Separation of Power

chapter FORTY-ONE
Capitol Hill, Monday afternoon

The nation's capital was in a state of frenzy that could only be brought about by scandal. And this wasn't just any scandal; this one involved the CIA, lying to Congress, diverted funds and the assassination of foreigners. Normally this would be more than enough to cause a media storm, but an early morning development had upgraded the story to a full-blown hurricane. At the crack of dawn, with search warrants in hand, special agents from the FBI had raided the home and office of Congressman Rudin.

The congressman had spent the entire morning ranting and raving in front of every camera and microphone he could find. Like all seasoned politicians he stayed on message, and his message was, "Constitutional Crisis." On the Today show, Rudin had complained bitterly that the executive branch was trying to bully the legislative branch with jackboot tactics that were reminiscent of 1930s Germany. He protested to anyone who would listen that the bedrock of the Constitution was being cracked asunder, that the separation of powers was being trampled on, and that the congressman from Connecticut wasn't alone.

In the new age of twenty-four-hour cable news, scandal ruled the day. There wasn't time to check facts or sources; there was barely time to think. Though there were a few wise politicians who stayed on the sidelines waiting to see what was what, by and large this was a group with a very healthy set of egos. It was almost impossible for them to turn down an opportunity to be seen and heard, so with 100 Senators and 435 Congressmen, the media had no shortage of opinions, almost all of them in the defense of Congressman Rudin. The thought of federal agents seizing files from their offices and homes was enough to rally most of his colleagues soundly behind the legislative branch. Despite his obnoxious personality Rudin was winning. Pundits and politicians alike agreed that President Hayes had miscalculated. Whatever he'd hoped to accomplish by raiding the congressman's home and office had backfired. Public sentiment was firmly in Rudin's corner.

This was the mood Kennedy faced as her motorcade approached the Hart Senate Office Building shortly before 1:00 P. M. Her security detail was planning on bringing their charge around the back of the building and through the loading dock, but Kennedy had shot down the idea. Despite their vehement protests she informed them that they would be dropping her off in front of the building, where no less than ten news trucks with large satellite dishes were parked, and several hundred protestors were loudly exercising their First Amendment rights.

Kennedy understood media manipulation as well as anyone in Washington, and she was not going to be seen slinking into the back of the Senate building between two Dumpsters, surrounded by a cordon of stocky armed men. She would walk right through the mass of screaming protestors and pushy cameramen, and she would look like she had nothing to hide.

There was too much going on, when the three cars pulled around the corner, for the protestors and media types to notice. The caravan came to a quick stop and the car doors flew open. Kennedy was on the curb surrounded by four of her bodyguards before the mob knew she was there. The Capitol Hill police had been kind enough to keep the walkway and entrance clear. They were halfway to the door before anyone noticed, and inside the building before the screaming started. They were waved through the security checkpoint and metal detectors and picked up an additional escort of four Capitol Hill police officers for the trip up to the committee room.

Set up in the broad hallway outside room 216 were correspondents from every network plus the cable news shows. One correspondent who worked for one of the more sensational cable news shows announced that Dr. Kennedy's cortege had arrived. The not so subtle implication was that she was on the way to her own funeral.

They continued up the sloped ramp and into the hearing room. At the door Kennedy shed the wall of muscle and steel and continued down the center aisle by herself. All of the Senators were already seated and looking down at her from on high, atop a U-shaped bench draped in front with crimson bunting. Kennedy's small witness table was covered with a simple green tablecloth, and her chair was blue molded plastic with metal legs. It was the same style that the members of the gallery were sitting in.

The wall of marble behind the senators looked like a Rorschach test gone bad. Kennedy took a moment to study the seal mounted in the middle of the marble monstrosity. She had an overwhelming sense of calm as the flashes erupted around her. Her strength came from knowledge. One of the tenets of the intelligence business was to deceive your enemy, to get them thinking one thing, while you're planning something else. That's what this was about. It was her last gambit.

The upper galleries were bristling with black camera lenses and microphones. The room was packed, and the entire event was being carried live on national television. The senators on the dais with their phalanx of staffers behind them were peering down at her as if she were a mass murderer. Today Kennedy was the wounded animal. The vultures were circling and the hyenas were closing in and they all had their eyes on the diminutive Irene Kennedy. With a national TV audience, the stakes were high. Political careers would be made today, and for them to do that they would have to destroy the career of a public servant who, for fifteen years, had worked tirelessly for the cause against terrorism.

