All language subtitles for Murphy Brown s04e18 Send in the Clowns

Ladies and gentlemen, thanks to a killer
story by our own Murphy Brown, last

night's broadcast of FYI received the
highest ratings of the season.

A few of the boys in the Senate were
running up the parking tickets, taking

many of those fact -finding trips to
tropical locales. But that was before

met the Murfinator. Where is it? I
always saw it. And look at her, the star

the hour, already at work on another
blockbuster story. Here it is.

Breastfeeding classes.

Oh, dear Lord.

All I have to do is pick one.

So you're taking a breastfeeding class,
Murph? Is that like Lamaze? You need a

partner?

Morning, everyone.

Murphy? Hey, Stan.

So how's everything in the legal
department?

Same as usual, I suppose.

Contracts, depositions, running through
the maze trying to find that piece of

cheese. Ah, and that would be a rodent
lawyer reference.

How refreshingly original.

We need to talk, Murphy Miles. You'll
want to join us?

You know, Stan, I thought about you the
other day.

They were wanting the movie Willard on
television.

Newswoman, comedian, is there no limit
to your talent?

Don't catch your tail in the door.

I'll get right to the point. It seems
your big story has raised quite a few

hackles on Capitol Hill.
Congratulations, Murphy.

You've been subpoenaed by the Senate.

What? You're kidding.

I'm afraid not.

Tell me, Murphy, your story last night
was based on... Four months of research,

and it was confirmed by an internal
Senate Ethics Committee report. A report

that was supposed to be for the Ethics
Committee's eyes only. And you got that

report from... A confidential and
reliable source with Senate contacts.

thereby hangs the subpoena. Somebody
leaked that report to you. The committee

wants a name. Can life get any better?

First the ratings, then the reviews, and
now the publicity of Senate testimony?

It's an embarrassment of riches. It's a
pain in the neck. Now I have to take

time out from my schedule to spend 30
seconds in a hearing reminding them of

First Amendment rights.

You think it's going to be that easy,
Murphy?

The Senate's dead serious about stopping
leaks. They want a name, and if they

don't get one, they could find you in
contempt of Congress, which in turn

you could go to prison. And as much as
that idea secretly thrills me, the

network pays me to see that it doesn't
happen.

I knew it.

I got too cocky. For a split second, I
allowed myself to enjoy life.

God asked me to sit down, and then he
yanked the chair away.

We've got a few days to prepare, Murphy.
Now, there are ways to present your

testimony that might appease the
committee and won't alienate anyone.

whoa, whoa. Hold it. I don't need
handlers or strategy sessions. I'm in

right.

Oh, look.

Stan is a child.

How do you put up with this every day?

Don't ask me, Stan. Ask my colon.

I mean it, Stan. I can handle this about
you. So if you hear an ambulance, you

have my full permission to go chase it.

You don't listen, do you?

What did I tell you yesterday? I said
wear something maternal. You're

We should use it. Oh, right. I'm going
to get up in front of all these people

and emphasize my book. Why don't I just
wear a name tag? Hello, my name is

Greenland. This isn't funny, Murphy.
It's bad enough that you stopped in the

lobby and asked if they sold Anita Hill
activewear.

So, gentlemen, if you're ready, I'd like
to begin the proceedings. Say, John, I

may not be asking many questions today.
My advice... It's all right, Ned. We

know about your problem with the unpaid
parking.

So, if you gentlemen excuse me, I'm
going to greet our witness.

Oh, Miss Brown.

John Hyden, I'm the committee chairman.

I realize this is a little uncomfortable
for you, but it's just a necessary part

of the democratic process.

As I once said, a government of the
people, by the people, and for the

shall not perish on this earth.

Miss Brown, Adam Sampson, nice to see
you again. Remember you once did a story

unfairly accusing me of not hiring women
in minorities.

Lowell Laughlin, we met when y 'all
concocted those unseemly allegations

my last campaign.

Warren Thatcher, you called me pompous
and arrogant during a live interview.

again. Small world, isn't it?

Well, shall we get started?

Gentlemen?

Murphy, look. The senator on the end,
Hargate.

