs.
- • Deliver covert device seamlessly
- • Facilitate intel-gathering handover
- • Small actions enable larger strategic wins
- • Chain of command ensures flawless execution
Steadfast resolve concealing tactical calculation
Fitzwallace positions beside computer display to detail Gulfstream sabotage—U.S. asset pilot faking failure for RAF Bermuda landing—rising with others on Bartlet's entry and exit, his measured delivery underscoring military precision amid President's probing.
- • Convince Bartlet of plan's feasibility and deniability
- • Highlight non-military execution to skirt legal barriers
- • Shareef's elimination justifies extraordinary measures
- • Secrecy through minimal British involvement ensures success
Visceral unease surging into repulsed resolve, masking deeper ethical torment
Bartlet enters abruptly, endures terse legal briefing on covert rules and assassination bans, probes plan logistics with sharp skepticism, receives and recoils from pen-recorder by dropping it disdainfully on table before demanding it be boxed and storming out, his body language radiating profound discomfort.
- • Grasp full operational and legal implications of assassination
- • Test feasibility and secrecy of the kill plan
- • Executive Orders carry profound moral weight despite waivability
- • Killing demands ironclad justification beyond mere security
Concerned vigilance tempered by dutiful pragmatism
Leo greets Bartlet warmly upon entry, sits amid briefing, interjects to strictly limit briefing exclusivity with 'This is as big as the club gets,' enforcing operational secrecy as tension from prior schedule clash lingers in his poised vigilance.
- • Safeguard briefing's compartmentalization
- • Support President's informed decision-making
- • Absolute secrecy minimizes risks in covert ops
- • President must confront harsh realities head-on
Professionally composed amid ethical undercurrents
Man 3rd warns of Gang of Eight notification mandate post-order, questions gift exchange to propose pen-recorder, nods to aide for handover, rises on Bartlet's unease-fueled exit, threading legal oversight with tactical intel ploy.
- • Embed recording device via diplomatic gift
- • Ensure compliance with congressional oversight laws
- • Intelligence edges outweigh moral qualms
- • Legal notifications are non-negotiable safeguards
Confirming Executive Order bans on political assassinations.
- • Clarify legal prohibitions
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Shareef's Gulfstream features centrally in Fitzwallace's briefing—piloted by U.S. asset to fake failure en route to Bermuda RAF strip—its diplomatic fuselage recast as mobile kill chamber, forcing Bartlet to envision the mechanics of remote execution.
Fitzwallace stations beside the humming computer screen displaying Gulfstream schematics—failure protocols, RAF coordinates—its glow illuminating the assassination blueprint as Bartlet leans in, transforming abstract kill calculus into visceral tactical reality that heightens his probing scrutiny.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Remote RAF Bermuda strip—'road in the grass'—pivots as kill site in Fitzwallace's plan, its isolation (only three aware) enabling Gulfstream ambush; Bartlet interrogates British complicity, underscoring alliance strains in covert op's geography.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
Gang of Eight invoked by Man 3rd as mandatory post-order notify—bipartisan leaders/intel chairs—amplifying legal duress on Bartlet, transforming solo executive call into congressionally shadowed burden.
RAF's remote Bermuda strip unwittingly hosts kill zone—three personnel only aware—queried by Bartlet on complicity, its 'grass road' enabling secrecy but straining U.S.-UK bonds in plot's machinery.
White House frames the covert crucible—Oval meeting site for Shareef gift, Situation Room as decision forge—its schedule preservation (per prior tension) priming the trap, embodying executive isolation in terror calculus.
Joint Chiefs sit entrenched with Leo and intel personnel, rising in unison for Bartlet, bolstering Fitzwallace's briefing on non-military kill via Gulfstream, their presence lending warfighting gravity to legal and tactical disclosures that pressure presidential choice.
Pentagon's scheduling rigidity—preserving Shareef's White House visit—echoes in briefing subtext, enabling paranoia-free Gulfstream trap; referenced as operational architect, its calculus defended implicitly through Fitzwallace.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"The pen recorder Bartlet drops in discomfort is later retrieved as evidence after Shareef's assassination."
"The pen recorder Bartlet drops in discomfort is later retrieved as evidence after Shareef's assassination."
"The pen recorder Bartlet drops in discomfort is later retrieved as evidence after Shareef's assassination."
"Bartlet's initial discomfort with Fitzwallace's assassination plan contrasts with his eventual decision to authorize it, showcasing his moral conflict."
Key Dialogue
"BARTLET: "Doesn't the law also require that I not assassinate someone?" MAN 2ND: "Yes. Political assassination is banned by Executive Order. Two Executive Orders, as a matter of fact." BARTLET: "I know. One of them was mine.""
"FITZWALLACE: "He's flying back tonight in his gulfstream. The pilot will be one of our people. They'll experience a mechanical failure about 90 minutes into the flight and set down in a remote RAF strip in Bermuda. It's really not much more than a road in the grass.""
"BARTLET: "What does the pen do? Squirts poison?" MAN 3RD: "It's got a small recording device in there. He'll probably throw it in the trash, but you never know. You might get lucky. He sticks it in his pocket on the flight home.""