05x02 - The Chaos Game

Episode transcripts for the TV show "Madam Secretary". Aired: September 2014 to December 2019.*
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"Madam Secretary" follows a former CIA analyst and college professor who is promoted to United States Secretary of State as she tries to balance her work and family life.
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05x02 - The Chaos Game

Post by bunniefuu »

(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)

Looking for a pressure cooker?

My mom loves hers.

Makes the best chicken stew.

Can I suggest you think
about a plug-in?

The stovetops are a little more fussy.

How many do you cook for, usually?

I'm good, thanks.

(HIP-HOP MUSIC PLAYING)

(SIREN WAILING)



(MUSIC STOPS)

Is there a problem, Officer?

Driver's license and
vehicle registration, please.

Can you open up the trunk for me?

I don't think so.

Step out of the car, please.

g*n!

You don't have probable cause.

This is illegal search and seizure.

(ORGAN MUSIC PLAYING)

(LOW CHATTER)

(SIGHS)

June O'Callaghan saved a lot of hides

in this room.

Most of you are better
public speakers than I am,

but I loved her the most, so...

you're stuck with me today.

(SOFT CHUCKLING)

When Conrad Dalton agreed
to a White House run,

June was the second person
I called, after my wife.

I knew we'd never make it without her.

First bill we took to Congress was

an aid package to fight
the global spread of HIV,

which too many of you did not support.

Are you okay?

June let us fumble around
for votes for a while

before she finally said,

"Let me know when you're
ready to cut some deals."

She knew what every
single one of you wanted

in your black little hearts.

But she had an even better lesson

for a new president:

don't ask for support...

...inspire it.

I'm not even hungry,
I'm just eating my feelings.

Yeah, it's bad enough neo-Nazis
att*cked the White House.

They had to take out
Professor McGonagall, too?

Was that too soon
for a pop culture reference?

(HEART b*ating LOUDLY)

Hey. Do you mind if I head home?

- Of course. Go rest, babe.
- Oh. Come on, I'll take you.

Okay. No, I'm...
it's, you should stay.

I'm just gonna take

a rideshare, it's fine.

She thinks she's gonna
take a rideshare.

You were in the hospital,
sorry, yesterday.

- Okay, fine. - Ma'am, excuse
me. Uh, you're needed in PEOC.

Come on, I'll get Ali and Jace.

Well, there you go,
everybody's leaving.

WARE: This morning in Roanoke,

FBI apprehended Nathan Cleminger
driving northeast

with a trunk full of pressure
cookers and enough munitions

to launch a significant att*ck.

Is he with the Aryan
Popular Force, do we know?

From material on his laptop
and phone, he was active

with APF, although there's nothing

connecting him directly to
the att*ck on the White House.

- Yet.
- DALTON: Any sense of other associates

- out there looking to finish the job?
- That's the fear.

But a surprising name did turn up

from some encrypted messages
on his laptop.

Alek Starowolski.

Something of a notorious figure

with the New Right party in Poland.

ELIZABETH: He started out

as a lead singer
in a black metal band.

He's been on our radar
since he won a seat

in the parliament
in the last election.

He's anti-immigrant,
anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic.

All the hits.

DALTON: What do the messages say?

WARE: We're still
working on decrypting.

Clearly we'd like to speak
with Mr. Starowolski.

ELIZABETH: Yeah, we can

put in a request with Poland. Sure.

NOLAN: Given the evidence
of communication

with a foreign entity,

we'd like to request Congress
allow us to detain

Cleminger as an enemy combatant, sir.

Do we have the legal basis for that?

The NDAA codified

the indefinite detention
of any t*rrorists suspected

of planning att*cks on the U.S.

ELIZABETH: Only if they're
connected with Al-Qaeda,

and it does not apply to
U.S. citizens on American soil.

That hasn't been fully adjudicated.

WARE: It would open up the
time frame for his detention,

as well as interrogation techniques.

ELIZABETH: We have laws that deal with

conspiracy to commit terrorism.

Why are we going to Congress?

So we don't have to charge this kid,

and get him a lawyer
who tells him to shut up

while his buddies
are out there planning

another att*ck on innocent Americans.

