Object

Suspects' High Explosive Gunpowder

FBI Agent Mike Casper details high explosive gunpowder seized from the Iowa standoff house during the raid briefing in the Oval Office. Bartlet, Leo, Jerry, and Morris absorb the report alongside mentions of pipes and fuses, marking concrete evidence of the foiled bombing plot amid a moment of operational relief.

2 appearances

Purpose

Explosive material in bomb-making

Significance

Confirms raid success against domestic terror cell, provides brief victory before pivot to missing Israeli plane escalates crisis

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S4E4 · The Red Mass

Iowa Raid Debrief — A Moment of Relief, Then a Missing Plane

High explosive gunpowder is presented verbally as seized evidence during Casper's debrief; it functions as concrete proof of an attempted bombing, validating the FBI's operational success and raising the stakes of what was averted.

Before: Stored at the suspects' house in Johnson County, Iowa; part of explosive assemblage.

After: Seized by FBI and listed in the Oval briefing as evidence inventory under federal control.

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S4E4 · The Red Mass

From Domestic Victory to Diplomatic Emergency — Ben Yosef's Missing Plane

Referenced in Casper's report as part of the cache seized during the Iowa raid; the mention of high explosive gunpowder converts the domestic raid from a local incident into evidence of a serious bombing plot.

Before: Contained at the Johnson County, Iowa house in suspect possession.

After: Seized by federal agents and accounted for in the Oval Office briefing.

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