Original subtitles

[bell ringing]

MAN [over P.A.]: Stand clear to roll press.

MAN 2: Check the rollers!

MAN 3: All right! I'm checking it!

[buzzer blares, machinery clanks and whirs]

[men shouting under din of machinery]

CHEGWIDDEN: It's hot off the press.

"The name of the writer,

an officer in the United States Navy,

is being withheld at his request."

Because he knew by writing that op-ed piece

he committed a crime.

It's a clear violation of Article 88.

ROBERTS: Oh, yes, sir,

it does appear to be contemptuous of the President.

Well, let's see, Lieutenant,

he calls the President "a criminal liar

and spineless buffoon."

Yeah, I think so.

Are we investigating, sir?

Colonel, this is going to be all over the city in an hour

and around the world in two.

SECNAV informs me that Presidents can be

a little testy about this sort of thing.

Find out who wrote it.

He will be prosecuted.

[theme music playing]

[Rabb groans]

Wow, Harm, with a slice like that,

you'd be two fairways over.

Hey, who wants to play a hole the easy way?

Well, I guess if I was a member of Congress,

I'd have nothing but time to practice my golf game.

Yeah, cocktails and golf, that's all we do

until we're voting ourself raises.

[groans]

This is your idea of relaxation?

Listen, you needed to do something relaxing.

I mean, ever since you got back from the carrier

you've been at loose ends.

Maybe I should take up stamp collecting.

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

Your grip is too weak, okay?

You need to turn them more to your right.

Listen, I met with my opposite number

on the Senate Armed Forces Committee yesterday.

Like this?

Look where the "V" between your thumb and fingers is pointing.

West Virginia?

Uh-huh, but it should

be pointed to your right shoulder.

I got a peek at the promotions list.

Damn!

You were on it.

Commander?

No, you skipped four grades to vice admiral.

Yes, Commander.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

[branches crack, bird caws]

Damn!

You were at your Congressional Liaison meeting this morning, right?

Yes, sir.

How are things on the Hill these days?

Definitely moving to the right, sir.

Well, these things are cyclical.

Had your people seen the morning paper yet?

MAN: Morning, sir.

No, sir. It wasn't mentioned. Why?

Op-ed piece, guest editorial.

"The Soiling of the Presidency.

Our President, my Commander in Chief,

is not only a phys... physical and mor... moral coward..."

You know, they're making this damn type smaller,

so they can sell more ads.

[mumbling]

"...has imposed his own, uh, bravery-deprived character

on the Armed Forces of the United States

as exemplified by, among other things,

the sleazily disgraceful restrictions imposed

on our air war over Kosovo."

Written by an anonymous Naval officer.

Contemptuous words, sir.

Exactly. Familiar with the concept?

Yes, sir. In 1993, an Air Force General, in a speech,

called the President "draft-dodging, pot-smoking

womanizing and gay-loving."

He was reprimanded, fined and forced to retire.

I think our anonymous editorialist is entitled

to some leave time, as well.

Why don't you join the posse?

Yes, sir.

WOMAN: As I told you on the phone

we take pledges of confidentiality very seriously here.

We just thought it might be productive to meet.

So I'd swoon over your uniforms?

I haven't seen this many sailors

since I watched Anchors Aweighon the Late Show.

Actually, ma'am, I'm a Marine.

Excuse me.

So what you're trying to tell me is

that the person who wrote this editorial,

as a military officer, is not allowed to criticize the President,

but the three of you, as military officers,

are allowed to interrogate a newspaper editor

about who's been exercising their right to free speech.

ROBERTS: Ma'am, as military officers,

we accept limits on our right to free speech.

It's all spelled out in Article 88

of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

RABB: I would hardly call this an interrogation, Ms. Wexler.

Well, if you came by to submit an op-ed piece,

I'll be happy to consider it.

The reason officers aren't allowed to be contemptuous of civilian leaders

is to keep the military out of politics.

We don't have military coups in this country.

I assume your paper would like to keep it that way.

So you're telling me if I don't tell you who wrote that editorial,

I can expect to see tanks rolling down Pennsylvania Avenue?

How do you know that the author of this piece is a Naval officer?

Because he or she answered some questions we asked

in a very convincing way.