I would go to leadership in the House

and the Senate.
If we can get them on board,

my guess is, we can get a resolution

from them pretty quickly.

ELIZABETH: Once we do
this the one time,

we set a precedent
future administrations

could misuse to deprive U.S. citizens

of their constitutional rights.

How long before we have to charge him?

Little more than hours
at this point, sir.

Well, keep working on it.

Offer protection if you have to,
but I want names.

And, uh, bring in the Polish
rock star for questioning.

Thank you, everyone.

NOLAN: Thank you, Mr. President.
WARE: Thank you.

JAY: Afternoon, ma'am.

You saw my e-mail?

I did. What do you mean,

"Poland doesn't want to cooperate"?

Foreign minister says
the encrypted messages

on this kid's laptop

don't make the case
for extrajudicial surrender.

- Well...
- Uh, here's this afternoon's schedule.

Latte's on your desk.

- W-What...?
- Ah, the other way around. I got it.

Alek Starowolski is a respected
member of Parliament.

I cannot relinquish him
to a foreign government

without clear evidence of wrongdoing.

Can I remind you that
this foreign government

is your NATO ally?

We extend our deepest, uh, sympathy

to our ally in this difficult time.

And if these encrypted messages
reveal any collaboration

between your own domestic t*rrorists

and a citizen of this nation,
we will cooperate fully.

I don't think you want to send
me back with that answer.

I'm... I'm afraid I must go.

(COMPUTER CHIMES)

(SIGHS) You think he's afraid

- of his own parliament?
- Either that,

or he's aligned with Starowolski,

but that's crazy, right?

Well, he's always been a centrist.

Which might be a
tough position to hold

after the ultranationalists
swept the last election.

If Poland falls to the
far right, the whole stability

of NATO could be at risk.

One crisis at a time.

All right, let's come up with
some ways to put pressure

on Poland, find out
what Starowolski knows.

Right. I'll call Abby.

No, no, you go be with your daughter.

Blake and I will catch you up
in the morning.

While there's some band
of lunatics out there

loading up another truck
full of expl*sives?

I think Abby will understand.



(SCOFFS) You're up early.

I was about to say the same thing.

Did you sleep at all?

Well, more than my staff.

Bailed on them around : .

Are you... do you have
a doctor's appointment today?

Uh, no, I'm heading
into work, actually.

- You're what?
- Well, Adele said

that they're moving into,
like, temporary offices,

so I'm gonna head in, help out.

If Russell Jackson...
I-I swear to God, I...

Mom, no.

No, it was my idea.
Reality TV's depressing

and I've given up trying
to follow Westworld.

Dr. Delgado just...

said it's okay for you
to be up and around?

Yeah.

I'll come home if I get tired, okay?

Promise. Love you.

I love you.

No lifting anything, please.

RUSSELL: FBI's questioning this
skinhead kid they snapped up.


- White nationalist.
- Whatever.

He's not cooperating.

Ready to take the death penalty

before he'll give us a single name.

And that's why
they call it "extremism."

Well, it turns out his group

has some kind of connection to Poland.

We're not sure what,
but it opens up a question

about whether we detain him
as an enemy combatant.

Well, that's interesting.

Well, it's causing some controversy.

Conrad would like an independent
assessment on the ethics.

Something to take with him to Congress

when he asks for their approval.

Uh, considering my daughter
was injured in the att*ck,

I don't think I'm the guy
to weigh in on this.

I mentioned that to Conrad;
he trusts you.

Plus, you got experience working
with the Virginia Field Force.

That's a Christian militia,

not necessarily the same thing
as white supremacists.

We're just asking you
to look at the interrogations,

review the kid's file, write up
a page on whether or not

you think he's
an enemy combatant. That's it.

So, last week,

you wanted me to keep
my opinions to myself,

and now you're asking me to weigh in.

What do you want, an engraved apology?

The president would like your input.

Will you do it or not?

(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS)

I don't know why you're...

Uh, ma'am.

I had a thought about Poland.

What, they don't use enough vowels?

Everything that
we talked about last night,

hitting economic pressure
points, threatening trade,

no, I-I think we're going
about it the wrong way.

The ultranationalists
are looking for an excuse

to pull out of NATO.

