Fabula

NSC Communications Office

National Security Council Policy Transmission and Military Communications

Description

NSC Communications Office cables incendiary drafts—like President Bartlet's radio address endorsing the War Crimes Tribunal—direct to generals abroad, such as Adamley mid-Middle East trip, thrusting Oval policy into military hands where fury erupts. Leo absorbs the blowback in lobby shadows, as the office functions as secure conduit amplifying ethical rifts over warfare justice amid Pentagon pushback and reelection peril.

Event Involvements

Events with structured involvement data

1 events
S3E5 · War Crimes
Adamley Ambush: Tribunal Draft Ignites Military Fury

NSC Communications Office is invoked as the source that cabled the provocative draft directly to Adamley abroad, thrusting early-stage Oval rhetoric into military hands and sparking his lobby fury; it underscores bureaucratic misfires amplifying ethical divides over war crimes policy.

Active Representation

Via leaked/forwarded document originating from its secure channels.

Power Dynamics

Exerts unintended influence by bridging White House policy to external military critique.

Institutional Impact

Highlights risks of premature policy leaks eroding inter-branch trust.

Organizational Goals
Disseminate presidential communications to national security stakeholders Coordinate messaging on international tribunals
Influence Mechanisms
Secure cabling of draft documents Direct policy transmission to field leaders

Related Events

Events mentioning this organization

30 events
S1E3
Morning Briefing: Mood, Menace, and Measured Response

Leo returns from the Oval to a room keyed up about the President's temperament. Josh's blunt "How's his mood?" fixes the anxious tone; Sam produces …

S1E3
Transcript of Threat Splits the Staff

Sam produces a radio transcript in Leo's office revealing Congressman Coles — speaking with military officers — threatening the President's safety. Toby erupts, demanding the …

S1E3
Containment and the Address: From Outrage to Operational Focus

Leo convenes senior staff after the President's fury, and Sam produces a damning transcript of Congressman Coles threatening the President alongside military officers. Toby erupts, …

S1E5
Banter, Leo's Note, and the Smallpox Omen

A breezy corridor exchange peels back into something sharper: Donna's affectionate, controlling banter with Josh establishes their intimacy and his performative flippancy. The mood pivots …

S1E5
The Smallpox Article — A Quiet Catalyst

In Josh's bullpen corridor a familiar, light-hearted exchange with Donna establishes his routines and vulnerabilities before C.J. barges in with a New Yorker piece about …

S1E5
The Big Cheese and the Green Card

A tonal shift is staged in two beats: Leo's playful, Jacksonian 'big block of cheese' speech—equal parts ritual and reproof—performs unity while staff privately mock …

S1E5
The Green Card: Exclusion Delivered

In Leo's office after the Roosevelt Room chatter, NSC officer Jonathan Lacey privately hands Josh a green evacuation card — a terse, practical item that …

S1E5
The Card Question — Josh Faces Being Chosen

After the brisk Oval and senior staff meeting, Josh corners Sam in the communications office to ask about the NSC "evacuation" cards. His tentative questioning …

S1E6
Three‑Fifths Riposte: Toby Reads the Constitution and Wins Willis

In a high‑stakes Roosevelt Room standoff, Toby and Mandy counter technical, cost‑based arguments for statistical sampling with hard numbers — then Toby deliberately pivots to …

S1E10
Laurie's Door: A Moral Line

Late at night Sam and Josh appear at Laurie's house, nervous and desperate, to recruit her for a dirt-quiet, ethically dubious maneuver to protect a …

S1E10
Holiday Reception and Toby's Reckoning

In the Mural Room, President Bartlet offers a warm, public moment—shaking a child's hand and greeting a visiting choir—briefly humanizing the presidency. The camera cuts …

S1E10
Mrs. Landingham Forces Toby to Bring the Veteran to the President

In the Mural Room's fleeting holiday brightness — applause, a children's choir and President Bartlet greeting visitors — Toby slips into the outer Oval and …