"He or she"? You didn't meet this person?

No.

So we're wasting our time here.

Well, you did get to give me a civics lesson.

MAC: Well, we didn't get the name

but it looks like you could have had a date.

Liberals love me, Colonel. I'm a challenge.

We could subpoena their records.

Yeah, and they'd scream freedom of the press

and the Supreme Court would get around to deciding the issue

sometime during Chelsea Clinton's second term as President, if we're lucky.

Well, then maybe you should ask her out on a date.

You know, she never met him or her

but asked questions and got answers.

So how were they communicating?

E-mail.

We can go to ISPs and companies that operate SMTP servers.

They don't have a freedom of the press issue.

Don't you love it when he talks like that?

Places that send and forward e-mail.

The op-ed piece had to leave a trail.

Go get 'em, sailor.

[barking, growling]

[pop music playing in background]

Okay. How about a break? You want a snack?

[whines]

Yeah? Okay.

[barks]

Yogurt, moo goo gai pan from last Sunday,

or a dog biscuit?

[barks]

Yeah, that does look best.

[phone rings]

Hello?

[barks]

This is Colonel MacKenzie.

Yes, I am a lawyer.

Now?

This really isn't my area.

Our hospital counsel is on vacation. We needed somebody right away.

Major Jackson apparently met you at a party or something.

Uh, I guess I come well recommended.

DOCTOR: We needed a lawyer.

This is, or was, Marine Sergeant Kent Davey.

He was in a car crash a few hours ago.

Reached us with severe internal injuries.

He didn't make it.

I'm sorry.

What's the issue? Malpractice? The car crash?

No.

The young lady over there, she's the sergeant's fiancée.

She says she and the sergeant were about to get married.

And they wanted to have children.

I'm very sorry.

She still wants to have the children.

Excuse me?

She wants us to extract his sperm.

[elevator bell dings]

Morning, Gunny.

Commander, morning.

[staffers whispering, murmuring]

RABB: Marine, what the hell is going on in here?

What are you doing in my office?

Commander, your office has been secured.

You can't go in there right now.

Why not?

Sir, I tried to call you.

I came back here yesterday, as we discussed,

and I found the server that routed the op-ed piece

to the newspaper.

Excellent. Where did it come from?

Your computer, sir.

You don't think I did it, do you, sir?

No, but Commander, nobody gives a damn what I think.

Hell, I tried to keep this thing in-house

but, to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest,

pursuit of the matter has been turned over

to the Office of Inspector General.

OIG?

Admiral, they land a crooked JAG, their budget goes up.

Oh, hell, yes.

But, Commander, we're in no position to question their integrity,

since somebody has put yours in question first.

Sir, I rarely lock the door to my office.

Anybody could have gone in there

and tampered with my computer.

Oh, great, great. You didn't commit the crime

but somebody else under my command did.

Sir, all I know is that I didn't do it.

[heavy sigh]

Well, good.

Hate to see you suffer the same fate

as that Air Force General or Private Callan.

Who's Private Callan, sir?

Well, in 1942, he denounced President Franklin Roosevelt

as a dirty politician trying to enslave the world.

Got 20 years at hard labor.

Of course, we were at war at that time.

You could probably get off with, say... ten.

ROBERTS: Sir, I've been doing

some more computer research.

I'm not sure I can survive much more of your research, Bud.

Our systems here are on a network

that's always connected to the Internet.

That means that each computer

has a fixed Internet protocol number,

which means that the hacker can sniff his way in,

take control of the computer...

Send outgoing e-mail like that op-ed piece.

Exactly.

So either some hacker randomly chose your computer

or somebody's out to get you.

Maybe to get even for something.

So I've taken the liberty, sir, of looking through

your case files to find anybody

that you might have pissed... antagonized.

Defendants, witnesses

other lawyers, judges...

My own personal enemies list.

Yes, sir, it's in my office,

if you could find the time to come and take a look at it.

I think I have some time right now, Bud.

I thought it best to cast a wide net, sir.

Well, it's a good thing I'm easygoing, Lieutenant,

or that would be a very large pile.

[knocking on door]

Commander Rabb?

That's me.

Agent John Nichols, Office of the Inspector General.

A civilian.

That's right.

So I don't have an axe to grind.