We don't give it to them.

DAISY: Yeah, we can't reward them

for stonewalling, right?

No, we can't.

I think we go at them through the EU,

w-which you pitched last night,

and I said no, but now
I think you're right.

Build a coalition of EU
countries willing to censure

Poland's voting rights if they
don't hand over Starowolski.

I love my idea.

I'll write up some talking points.

BLAKE: Ma'am, we just
received word from FBI.

They have unlocked the messages

between Starowolski
and Nathan Cleminger.

We'll get the full report momentarily.

Right now, they're saying
they have enough

to charge Starowolski with conspiracy.

Good. Okay, so we've got Demko
the evidence he needed.

I still want to go to the EU
- MATT: Not taking any chances?

Well, if we can't get
Starowolski to talk,

the next step is violating

Nathan Cleminger's
constitutional rights.

So, no, I don't want
to take any chances.

There's nothing violent

about standing up
to defend your culture.

INTERROGATOR: Who specifically
is threatening white culture?

NATHAN: The whole system.

So the U.S. government?

NATHAN: Anyone spouting
this liberal fantasy about

diversity and multiculturalism.

(KNOCK ON DOOR, DOOR OPENS)

HENRY: Hi, Russell.

So, FBI counterterrorism
did the interrogation

- on Nathan Cleminger, right?
- Yeah. Why?

Well, they tipped it.

He didn't say anything about targeting

the federal government
until they introduced it.

His group launched
an RPG at the White House.

Seems safe to assume they're
targeting the U.S. government.

Or an administration
he sees as betraying

our founding principles.

Now I don't know if he
sees himself as a patriot

trying to save the foundation
of our government,

or an anarchist trying to destroy it.

I got nothing to tell you. Sorry.

What if you questioned
the kid yourself?

We're not gonna need
press archives, right?

I don't know.

Maybe just this year's.

Thanks. You okay?

Yeah.

I should be asking you.

- How are you doing?
- Oh, you know.

Just slap some drywall up,

paint a nice coat
of denial on everything.

Good to go.

The one time I manage to
steal a few vacation days.

Just be glad that you weren't here.

Seriously.

(POWER SAW GRINDING NEARBY)

You know what, I think, uh...

I think we both need
to get out of here.

Boba tea run?

I need to finish up.

Well, can I at least
get you something?

Maybe a double espresso.

Yes.

(WHISPERS): Hooah.

Given the evidence
of tactical and financial

support clearly provided
to the Aryan Popular Force,

I hope you'll now agree to surrender

Alek Starowolski for questioning.

DEMKO: It's, uh,
very disturbing evidence,

and once charges have been filed,

I will pass on the request
for consideration.

It's an informal questioning,
Mr. President.

I'm afraid we must follow protocol.

It's a sensitive matter.

You know what's sensitive?

Your member of Parliament using
his own shipping company

to send an RPG that was used
to hit the White House.

There is mention of this.

If we had proof that these
materials were received...

I want you to consider
your next words carefully,

because right now, your country
is at a crossroads.

Will you or will you not recognize

the collusion of your own citizen

with an att*ck

on the United States?

It is, in fact, your country
that is at a crossroads,

Madam Secretary.

If you and the EU

force me to surrender
Alek Starowolski,

it will no longer be me talking to you

as the leader of Poland.

And believe me, you will not
like my replacement.

Do you understand?

I'm begging you to...

to proceed carefully.

Tell me what you mean
by "proceed carefully."

What President Demko was asking for...

and he was pretty persuasive...

is enough time to build a coalition

of the more centrist
members of his parliament

before handing over Starowolski.

Now, he also agreed to
freeze Starowolski's assets

and give us full access
to his financial records

for investigation.

Thank you, Elizabeth.
You've done what you could.

Ephraim, send word to FBI.

It's time to deploy a team and
bring this guy in ourselves.

Wait, Mr. President, I strongly advise

against violating the
sovereignty of a NATO ally.

Given the volatility of the
political landscape in...

The American people are
waiting for another att*ck.

They deserve justice and security,

and they shouldn't have to
wait around for a NATO ally

to give it to them.

Understood.