Didn't you send him a live pig after he
voted against the ERA?

Stan! Stan, why so shy? Come over here
and sit beside me.

Okay, ladies and gentlemen, the hearing
is now called to order.

Ms. Brown, will you please stand up?

Raise your right hand.

Do you swear that the testimony that
you're about to give in this proceeding

will be the truth, the whole truth and
nothing but the truth? I do. Please

proceed.

Ms. Brown, several days ago, a
classified Senate report was made

public by you.

Now, this committee was formed to
determine how you came into possession

report.

So, Ms. Brown, who made the report
available to you?

Senator... The First Amendment
guarantees my right to present

public without being subjected to
governmental restraint.

Therefore, I wish to invoke my privilege
as a journalist. I will not name my

source.

No, I guess that about does it. Miss
Brown,

disclosing a classified Senate report is
a very serious charge.

Has your attorney explained to you that
if you are found in contempt of

Congress... You could go to prison.

Yes, Senator, but I believe I'm
protected by the First Amendment.

Mr. Chairman, may I have the floor?

The chair yields to my esteemed
colleague.

Uh, Ms. Brown, why would you take a
classified report and read it on the

television?

Senator, journalists release information
to the public for one reason only, the

public's right to know.

But the public didn't vote for you, Ms.
Brown. They voted for us.

And if we want to keep a secret, you
shouldn't be running around like a

dog flapping your jaw like a loose
-shutting hurricane.

Senator, may I respectfully remind you
of the importance of the press in a

democratic society?

Without the press, Watergate, the
savings and loan debacle, and Iran

never have come to light.

So?

Mr. Chairman, Mr. Chairman. Senator
Simpson.

Miss Brown, you talk about the rights of
journalists.

Well, I'm here to tell you that the hard
-working taxpayers of my state are sick

and tired of the press prying into every
little detail to make it impossible for

us to run the government.

I have letters from these Americans.

Where are those letters?

Letters which say you liberal reporters
are distorting the truth. Letters which

say... Watch out for this woman. Watch
out for this Murphy Brown. Do you have

those letters?

Well, anyway.

It's clear the American people want to
feel good about their country, and they

should. There isn't a better place to
live on the face of this earth.

Is there a question in there somewhere,
Senator?

Well, maybe it's just me.

Maybe I don't get it.

But how can you claim to serve the
public interest?

When the public is fed up with you.

Senator, I think what the public is fed
up with is seeing their tax dollars

spent on tropical vacations, health club
memberships, and parking privileges for

their elected representatives.

A yield to Senator Dennehy.

Well, I would just like to take this
opportunity to say that

it is wrong not to pay parking tickets.

I know it's wrong, but I'm sure.

that the fine people of my home state
will forgive any bookkeeping errors by

staff, which may have occurred for
whatever reason. Senator, may I have the

floor? Yes, I yield.

Am I alone in being outraged by this?

Because I'm outraged.

A body of our government has been... And
leaks are becoming commonplace. Leaks

are very dangerous things.

So are secrets, Senator.

Do you have no regard for national
security?

Am I to take it if you were to receive,
say, a secret copy of our nation's

battle plan for Operation Desert Storm,
you'd just, you'd make it public? No, of

course not.

Well, how do you determine whether or
not to release classified information? I

use my personal judgment as a
journalist.

Your personal judgment.

I see.

Would that be the same personal judgment
that led you to become an unwed mother?

Objection!

Excuse me, Senator, but I don't see how
that relates to the matter at hand. Oh,

well, perhaps I can clear up any
confusion you're having. I've put

report detailing some of the judgments
you've made.

Volume 1, The Early Years.

He wasn't the only one doing it, Miles.
It was Woodstock, for God's sake.

I know, Murphy, and I'm sure they
exaggerated it. There's no way that you,

Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Janice Joplin
could fit in the same port -a -potty.

Murphy, we were so proud of you. You
were the perfect example of grace under

pressure. But for tomorrow, a tiny
suggestion.

Just two little words.

Dress shields.

That's bad.

You know what really bugs me?

I mean, besides the sweating thing?

