Leo Deploys Josh Against Tobacco's Legal Juggernaut
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Leo urgently summons Josh, revealing his agitation and the high stakes of their impending discussion.
Leo confronts Josh with staggering statistics about the Justice Department's underfunded battle against the tobacco industry, highlighting systemic imbalance.
Leo directs Josh to investigate the budget issue with the ranking minority member, Ritter, escalating their strategic response.
Josh presses Leo for clarity on the President's reelection plans, exposing the unresolved tension at the heart of their crisis management.
An abrupt interruption by Margaret with a note halts their discussion, leaving the reelection question hanging as Leo exits urgently.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Positioned as pivotal obstacle demanding confrontation
Ritter is pinpointed by Leo and confirmed by Josh as the ranking minority member of the budget subcommittee, becoming Josh's immediate target for grilling on Justice's underfunding crisis.
- • Maintain subcommittee fiscal control
- • Evaluate White House funding pleas
- • Budget oversight protects congressional prerogatives
- • DOJ shortfalls stem from deliberate allocations
Steadfast neutrality amid mounting frenzy
Margaret slips in to confirm Josh's arrival and exits briskly on Leo's order; later, she knocks and enters with a critical note, handing it over silently as the reelection talk halts, prompting Leo's abrupt departure.
- • Relay Josh's status accurately
- • Deliver urgent note without delay
- • Leo's commands override all interruptions
- • Urgent communications demand instant relay
Implied unflinching precision from prior impact
Joey Lucas is invoked by Leo as the pollster whose fresh, devastating MS numbers—delivered to Bartlet overnight—fuel the reelection standoff, justifying a day's delay in decision-making.
- • Deliver unvarnished polling truth
- • Inform White House reelection calculus
- • Honest data trumps hopeful spin
- • MS revelation dooms approval without strategy
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Leo shoves the DOJ Tobacco Litigation Report across his desk to Josh, voice cracking as he recites its incendiary stats—31 Justice lawyers vs. 1,893 tobacco attorneys, paralegal hordes, counsel ballooning to 192 million, travel excesses at 61.3 million—igniting Josh's mission to Ritter and symbolizing public health's systemic rout.
Margaret thrusts the urgent note into Leo's hand mid-reelection debate; he scans it in seconds, jaw tightening in frustration before crumpling it viciously and tossing it aside, exploding the strategy session and hurtling him into unseen crisis, amplifying frantic White House rhythm.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
Tobacco Companies loom as the Goliath via report stats, their 1,893 lawyers, 2,783 paralegals, 192 million in counsel fees, and 61.3 million travel splurge eviscerating DOJ's 31 staff and 8.7 million budget—framing corporate deceit as unstoppable force mirroring White House MS cover-up strains.
The Subcommittee is outed by Leo as Justice budget overlord, with Ritter as bullseye; Josh tasked to storm its gates for answers on DOJ's starvation diet fueling tobacco triumph, injecting congressional leverage into White House war on public health sabotage.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Leo's revelation of the tobacco lawsuit funding imbalance escalates to Josh's fiery confrontation with Congressmen over the human cost of their inaction."
Key Dialogue
"LEO: "Justice has 31 lawyers and staff. Tobacco has 1,893 lawyers and 2,783 paralegals. This is no typo, right?""
"JOSH: "No.""
"LEO: "Talk to him. Find out what the problem is.""
"LEO: "He just had Joey's numbers in the middle of the night. Give him the day!""