But Demko fears Starowolski's
surrender could... unleash chaos

and topple his government.

And if Poland falls, NATO
may not be far behind.

Ephraim, wheels up in hours.

If Demko thinks his head
is on the line,

- he'll push harder to find a way out.
- Yes, sir.

Thank you, sir.

These Starowolski banking
records are k*lling me.

How far are you?

Stuck in .

Is it me, or are they just burying us

in too much information?

I asked forensics accounting
for a summary, and basically,

nobody can figure out
where his money is.

He had plenty in .

Oh, no, here, just take mine.

I'm switching to baby carrots.

You know they're not
actual baby carrots.

So Starowolski was in debt
for the past five years?

Yeah, the whole time
he was living like

he was in a rap video.

What about the shipping company
that he used to send the RPG?

Where are the files on that?

I asked forensics to track it.

How much time before
they launch the raid?

About hours by now.

What do you mean
they're not baby carrots?

They cut them into shape.

Well, how does everybody
not know that?

There you are. Henry just called.

Stevie's in the emergency room
at St. Lucius.

- What? Oh, my God. What happened?
- He doesn't know.

He's on his way there,
but your car is ready.

I'll keep looking
at the shipping company.

Okay, thank you, Doctor.

Yes, I will. Yeah. Bye.

- She's fine, she's fine.
- What happened?

She just... She got dehydrated

and passed out while she
was out getting boba.

- She just whacked her elbow.
- Can we see her?

She's sleeping; they want
to keep her overnight.

But she's gonna be fine.

Why was she the one out getting boba?

I didn't know she even liked boba.

It's like drinking
and chewing at the same time.

Yeah.

Anyway, that was Dr. Delgado.

He was surprised that
she was even at work.

Oh.

Okay, I may...

I-I-I'm gonna have
to go back in a minute.

We're trying everything
we can think of

to get Poland to hand over their guy

before FBI goes in and grabs him.

Well, it would help if that APF kid

they have in detention would talk.

Yeah, that would help.

Russell even asked
if I would be willing

to question the kid myself.

What?

They want an ethics report
on whether or not

they can hold him
as an enemy combatant.

Oh, God, they are all-in
on that strategy.

Well, you're not
considering it, are you?

Well, I have experience
with the Christian militia.

You also have a daughter
who's in the hospital

- because of him.
- Look,

we don't know that he was
directly involved in the att*ck.

We don't know where they are,
how many they are,

what they're planning...

And we have an entire team
looking into it, so...

(CELL PHONE RINGING)

Oh, wait, I got to,
I got to take this.

Yeah, Jay?

Oh, that is huge.

Um, I'm...

No, no, she's fine.

She was just a little dehydrated.

Okay, I'm on my way.

They've had a breakthrough.

- I've-I...
- Of course.

- Go.
- Bye.

So the whole time Starowolski's
been out there railing

against the great Russia thr*at
to Polish independence,

he's been on the Russian payroll?

Pretty much.

Russia does know how
to play a deep game.

ELIZABETH: The Russian part,
that doesn't surprise me.

Alek Starowolski,
leader of a metal band,

rises to Parliament.

An ego like that, letting
himself be bought out?

- That's surprising.
- Especially knowing the whole time

this could bring a mob
to his door if it ever got out.

This was taken at a far-right rally

in Warsaw this spring.

n*zi imagery is restricted in Poland,

so this is what they're using instead.

ELIZABETH: A U.S. Confederate flag?

My God.

What if this is Russia
using our own history

to drum up some kind
of global conspiracy

of far-right lunacy against us?

Okay, but there's
nothing here to suggest

Russia knowingly funded
the att*ck on the White House.

There's nothing to say they didn't.

Jay's right. If Russia's masterminding

this whole thing,
then this brush fire with Poland

just became a... a raging forest fire.

Unless the Russian connection
gives us a way to contain it.

Mr. President, our intelligence
has connected

revenue streams in Alek
Starowolski's financial records

to a Russian source, Yevgeny Uslovsky.

Streams? You mean connections.
What connections?

A range of business dealings,
personal investments...

It's quite extensive.

It's been going on for some time.

ELIZABETH:
We'll send you the full report.