Senator Clark smacked the wooden block with his gavel. He looked tan and handsome in his dark wool suit and deep claret colored tie. The room ignored him, so he tried again with much greater force and better results. The talking trickled to a drip, and then there was silence, Clark looked down at Kennedy and was briefly reminded of his meeting with the President the night before. The odds were the President was bluffing, but there was a chance he might not be. Clark told himself to move cautiously. Like a king in a game of chess, he decided to let others move out into the field of battle before him.

"Dr. Kennedy," Clark started in a deep somber tone, "I'd like to remind you that you are still under oath." "I'm aware of that, Mr. Chairman." Kennedy made Clark look like a giant, sitting at the table all by herself.

"A lot has happened since we spoke on Friday." Clark glanced down at a piece of paper before him. It was a predetermined gesture that he thought would look good on TV. "I was wondering if before we resumed with our questions, you would care to respond to the accusations that were made against you yesterday by Congressman Rudin?"

Kennedy opened her mouth, but she never got the words out. Despite outnumbering her significantly, the other Senators on the dais were not about to let Kennedy go on the offensive and set the agenda. Five of them instantly began vying for Clark's attention.

"Excuse me, Mr. Chairman!" bellowed Senator Jetland. He repeated himself four more times until he'd drowned out the others. Having silenced his colleagues, he didn't bother to wait for the chair to recognize him. "I think our purposes would be better served today if we were allowed to ask the nominee some very pointed questions." The senator from New Mexico gave Kennedy a sidelong glance and continued saying, "Now, we were supposed to start at ten this morning but things were pushed back to one, and it's now," Jetland glanced at his watch, "ten minutes past. I would suggest that if Dr. Kennedy has a statement, it can either be entered into the record, or if there's enough time left over at the end of the day, she can read it then."

Despite the lust for blood, several of the senators wanted to hear what Kennedy had to say. They recognized what Jetland was up to and did not want to look like bullies. They began to intervene on Kennedy's behalf, but were interrupted.

The surprise came from the witness table. "If that's what Senator Jetland would prefer that's fine with me." Kennedy was calling him out. Jetland was a showboat who'd been an undependable ally of the CIA for some time. He also served on the judiciary committee, to which he devoted the bulk of his time. The only time he got involved in Intelligence issues was when it meant that he might get some headlines. He also happened to be one of President Hayes's harshest critics.

Again, not waiting to be recognized by the chair, Senator Jetland grabbed the pedestal of his microphone and said, "That is very kind of you, Dr. Kennedy. I would like to start out by asking you what was the extent of your involvement in the raids that were conducted at the office and home of Congressman Rudin this morning?"

"Could you be a little more specific, please?"

A faint smile spread across Jetland's face and he asked, "Did you advise the President or Director Roach of the FBI, or anyone at the FBI for that matter, that they should launch this raid against Congressman Rudin?"

All eyes turned to Kennedy. She leaned forward and said, "Yes, I did."

Shocked whispers rustled through the gallery. Senator Clark banged the gavel twice before the room fell silent. Kennedy added, "I advised both the President and Director Roach that they should serve Congressman Rudin with a search warrant."

Senator Jetland placed both elbows on the table and said, "I find it very disturbing that you would launch a vendetta against a member of the House of Representatives after he went public with certain allegations that might be damaging to your career." He glared at Kennedy.

Unfazed, Kennedy sat silent for a moment and then asked, "Is that a question or a statement, Senator Jetland?" Jetland was not amused. "You can treat it as either. Just please respond to it in a truthful manner."

"The only thing I'd like to respond to is your choice of the word vendetta." Kennedy spoke in her trademark clinical fashion. Her tone was even and respectful. "I have no vendetta against Congressman Rudin. I think the record would show that it is the congressman who has a vendetta against the CIA."

"So that excuses you ordering the President to have Congressman Rudin treated like a criminal?"

"Senator, one does not order the President to do anything. Especially not this President. President Hayes is--"

Jetland cut her off. "Have any federal agents broken down your door lately, to rifle through your personal effects?"

