Madam President ✓

59. Treat It Like A Campaign

Tanya
Tuesday

  "The good news? Your approval rating is back at 61%. Walter's interview certainly made a dent- in a good way." Melissa says, clicking through our weekly statistics slideshow sent up by the analytics department.

"And the bad news? Wait don't answer that-"

"The ethics committee has the probe hearing officially scheduled for friday. This is happening." Carlos says.

I know it's probably nothing, but what the house speaker told me just days ago sticks out.

"How's everything looking in Russia?"

"The last update I got from our spy was yesterday. He said everything's been... surprisingly peaceful." Carlos pauses, thinking. "Our allies have decided to stay out of it and let this play out in our committee since Russia is being so quiet."

"Okay. I want president Ivanov on the phone."

"He's not taking calls." Melissa states. "Like- at all."

Which could mean nothing- and everything.

"We have no intelligence on them moving equipment out of common targets or government employees out of the kremlin or government house?" I ask.

"Nope." Carlos shakes his head.

"Huh."

I lean back. They could be learning from their past mistakes, trying to get everything in order before they re-emerge on the world stage as a democracy again- though I seriously doubt that. I try to ignore the sinking feeling in my stomach- there is quite literally nothing we can do with no real proof of anything. Right now this is just a feeling- and I can't govern based off of feelings.

"What are you thinking?" Walter asks.

"Nothing important." I dismiss my intuition. "The chairwoman?"

"Right so-" Walter flips through a folder also drawn up by the analytics department. "She is... interesting. Near the very beginning of her term she followed a sugar-first approach, until she realized that would get her nowhere and then she... quickly switched over to spotlight questioning- Putting the heat on someone hard and fast so they slip up and say what she wants them to even if they've done nothing wrong."

"So In other words I'm fucked?" I blink several times, take a sip of water, and return my attention to him.

"Not exactly. That method of questioning can be prepared for. Think of it like debate prep for a campaign."

"Hit me."

"Ms. Clark-" Melissa buts in, being the only one here that has experience with debate moderating. "You claim that you did nothing wrong on January 20th,2021- yet you're here. Do you take us as fools whose ears have deceived them?"

"What- no of course not-"

"So you admit that you're guilty?"

"I never said that."

"Oh but you implied it loud and clear. Tell me Ms.Clark- if an average U.S citizen threatened any world leader they would have the FBI on their doorstep in minutes and be in prison for the rest of their lives. Why do you think you should be any different just because you made that threat from the White House?"

"The threat was justified."

"The threat to kill a world leader? Really? Are we talking about the same thing?" Melissa dramatically looks around- a mannerism I've watched the chairwoman do on tv a few times now that I think about it.