_

_

ELIZABETH: While this
is obviously upsetting,

it may also provide you
a way out of your predicament.

You now have the means
to expose Alek Starowolski

as a secret operative,

and hand him over to us
without any risk

of provoking his supporters.

And in the meantime,
solidify your own position.

With your cooperation, Mr. President,

we'd like to send in
a hostage rescue team

to render Starowolski
to our borders, in, say...

There's a tactical air base
in Lask, two hours at the most.

Two hours. Would that suit you, Jozef?

I will reach out
to the prime minister.

I think he would agree
it's best if we coordinate

the-the rendition with Agencja
Bezpieczenstwa Wewnetrznego.

That should be acceptable.

DEMKO: But I must insist

we follow a strict blackout
on Starowolski's affiliations

until after he is in custody.

Of course.

Send me the report, I will follow up.

Uh... thank you.

DAISY: That didn't seem like a guy

who drew a "get out
of jail free" card.

MATT: I don't get it.
Why don't we just

expose this guy as a Russian stooge?

I mean, isn't that the whole point?

Too chaotic.

Demko's afraid Russia will
somehow turn this around on him.

Which brings up the next question.

How do we confront Russia
about their role in this?

(SIGHS)

Carefully.

Reach out to Foreign Minister
Avdonin tomorrow.

- Okay?
- Okay.

- Thank you, everyone.
- MATT: Thank you, ma'am.

TEAM LEADER: Approaching location.

We're keeping this under
the radar, right, Commander?

Get that hallway locked down.

TEAM LEADER: Gaining entry.

Package is located.

No pulse.

Who knew we were coming?

Russia.

- Okay. Thank you.
- Thank you.

Okay, so, can you stay for a minute?

I'll make you breakfast.

- No, I can't.
- Wait, Stevie, did you not listen

- to what the doctor said?
- Come on, I made you, I made you sleep

in a hospital waiting room.

- It is only fair.
- JACE: I would not say no to pancakes.

- Are you okay?
- I'm fine.

- You guys waited up?
- Why is everyone making such a big deal?

- 'Cause you collapsed in the street.
- A boba place, to be clear.

Okay, come on, you guys.
Everything is okay.

- Go and sleep in your beds, would you?
- Yeah, let's go.

- Come on, go.
- We all need some... come on.

- Pancakes later.
- I'm collecting on that.

- You, too. Bed, Stevie.
- Come on, Stevie.

What? You are forgetting
that I just slept,

like, nine hours straight.

Well, then settle in here
and binge something boring.

- Russell's panda cam or...
- (CHUCKLES)

Where is she going?

- I am making tea.
- Going that way.

You guys are the ones
who actually need sleep.

Oh, she's right.

Aren't you on, like,
your second all-nighter?

(GROANS) This is dangerous.

- Come.
- No, I-I can't.

I got to go to the FBI.

You're gonna do
the interrogation on no sleep?

Neo-Nazis wait for no man.

Remember, it's not your job
to cr*ck this kid.

You just figure out if it's

okay to deny him
his constitutional right

to due process.

And then I'm just gonna
head back in a second.

- Just gonna...
- (DOOR OPENS)

Oh, God!

What time is it?

It's, like, almost : .

You barely slept an hour.

Okay.

Well, I guess I'm
gonna get back at it.

I'm gonna...

You know, you spent
the morning, uh, berating me

for pushing myself too hard.
Just pointing that out.

Well, I didn't nearly rupture
my artery last week, so...

Hmm.

Why did you tell us
that Dr. Delgado said

you could go back to work?

He didn't not say it.

I don't know.

I just felt like
I had to do something.

Well, that went well.

(CHUCKLES)

The last thing that I said
to June before the att*ck

was that my generation
was going to be more

than just servants to powerful men.

Yeah.

Super bad.

And then her memorial is all about

how powerful she really was,

and how she got all this stuff
done behind the scenes and...

I just... I missed it.

Totally missed it.

Well, I think for a lot of
women in her generation...

...all they could do is
work behind the scenes.

Yeah. I'm still an idiot, though.

So, this was basically
the self-loathing tour?

Yeah.

And then I just ended up making myself

more of a burden to everyone.

Would you stop it?

