The West Wing
S2E20
· The Fall's Gonna Kill You

Oliver Ruthlessly Grills C.J. on MS Collapse and Flu Lie

In the White House Counsel's office, Oliver Babish launches a surgical interrogation of Press Secretary C.J. Cregg, probing her firsthand witness to President Bartlet's MS attack a year prior and her public flu announcement. C.J. deflects with sharp, evasive sarcasm—rambling about exotic diseases, historical presidential ailments, and cross-dressing stats—to shield her loyalty and avoid implicating superiors. Unfazed by her charm offensive, Oliver dismantles her tactics, demanding precision and halting the session amid her defiant outburst. This pivotal confrontation excavates C.J.'s complicity, heightening the cover-up's legal tensions and fracturing White House solidarity as subpoenas loom.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

6

Oliver confronts C.J. about her knowledge of the President's MS attack, establishing the confrontation's stakes.

defensive to sarcastic

C.J. deflects Oliver's probing with humor and historical anecdotes, masking her unease.

sarcasm to tension

Oliver shuts down C.J.'s deflection with a blunt admission of his own nature, pressuring her to take the questioning seriously.

deflection to confrontation

Oliver accuses C.J. of lying to the press about the President's condition, challenging her complicity.

confrontation to anger

C.J. refuses to implicate others in the cover-up, asserting her boundaries under Oliver's relentless questioning.

anger to defiance

Oliver uses a trivial question about the time to illustrate C.J.'s tendency to over-answer, revealing his manipulative tactics.

defiance to exhaustion

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

3
James Polk
President
 primary

Neutral invocation as a rhetorical shield

James Polk is briefly invoked by C.J. during her evasive rambling as a historical example of a president concealing diverticulitis, deployed to normalize hidden executive health issues and deflect Oliver's probing into Bartlet's MS cover-up.

Goals in this moment
  • • Undermine the uniqueness of Bartlet's concealment
  • • Dilute legal scrutiny through historical relativism
Active beliefs
  • • Presidential infirmities are routinely hidden from public view
  • • Historical parallels justify contemporary deceptions
Character traits
historical precedent for secrecy symbol of banalized presidential frailty
Follow James Polk's journey
Oliver Babish
Special Counsel
 primary

unfazed

ruthlessly interrogating C.J. about her presence at the President's collapse and her flu announcement to the press, dismantling her evasions and calling a break

Goals in this moment
  • • probe C.J.'s firsthand knowledge of the President's MS attack
  • • demand precise answers about the flu lie and cover-up involvement
Character traits
detached exacting professional strategic unflappable methodical decisive authoritative relentless incisive
Follow Oliver Babish's journey
Josiah Edward 'Jed' Bartlet (President of the United States)
President of the United States
 primary

significantly referenced as having had an MS attack and collapsed a year ago in January, with C.J. present nearby

Character traits
politically pragmatic jocular policy‑driven paternal commands institutional authority relational — centers staff and family centralizing (commands staff attention and schedules) centralized authority figure strategically vital intelligent politically consequential (actions and associations create immediate risk) protocol-driven calculating principled in public rhetoric vulnerable emotionally forceful institutionally minded performative control of public optics candid principled politically vulnerable (per party strategists and press) strategic witty/jocular under pressure vulnerable-to-proxy-actions collegial poised decisive principled but electorally mindful resolute constitutional protective (paternal focus on family safety) deliberative ruthless burdened decisive when confronted with moral stakes authoritative/managerial paternal/protective regionally grounded politically strategic supportive traditional weary/resolute authoritative public-facing decisive in crisis loyal blunt protective politically consequential measured committed politically shrewd risk‑aware consequential self-aware witty institutional (symbolic center of staff effort) ceremonial
Follow Josiah Edward …'s journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

1
Counsel's Table Glass Pitcher and Drinking Glasses

The glass pitcher and drinking glasses sit pristine and untouched at the interrogation table's center, embodying frozen civility amid escalating tension. C.J. references a 'Stueben glass pitcher' crashing during the President's collapse a year ago as her cue to enter the room, bridging the past incident to Oliver's present dissection of her complicity and the flu lie.

Before: Pristine and centered on the table between Oliver …
After: Still untouched and pristine on the table as …
Before: Pristine and centered on the table between Oliver and C.J., with her arms crossed defensively nearby.
After: Still untouched and pristine on the table as C.J. departs wearily.

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

1
Office of the White House Counsel

This White House legal bunker hosts Oliver Babish's methodical takedown of C.J.'s defenses, with daylight slicing through the space as videotapes loom implicitly and questions carve into loyalties. The confined table setup amplifies claustrophobic pressure, turning a formal office into a psychological battleground where cover-up fissures widen under subpoena threats.

Atmosphere Taut and adversarial, laced with sarcasm shattering against clinical precision, punctuated by pauses and door-knock …
Function Interrogation chamber for extracting White House secrets
Symbolism Fortified arena exposing institutional deception's human cost
Access Restricted to counsel and subpoenaed staff; private executive enclave
Daylight illumination heightening exposure Central table with glass pitcher and glasses as rigid props C.J.'s defensive crossed arms underscoring isolation

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

No narrative connections mapped yet

This event is currently isolated in the narrative graph

Part of Larger Arcs

Oliver Babish's surgical, ruthless interrogation of C.J. Cregg on her repeated lies about President Bartlet's health, dissecting press briefings and flu deceptions for legal exposure in the MS cover-up.

Key Dialogue

"OLIVER: What did you think had happened? C.J.: At first glance, I thought he might have a virus contracted from a rare African tsetse fly, possibly tropical sprue. I'm not an expert, but I did meet a man once in India."
"OLIVER: In my entire life I've never found anything charming. C.J.: [after long pause] Really?"
"C.J.: [yelling] I'm not getting into that! I'm not getting into who said what. We can do that at the next of what I'm sure will be many sessions."