C.J. Exposes Jordan's Jury Scandal, Shattering Sam's Idealism
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
C.J. intervenes, shifting focus from the constitutional debate to a looming political crisis with Sam's recruited candidate, Tom Jordan.
C.J. reveals the damaging details of Tom Jordan's prosecutorial record regarding jury selection, forcing Sam to confront the ethical and political fallout of his recruitment.
Sam is left alone in the Mural Room, absorbing the implications of the scandal as the act concludes.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Urgent and unflinchingly direct, masking broader midterm anxieties
C.J. strides into the Toby-Sam bullpen clash to interrupt decisively, pulls Sam aside into the Mural Room for a private urgent reveal of Jordan's racially skewed jury strikes, presses him to fix the political liability, then exits leaving him stranded.
- • Alert Sam to Jordan's scandal to mitigate electoral damage
- • Compel immediate action to 'save' the candidate's viability
- • Prosecutorial habits don't translate to politics without fixes
- • Staff must triage liabilities ruthlessly post-shooting surge
Argumentative defiance shifting to surprised dismay and isolation
Sam vehemently opposes Toby's disclosure plan citing First Amendment and NAACP persecutions, defends Tom Jordan's record instinctively before reeling from C.J.'s jury scandal revelation in the Mural Room, then stands alone in contemplative isolation.
- • Block Toby's unconstitutional overreach
- • Protect and salvage recruited candidate Tom Jordan
- • Free association rights are sacrosanct per Supreme Court precedents
- • Jordan's prosecutorial record embodies competence despite flaws
Fiercely indignant, fueled by personal victimization and policy urgency
Toby aggressively pitches public disclosure of hate group rolls as Step 3 in his plan, counters Sam's First Amendment attacks by dismissing Warren Court activism and invoking his shooting trauma, then storms off as C.J. interrupts the bullpen showdown.
- • Force public accountability on hate groups via disclosures
- • Overcome constitutional objections to enact immediate action
- • Post-shooting threats demand aggressive countermeasures
- • Modern courts would endorse hate group exposures unlike activist Warren era
Unknown (absent); implied as transitioning uneasily from prosecutor to politician
Tom Jordan is absent but pivotally invoked by C.J. as Sam's recruited candidate whose prosecutorial jury selection—favoring white jurors for Black defendants—is exposed as a damning scandal transforming his record from asset to midterm liability.
- • Secure the congressional seat via Sam's recruitment
- • Overcome prosecutorial baggage in swing district
- • Preemptive challenges are standard prosecutorial tools
- • Political scrutiny demands adaptation beyond courtroom norms
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Josh's Bullpen Area serves as the chaotic public battleground for Toby and Sam's explosive policy debate on hate group disclosures, with desks and staff underscoring the high-stakes White House nerve center where C.J. intervenes to redirect tensions privately, heightening the scene's rhythmic shift from confrontation to revelation.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
Sam hyperbolically accuses Toby's plan of requiring everyone to 'register affiliation with the FBI,' amplifying fears of overreach and tying into broader post-assassination manhunt frustrations.
Sam weaponizes NAACP history—labeled 'terrorist' in Southern anti-association laws during Civil Rights era—as analogy to Toby's disclosure plan, underscoring First Amendment perils and Supreme Court vindication, sharpening the ethical clash.
Toby derides the Warren Court as 'ultra-activist' for striking down NAACP disclosure laws, claiming modern courts would differ, framing it as outdated barrier to Toby's hate group strategy in the heated exchange.
Toby explicitly proposes public disclosure of membership and contributor rolls for all groups on the Attorney General's List of Designated Hate Groups as Step 3, positioning it as a transparency tool to expose funders and affiliates amid post-shooting urgency, fueling the core debate.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Sam's recruitment of Tom Jordan sets up the later crisis when Jordan's problematic prosecutorial record is revealed."
"Sam's recruitment of Tom Jordan sets up the later crisis when Jordan's problematic prosecutorial record is revealed."
"Toby's legally dubious plan to target hate groups is echoed in his later frustration with legal limitations, highlighting the theme of justice vs. legality."
"Toby's legally dubious plan to target hate groups is echoed in his later frustration with legal limitations, highlighting the theme of justice vs. legality."
Key Dialogue
"C.J.: "There's a problem with your friend.""
"SAM: "Tom Jordan, the guy you got running." C.J.: "His prosecutorial record." SAM: "His prosecutorial record is great." C.J.: "Not during jury selection.""
"C.J.: "Your friend likes white jurists for his black defendants." SAM: "He's a prosecutor, C.J." C.J.: "Not anymore. Now he's a politician and this needs a save. So, get into it, would you?""