You are not a burden

because you need to be taken care of.

You're a burden because
you still live at home.

(SOFT CHUCKLE)

If you want to make things
better for the next generation,

then get rid of this whole myth
that we are supposed to be

invisible and self-effacing.

I don't want to be invisible.

I just want to be worthy of
the people who came before me.

I mean, June, the last thing
that she thought

was that I was this
selfish, entitled baby.

And she was right.

Or she was probably thinking
you're young and driven,

just like she was at your age.

Or...

more likely,

she was thinking about
what she wanted for dinner.

So you're saying that I'm
still being self-absorbed?

You managed to find another way
to b*at yourself up in there.

Impressive.

Think you can stay here
without ending up in the ER?

Yeah. (SIGHS)

You sure you don't want
in on this panda cam?

I wish I could.

(LOCK BUZZES, LATCH CLICKS)

- Hi, Nathan.
- (DOOR SHUTS)

I'm Henry McCord.

I'm gonna be asking
you a few questions.

Here's some coffee.

When do I get a lawyer?


Well, that's why I'm here,
to advise on your case.

It would be helpful if I could
hear your side of the story.

Or I can not say anything.

That's certainly within your rights.

Uh... oh, you're . You got
a birthday coming up.

Sure that'll be fun.

What do you like to
do on your birthday?

Not much. I don't drink.

Friends drink?

We grew up in the church.
We're all pretty straight.

Oh, yeah. I saw your dad's a preacher.

Yeah. Step-dad.

What does he think of you working

with the Aryan Popular Force?

I don't want to answer that.

I want to know about the first time

you made contact with the APF.

Can you talk about that?

No.

All right. Well, Nathan,
uh, if I walk out of here

without a better
understanding of your story

than what's in this file,

things will start to go
differently for you.

It won't be good.

I'm here to help.

I was coming out of the library.

I had some new games and, um...

these guys basically, uh,

tackled me and b*at
the crap out of me.

How come?

Uh, they thought
I looked gay, which I'm not.

Hmm. Okay. What else?

There was this one guy...
not gonna say his name...

he took my games and said that's
how they made me compliant.

And he asked if
I could handle the truth.

What truth?

How popular culture keeps
the warrior class down.

Are you part of the warrior class?

Of course. So are you.

We're the soldiers of Odin.

Nordic warriors. It's in our blood.

What's in our blood?

The will to build empires, man.

I mean, this language
we're speaking, this, uh,

this building that we're sitting in,

this entire country,

every-every major achievement
of the Western world,

we built it. It's ours.

So, North America, Europe...

Everywhere that's
technologically advanced.

All the good countries.

Oh, what about Asia?

IQ tests are higher for
people of European descent.

That's just a fact, man.

I know the liberals want to pretend

like we're all one happy family,
but it's not true.

Some people are smarter.

That's why we're the ruling class.

If white America is the ruling class,

then why att*ck the White House?

I wasn't a part of that.

What did the Aryan Popular
Force hope to achieve?

Ultimately, RaHoWa, racial holy w*r.

That's the great cleanse.

I probably won't be around for that.

All we're trying to do now

is just stand up for our people,
our culture.

You feel that your culture
is threatened?

Every day.

Every minute. Multiculturalism

is a travesty whose entire aim

is to eradicate my culture,
my people, my history.

And we'll rise up against
any-any person or institution

that threatens our dominion.

Including the U.S. government?

If it fails to protect our
security and our borders, yeah.

That's in the Declaration
of Independence, man.

It's the duty of people to rise up.

So, would you call yourself
a revolutionary?

Your word, not mine.

Okay. I want to talk
about Alek Starowolski.

I don't have anything
to say on that subject.

Was he an important ally?

(SIGHS)

So, that's it?

You don't want me to help you?

Hmm. What about, what about Toby?

What is he gonna think when he
finds out that his big brother

is responsible for the
deaths of three people?

I wasn't part of that action.

(SCOFFS) That's not what
the press is gonna say.

You think you can
manipulate me like that?

You're a discredit to your race.

Okay. (CLEARS THROAT)

You know what? I could,

I could refute every
point you just made.