S1E10
No PR, Yes Dignity: Bartlet Denies a Pitch and Endorses an Honor Guard

During a holiday reception the President brusquely rejects Mandy's attempt to turn his private Christmas shopping into a photo-op, then notices Toby at the door …

S1E10
The Folded Flag — Honor for the Unseen

A quiet, elegiac montage closes the episode: the boys' choir sings 'Little Drummer Boy' as Bartlet confronts Toby about arranging military honors for a homeless …

S1E12
Denial in the Oval: Bartlet's Collapse Exposed

During a late-night State of the Union run-through, President Bartlet’s practiced humor and deflection crack into visible illness. Josh and C.J., watching on a monitor, …

S1E12
Liberty's Down — Rhetoric Rift and the President's Collapse

During pre-State of the Union preparations, a seemingly small copyedit explodes into an ideological fight: Toby demands the speech defend government’s role while Josh pushes …

S1E14
Sam's Quiet Recommitment at the Sign‑out Desk

At the empty Northwest Lobby sign‑out, Sam pauses with the pen in his hand — a tiny, theatrical beat that externalizes a storm of conscience. …

S1E14
Sermon Interrupted — Vengeance Not Jewish

During a packed synagogue sermon on Passover ritual and the moral lesson that "violence begets violence," Toby sits rapt until his beeper pierces the hush. …

S1E14
From Prayer to Command: Toby Makes the Call

Toby steps out of the sanctuary, the rabbi's admonition against vengeance still echoing, and abruptly pulls out his cell phone and dials. This single, small …

S1E14
Sermon on Vengeance — The Call That Breaks Sabbath

Sam deliberately calls Toby while he is in synagogue to plant the moral language the administration will need. As the rabbi preaches that vengeance is …

S1E14
Appeal Denied — Sabbath Interrupted

While Toby sits in synagogue listening to his rabbi sermonize against vengeance, Sam cold-calls with urgent news: the Supreme Court has denied the appeal. The …

S1E14
The Execution Lands on the President's Desk

Leo briefs Bartlet that the Supreme Court has denied the final appeal and the federal death sentence for Simon Cruz is now a White House …

S1E14
Oval Office Interrogation: Morality vs. Politics

In a taut hallway-to-Oval Office exchange, President Bartlet ambushes pollster Joey Lucas with personal questions and then forces a moral test: Simon Cruz faces execution …

S1E14
Dossier Ordered as Bartlet Interrogates Joey on the Death Penalty

In a brisk, tonal cut from hallway to Oval, C.J. instructs Carol to compile a full biographical dossier on death-row inmate Simon Cruz — a …

S1E14
Counsel in the Pew: Conscience vs. Communications

Toby finds Rabbi Glassman in the synagogue after the rabbi's sermon and they quietly parse what moral counsel should mean inside the White House. Glassman …

S1E14
Toby Frames the Death Penalty as a Moral Impossibility

Late in the Oval, Toby returns from synagogue and forces the debate over commuting Simon Cruz into moral and religious terms. He cites rabbinic legal …

S1E14
Let the Next Guy's Problem — Leo Pushes Pragmatism, Bartlet Defers

In the Oval at night Bartlet wrestles with whether to commute a federal death sentence. Toby returns from his rabbi, describing how Jewish legal restrictions …

S1E14
A Quiet Candidacy Offer at the Bar

At a hotel bar Josh delivers the President's apology to Joey — a genial, slightly self-conscious olive branch that masks something larger. What begins as …

S1E16
Sunscreen Banter to Donor Whip

A languid, humanizing moment aboard Air Force One — C.J. and Donna trade sunscreen tips — is abruptly converted into political focus when Josh breaks …

S1E16
Midnight Pivot: President on the Move

Onboard Air Force One at 3:45 a.m., light, intimate banter about sunscreen and tanning is abruptly undercut by politics: Josh informs the weary staff that …