Why do they keep digging up the past? I
mean, what does the past have to do with

anything? Oh, I know what they're doing.
It's so obvious. They don't care about

the leak. It's a personal vendetta.

They're just getting back at me for all
the times I made them look bad.

You're a very good reporter, Murphy. I'm
surprised you're missing the bigger

picture. It's not just you.

They're using you as an example to the
press. The warning is, if you push us,

this is what you can expect.

You know, I think you might have
something there.

Hang on a sec.

It's me.

Wouldn't I love to give that committee a
piece of my mind? I'd read them the

riot act.

Our inner cities lie in ruin and decay.

Our middle class is adrift and
disillusioned, and there they sit, those

weenies, playing their little weenie
game.

Feel free to use that, Murphy. Little
weenies. Little weenie game.

Okay, Murph.

This is what you do tomorrow.

Two answers.

Yes, Senator.

No, Senator.

That's it. They want to make it tough on
you. You make it tough on them. That's

what I would do.

It looks like you'll get your chance,
Frank. The office tells me the committee

is issuing subpoenas for Dial, Fontana,
Sherwood, and Silverberg. What? You're

kidding.

I suppose they plan to question you as
colleagues of Murphy's. But we don't

know...

Guys, I'm really sorry about this. No,
this is great.

You are not alone, Murph.

Tomorrow we present a united front.

I'd say we give them hell.

I'm with Frank. You don't fool with FYI.
Our inner city is lying ruined and

decayed, and tomorrow they're going to
hear about it from me. They're going to

hear about it from all of us. I wish I
could be there with you.

But since I can't, would you mind
wearing one of these on camera?

We say you've been a friend and
colleague of Ms. Brown since 1977.

Yes, Senator.

In that time, has she ever been
motivated by the personal glory the

bring her?

No, Senator.

So then the awards and accolades she
receives are not the driving force in

career? Yes, Senator.

I mean, no, Senator.

I mean, do you mean...

Yes, they are the driving force, or no,
they're not the driving force. I mean,

does she pursue story simply to satisfy
her ego? Mr. Fontana, do you feel Miss

Brown is a responsible journalist?

No. What?

To the one before.

Yes to the last one.

So that's yes, no, yes, yes.

I think.

Check, please.

Corky Sherwood Forrest, and I have been
a professional journalist since 1988.

And if I may add a personal observation,
I

have seen you on FYI, and I commend you
for your incredible body

of work.

Your ability to stimulate me as a member
of the viewing public.

With your sensitive probing style.

My

name

is Miles Silverberg.

I'm the executive producer of FYI.

Now, Mr.

Silverberg, was it?

Yes, Senator.

Silverberg. Mr.

Silverberg, were you born in this
country?

Yes, sir, I was.

I see. Well, to continue, Mr.

Silverberg, with regards to Miss Brown's
story, would you say that piece was

politically motivated?

No, Senator, absolutely not. Miss Brown
has always kept her political beliefs

well clear of her work.

I see.

Mr. Silverberg, were you raised in New
York?

Yes, I was, but I don't see how... Uh
-huh.

continue. Was Miss Brown pleased when
that story became big news, Mr.

Silverberg?

Well, as a journalist, she felt she had
presented a well -balanced, even

-handed, carefully researched story, and
she said those clowns in the Senate

deserved to be exposed.

Not that being a clown is a bad thing.

Clowns are good.

They make people laugh and forget their
troubles.

Emmett Kelly was a clown.

I think he was even on a stamp.

My

name

is Jim Dial, and I'm the senior anchor
on the news program FYI.

Mr. Dial, did Ms. Brown ever mention the
name of her source to you?

No, sir, she did not. And now... Thank
you, Mr. Dial.

You can go now.

But... I have a prepared statement to
read. Please, Mr. Dial, we have a long

ahead of us.

Very well.

But our city's lying ruined and decayed.

Miss Brown, you've spent some time at
the Betty Ford Clinic, have you not? I

believe we covered that yesterday,
Senator.

And you have experienced alcohol
-related blackouts. That was over four

ago and only once. And alcohol does
terrible things to the judgment, doesn't

Now, at this point, I'd like to read a
passage from the novel Valley of the

Dolls.