I could talk about how
agriculture, our first cities,

all come from Mesopotamia
in the Middle East,

centuries before Europe was civilized,

about how they gave
us symbolic language,

like your swastika tattoo,

which, by the way, is backwards.

I could talk about the IQ stuff
that you read on the Internet,

which is biased nonsense

and has been proven wrong
many, many times.

But you know what?
I'm not gonna do that.

Instead, I'm-I'm gonna
read you something.

"After opening its borders
to the West in ,

"Japanese woodblock prints
exerted a key influence

"on the works of French Impressionism,

"seen in van Gogh's
rich and joyful color,

"Cézanne's stark composition
and Monet's contemplative

celebration of nature."

That's from your world history
class, th grade,

Ms. Pierce.

She said it was off topic.

She's short-sighted.

This is insightful and
skillfully reasoned.

You have a passionate
and subtle mind, Nathan,

and you've surrendered to
a group that sees you as some

IT guy they can exploit
for hacking and web design?

I don't know.

I-I think you could be
a great teacher.

I see that in you.

I know who you are.

I wish your wife had been there

so we could've painted the
walls with her blood.

Violent protests after the death
of a prominent member

of Poland's far right party,
Alek Starowolski.

Starowolski was found
hanging in his hotel room,

but uncorroborated reports

are calling his death an
assassination orchestrated by

the United States
government in collusion

with Poland's President Demko.

In case there was any doubt

Russia staged Starowolski's su1c1de.

Yeah, classic Russian move.

Blame your opponents
for your own dirty deeds.

Why does that always work?

This is exactly what
Demko said would happen.

You think he knew Russia
was gonna silence the guy

before we could talk to him?

Or ordered it himself?

ELIZABETH: I don't know,

but we need to stabilize things first.

We'll worry about Russia
and who, what, when later.

What are you thinking?

A personal visit to show
our unwavering support

for President Demko.

MATT: If Poland is rioting

because they think the U.S.
is secretly attacking

members of their government,

how does going there help us, exactly?

ELIZABETH: It shows we're
not scared, for one thing.

And it shows that we stand together.

And it reminds them

what NATO is for,

to keep them safe
from Russian aggression,

which all Poles can agree on.

So the fringe might hate us right now,

but they know they need us.

But why not just tell the far right

they've been backing a Russian stooge?

'Cause I need to save that card
for another stop.

Will you get me
the Secretary of Defense?

Do we want Kat on this?

No, she should stay working
on the humanitarian aid packages

at the U.N. Daisy and I got this one.

Cleminger clearly stated

the Aryan Popular Force targeted
the United States government.

He said they targeted any institution

that they felt threatened
the white race.

Are we gonna ignore

that the kid all but confessed
to a role in the att*ck?

That's debatable.

Well, where's Justice on this?

We are in uncharted territory here.

And that is why we need
to get Congress on board.

Technically, the AUMF
and the NDAA

lays the legal groundwork
for U.S. citizens

connected to terrorism,
but only in a foreign territory.

EPHRAIM: That was when
the w*r was foreign.

This time the t*rrorists
are on our soil.

Henry?

I have got no dispute
that Nathan Cleminger

is a domestic t*rror1st.

He's got the ideology,

he's been fully indoctrinated,
and clearly he's willing

to take violent action
for his beliefs,

but the question is,
did he collaborate

with foreign enemies to att*ck
the U.S. government?

That is not clear.

Seemed pretty clear to me.

HENRY: Except he believes

that he's fulfilling the mandate
of our founding fathers,

as twisted as that logic might be.

We're equivocating over
what this kid believes?

You asked me to make
an ethical recommendation.

Not only am I trying to weigh
the ideology of a neo-n*zi,

I'm also considering
how traumatized we all are

by this att*ck.

Is it right to exploit

our hunger for justice to ask Congress

to warp the protections
granted our citizens

by the Constitution?

This is a new w*r we're fighting.

It may need new rules.

If we want to win this w*r,

we need to remember why
we're fighting it.

These guys think they're
on the side of the Constitution?

Then let them feel

its full weight and vigor.

Our founding fathers knew

what people were capable of when
they created the justice system.

I think we should
trust it to do its job

as it always has.

Thank you, everyone.

