The West Wing
S3E5
· War Crimes

Cliff Calley Formally Confirms Donna's Deposition Oath

In voice-over against the exterior of the House Oversight Committee Building, Majority Counsel Cliff Calley methodically explains the deposition process to Donna Moss, clarifying the House reporter's transcription role and emphasizing that she has just been sworn in by a notary public, placing her under oath. He directly asks if she understands, methodically establishing the deposition's ironclad legal gravity and perjury risks. This procedural opener heightens tension, priming Donna's high-stakes testimony amid leaked secrets scrutiny and foreshadowing her unraveling lie about her diary.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

1

Cliff Calley formally initiates the deposition, emphasizing the legal gravity of the proceeding and Donna's sworn oath.

neutral to tension ['House Oversight Committee Building']

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

3
Notary Public
primary

Stoically neutral, embodying procedural inevitability

Invoked in voice-over as the officiant who moments ago swore Donna Moss under oath, their prior action now spotlighted to underscore the deposition's binding legal force just before questioning erupts.

Goals in this moment
  • • Enforce oath's transformative power on witness
  • • Transition casual encounter to sworn accountability
Active beliefs
  • • Perjury penalty demands prior ritual completion
  • • Official swearing legitimizes all ensuing testimony
Character traits
impartial ritualistic unyielding
Follow Notary Public's journey
Cliff Calley
primary

Coolly commanding with underlying prosecutorial intent

Delivers precise voice-over narration explaining deposition mechanics, distinguishing House reporter's transcription from notary's oath, confirming Donna's sworn status, and directly querying her understanding to cement procedural gravity.

Goals in this moment
  • • Ensure witness fully grasps legal process and risks
  • • Establish unassailable foundation for high-stakes testimony
Active beliefs
  • • Oath enforces unbreakable truth-telling
  • • Clarity prevents procedural challenges or perjury escapes
Character traits
methodical authoritative procedural relentlessly fair
Follow Cliff Calley's journey

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

1
Rayburn House Negotiation Room

The building's austere stone exterior frames Cliff's voice-over prelude to Donna's deposition, its congressional facade radiating unsparing authority and perjury shadows, visually amplifying the voice-over's methodical escalation of legal jeopardy amid leaked secrets' unraveling.

Atmosphere Scorching daylight tension, crackling with oversight's iron procedural grip
Function Backdrop for deposition's tense oath affirmation
Symbolism Monument to partisan scrutiny and truth's extraction
Access Congressional venue implying restricted, formal access
Daylight illuminating stone facade Open-air expanse heightening exposure

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What this causes 1
Character Continuity medium

"Cliff's formal initiation of Donna's deposition foreshadows her later weaponization of their past intimacy during their confrontation."

Rain-Soaked Ambush: Cliff Exposes Donna's Diary Perjury
S3E5 · War Crimes

Themes This Exemplifies

Thematic resonance and meaning

Institutional Power Struggles
6
Cliff Calley's prosecutorial narration and oath intensification on Donna escalates to diary handover under mutual destruction threats, paralleling Leo's rhetorical broadening of tribunal scope and …

Part of Larger Arcs

House Counsel Cliff Calley aggressively pursues perjury charges against Donna Moss for concealing a campaign diary during her deposition on leaks, culminating in high-stakes negotiations with Josh Lyman to surrender the diary under mutually assured des...

Key Dialogue

"Cliff: "This proceeding is known as a deposition. The person transcribing a deposition is a House reporter and although she's not a notary public you were just sworn in by a notary public and were placed under oath. Do you understand?""