Chapter one.

I saw you. I saw you on television.

That when a sale on overalls over a
Sears, there you were on a whole wall of

TVs.

I became so enraged watching our elected
officials at work, I marched down to

the lawn and garden department, got a 50
-pound bag of manure, came back up, And

I laid it in front of the biggest TV I
could find.

I myself thought it was an extremely apt
political statement.

However, Sears disagreed.

I'm no longer welcome where America
shops.

You know, I don't want to scare you,
Murph, but after seeing those guys

firsthand today, I think they could
really vote to send you up the river.

No. No, we can't have that. The baby
can't be born in a joint.

Then she should reveal her source.

This is terrible. This is terrible. Just
when the rest of the world is starting

to move towards democracy, we're taking
a giant step backwards.

Next thing you know, we're going to be
standing in line to buy blue jeans, and

our women are going to start winning all
the Olympic medals in swimming.

I'll go get you some dinner, and I got
to go start hoarding salami in the

paper.

Murph?

I've never run away from a fight, Frank.

But now, any fights I take on, I'm going
to be dragging this little guy in with

me.

I'm not sure if I have the right to do
that.

Murph, you're in a tough situation, and
you need to...

Well, nobody's going to think any less
of you if you review your source.

I guess I wanted to hear that.

I should go. You must be beat.

You know, I gotta tell you, after seeing
what these guys put you through today,

next time something good gets leaked my
way, I'm gonna have to think twice

before I use it.

Good night, Murph.

It's our job to vote whether to
recommend to the full Senate that you be

with contempt.

And in deliberating that... Excuse me,
Senator, I have something to say.

Senator, last night I decided that I
would come here today and reveal to you

name of my source.

I had one very good reason for doing
that.

It's a reason that's very close to my
heart.

Well, actually, it's closer to my
stomach at the moment.

But then...

A colleague of mine said the next time
he was leaked information, he'd have to

think before using it.

And then I realized that's exactly what
you want, to keep us at heel.

Well, gentlemen, I don't know if you
realize this, but we recently marked the

200th birthday of the First Amendment.

Some birthday.

Federal employees are being pressured to
sign secrecy agreements so that they

can't speak or write about their job
without government approval.

Doctors at federally funded clinics can
no longer discuss the option of abortion

with their patients.

Well, as far as I'm concerned, the
party's not over yet.

If I think Senator Sampson is a narrow
-minded misogynist, I can say that.

If I think Senator Law... Rosslyn is a
provincial gas bag? Well, I can say

too.

And if I think this whole proceeding
does nothing more than give you boys a

chance to do some grandstanding and
flagrant self -promotion, well, I won't

that. I'll just say, happy birthday,
First Amendment.

The hearing is now adjourned.

Hey, just please clear the room.

Murphy, are you sure about this?

Yes, Miles.

Hey,

Stan, did you hear the one about the
leopard walking through the jungle

elephant droppings?

No. Yeah, he just ate a lawyer. He was
trying to get the taste out of his

Well,

I can't believe it. Why do we keep
having these hearings? They never work

This is great.

We let her off. We look like bungling
idiots. If we vote to hold her in

contempt, we risk sending a pregnant
woman to jail. We look like heartless

idiots. Well, it's bungling or
heartless. Take your choice, fellas.

Either way, we're picking buckshot out
in our rumps.

Damn. Now I gotta get another spread in
People magazine to show my warm personal

side.

Great. Another picture of me and the
wife singing hymns at the Wurlitzer.

Okay, okay, so here's the plan. We
almost recommend finding her in

okay? We'll make the vote close. We'll
make it five to four against so we don't

look weak.

All right, now, Lowell, Ned, Warren, and
Richard, you vote for contempt. The

rest of us will go the other way.

Ah, well, let's make the announcement.

No, no, no, hold on. Let's just sit on
for a while.

I mean, we want to make it look like we
sweated it out.

It's not too long. We want to make the
evening news.

Only one is the funniest.

I'm the single mom. And what? Shut up.
You're so hot. How could that be?

Who will it be?

Watch Nick at Night search for the
funniest mom in America Tuesday at 10

Nick at Night.