I'm going to sleep on this.

I, uh...

I appreciate your input.

NOLAN: Of course, Mr. President.

- Mr. President.
- WARE: Yes, Mr. President.

ELIZABETH: It is in honor

of our two nations' historic
and longstanding friendship

that the United States

seeks to open a new chapter

in our partnership
for global stability.

This new, state-of-the-art
m*llitary base

will serve all our NATO partners

by securing your eastern border
for generations to come.

President Demko is to be
commended for his commitment

to peace on behalf
of his people and ours.

- Thank you.
- Thank you, Madam Secretary.

Madam Secretary, what was your role

in the death of Alek Starowolski?

No questions at this time, thank you.

Elizabeth, I can't thank you enough.

You can start by acting like our ally.

These are volatile times.

The United States knows that
better than anyone.

The only difference is,

we didn't let the fox
into the henhouse.

If you are in this fight
with us, we're gonna need

to see you get your house in order

or the m*llitary base isn't the
only thing that goes away, okay?

Thank you.

Well played, ma'am.

Yeah. One more stop.

Russell.

Is Elizabeth here?

No, Russell, she's making
a stop in Berlin.

Is everything all right?

Right.

You can let her know Dalton pulled out

of the enemy combatant strategy.

Nathan Cleminger is being
charged and a whole phalanx

of lawyers are already
clamoring to take his case.

Too historic to pass up, I guess.

Yeah.

Congratulations on your powers
of persuasion.

If I didn't think so highly of you,

I would say that you showed up
here to lay this on me.

Don't ever think too highly of me.

Do you really think

that I was protecting that kid
after what he said to my face?

O-Oh. But then...

That's why you wanted me
in there, isn't it?

Because you thought
I would be a sure vote.

Of course I wanted that kid to hang.

I want him in a dark hole

till we get every piece of information

he's got running around
in his fevered brain. Don't you?

I did the job I was asked.

Yeah, well...

you're a better man than I am.

Speaking of which,

Dalton wants to offer you a
position as his ethics advisor.

Don't ask me what it means.

He's creating it for you.

Why don't you come in
and have a drink?

- Wouldn't help.
- Oh, it might help to talk.

Should've let June
and Stevie stay home,

all of them.

It was their summer vacation,
for God's sake.

We're gonna stop them.

Not soon enough.

Anyway...

On with the noble fight.

I'll see you in the White House.

It's good to see you in the sunshine,

Madam Secretary.

Pretty, isn't it?

Mm.

Almost as if democracy
weren't under siege.

Your recent difficulties

have soured your usual optimism.

I wonder how much you know
about our recent difficulties,

particularly in Poland.

I sense we're not here
to share an ice cream.

What are our Slavic brothers
up to now?

I'm not playing games, Konstantin.

We know that Russia
was providing financial support

to Starowolski.

We have proof,

and if we were to expose that
to the Polish people,

it could cause both countries
a great deal of trouble.

So tell your bot farm or whoever it is

that's churning out these rumors
that the U.S. somehow ordered

Starowolski's assassination
to knock it off.

I would suggest,

Elizabeth, that you tread carefully

before making an accusation

about Russia being involved

in a political assassination
without evidence.

That line in the path there,

that's where the
Berlin Wall once stood.

They had this big celebration

on the th anniversary

of the wall coming down,
did you see it?

They-they set up these

huge dominoes

along the path, right to
the Brandenburg Gate,

then they knocked them all down.

Just like

the fragile network of empires

that fell in the th century,

one after the other.

A chilling metaphor.

What is your point?

I can't prove that Russia
ordered the assassination

of a Polish nationalist

or that they tried to frame

the U.S. for doing it,

but it's pretty clear
that someone in your government

wants to be in the chaos game.

And these forces they're unleashing,

the hatred and fear,

no one gets to control them.

The dominoes won't stop
at your shores, Konstantin.

To think, only a few months ago,

we were working together

to end the thr*at of nuclear w*r.

And I hope we can collaborate again,

but until then, here's my message:

No reckless att*ck on our democracy

will ever shake America's
commitment to her core values.

And any country that tries

will face dire consequences
so much worse

than one lucky RPG hit.
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