"I wasn't aware that they broke down the congressman's door." Kennedy knew they hadn't, and wasn't about to let Jetland get away with the implication.

"You didn't answer my question, Dr. Kennedy. Let me rephrase it. Have any federal agents seized your files at the behest of Congressman Rudin?"

"No they haven't, sir."

Jetland treated this admission as a victory and took the chance to look around the bench at his colleagues. "I find it to be just a bit of a coincidence that after Congressman Rudin goes on TV and accuses you of some very serious violations, you in turn advise the President, and the director of the FBI, that they should conduct a raid on the congressman."

Kennedy looked up with her doelike eyes and said, "It is my job to advise the President." "Thank you, Dr. Kennedy," said Jetland in a patronizing tone. "I appreciate the remedial civics lesson. Now let's get to the heart of the matter. What was your reason for advising President Hayes to treat Congressman Rudin like he was a criminal?"

Kennedy took quite a long time to answer the question. So long that it was obvious that she did not want to. Finally, she said, "I'm sorry but I can't answer your question, Senator Jetland."

Jetlands brows furrowed for the cameras, and he scowled at Kennedy's defrance. "You can't or you won't?"

"I won't." Kennedy held her ground.

"Are you claiming executive privilege, Dr. Kennedy?"

"No, I'm not, Senator. For reasons involving national security I cannot and will not answer your question."

Kennedy's reply tripped the senator up a bit and it took him a moment to form his next question. Recovering loudly, Jetland asked, "Congressman Rudin appeared on Meet the Press yesterday, and he leveled some pretty serious accusations at you. Would you care to comment on those accusations?"

"No."

"And why not?"

"For reasons involving national security."

"How convenient," sniped the senator.

Kennedy calmly replied, "I don't think there is anything convenient about national security."

"Yes," bellowed the senator from New Mexico, "I'm sure you're willing to go to great lengths to protect what you consider to be this nation's national security. Even break a few laws along the way, perhaps?"

In her no-nonsense manner Kennedy asked, "Again, is that a statement or a question, Senator?"

"I have a question for you," spat the senator. "Do you think this committee will confirm your nomination if you refuse to answer our questions?"

"No." Kennedy shook her head.

"Am I to assume then, that you no longer want the job as director of the Central Intelligence Agency?"

"No, you would be wrong to assume that."

"Then you still want the job?"

"Yes"

Jetland threw up his arms in a theatrical gesture of frustration. "Well, Dr. Kennedy, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you can't have it both ways. If you want to be the next director of the CIA you'll have to answer some pretty tough questions, so let's get back to the task at hand." Jetland flipped open a file and said, "Congressman Rudin claims to have information that was provided by one of your coworkers. I know Congressman Rudin, and have no reason to doubt the authenticity of his information, so for now I'm going to believe him." Jetland repositioned his chair and settled in. "I find that when we get into these types of discussions its easy to get lost or confused, so I'm going to make this real simple and clear for everyone." Jetland held up a photograph and showed it to Kennedy. "Here's a face. It's always nice to put a face on a problem. This particular problem has a name and it's Mitch Rapp." Now according to Congressman Rudin and his source, this man has worked for the CIA for the last ten years, and he's no clerk," the senator added with an arched brow. "He's allegedly responsible for the deaths of over twenty people. Twenty people!" Jetland paused to give everyone a chance to think of the bodies. "Could you confirm or deny for us whether or not this man is, or has ever been, employed by the CIA?"

Kennedy looked at the photograph, and thought it was very fortunate that Mitch was far away from a TV in the middle of a desert right now. With great concern on her face she replied, "Senator, for reasons of national security I cannot answer your question."

Jetland shook his head in frustration. "That is entirely unacceptable!"

Kennedy nodded as if to say she understood. After glancing at her watch she shocked the entire room by standing. She looked up at Senator Clark and said, "Mr. Chairman, I have something I must attend to. I apologize that I couldn't respond to the committees questions today, but there are some extenuating circumstances at play. My reluctance in no way should be seen as an affront to the committee or the Senate. The President will contact you within the next day in regard to my status as a nominee. Thank you for your time and consideration." With that Kennedy turned and left the room to wide eyes and a chorus of whispers.