Well, somebody does, Agent Nichols.

You may want to look at that stack of files.

I've already read some files, Commander.

I found one that said that during a court-martial on the USS Patrick Henry,

you, uh, criticized the President's air war over Kosovo.

Not directly.

Oh. You saved your direct criticism for the op-ed piece.

Did you say you were here to conduct an investigation or just to execute the accused?

I'm investigating, Commander.

Would you care to assist me in my inquiries?

Let's go to my office.

NICHOLS: Can't.

My men aren't through searching it.

Uh, you can use my office, sir.

So, you deny the allegation?

-I do. -Despite the fact

the editorial came from your computer?

You know, Agent Nichols, somebody could have hacked into my computer

and sent the editorial.

One of these people?

It could be.

Corporal Arnold Hobson...

convicted by you of getting drunk,

stealing an armored personnel carrier

and driving it into the Patuxent River.

Do you really think that he is sophisticated enough

to identify your Internet protocol address

log into the JAG network, hoax the firewall,

identify your CPU, upload the editorial

and route it to the newspaper?

I don't know. Why don't you find out?

We'll ask him.

In the meantime, Commander, I suggest you get yourself a lawyer.

[sighs]

Knock, knock.

Come on in. Just catching up with my fan club.

You didn't do it, did you?

You know, it was my suggestion that led to the discovery

the damn editorial came from my computer.

Very clever.

Throw people off the scent.

You know, despite your lousy sense of humor,

you may have just what I'm looking for in a lawyer.

I've just been told I need one.

I can't do it, Harm. I've just been told

that I'm a potential prosecution witness.

What?!

Agent Nichols found out about the joke you told

at Commander Mattoni's birthday party last year.

What joke?

The White House intern...

"Close, but no cigar."

Yeah, and you say I have a terrible sense of humor.

Excuse me, Colonel. Commander Rabb, you have a phone call, sir.

Congresswoman Latham, line four.

Rabb.

LATHAM: You free for lunch?

Sure.

I can't get into my office anyway.

LATHAM: Occidental. 30 Minutes.

See you there.

Think the OIG will file additional charges

if I take an early lunch?

Let me walk you out.

Where you going?

Well, if things work out, to cut the sperm out of a dead man.

They told me they could do it up to 30 hours after he died.

And they put him in the morgue, in a refrigerator.

Look, Ms. Westin...

Laurie.

Laurie.

I'm very sorry for your loss.

Then help me.

They told me they'd do it, if you said it was okay.

This is an unusual request.

Well, other people have done it.

I read it in a magazine.

Ken and I were going to be married on Saturday.

We wanted children.

I want to have his children.

This is a terrible time, Laurie, but I've got to be blunt.

About what?

There's got to be some suspicion.

About what?

That you're after Sergeant Davy's

survivor's benefits for the child you might have.

I will sign a paper. I will do whatever you want.

I don't want money.

I don't want benefits.

I just want to have Ken's baby.

That's what you want, but we have no way of knowing what he wanted.

Yes, we do.

I went home and got these.

He mailed them to me when he was on temporary duty in Guantanamo.

There.

"My darling, I think about you all the time,

about the life we're going to have, together, forever.

I don't care where the Marines send me,

as long as they send you with me.

You and our kids.

Daughters as beautiful as you are.

Sons who will love their mother as much as I do.

I'm the happiest man in the world."

He sounds like a wonderful man.

He wasn't exactly my first boyfriend, Colonel,

but with Ken, everything was... different.

It was special.

Your child will never know him, Laurie.

Is that really what you want?

You're a young woman.

Someday, down the road, you might meet another man.

Other single women have kids.

Lesbians...

I mean, professional women go off to China and they adopt.

Why can't I have a child with the only man I've ever loved?

Right this way, sir.

Well, you didn't tell me you were bringing friends.

It's an honor, Commander.

I read about your exploits over Kosovo.

Pushing that crippled plane by its tail hook...

a genuine hero.

Please.

Harm, this is Daniel Citron.

He used to sit on the National Security Subcommittee.

Oh, a genuine Congressman.

Ex.

The voters decided I was ready to retire.

Now I run an outfit called the Roanoke Liberty Foundation.

I've heard of it.

It's a big name in conservative causes.

Principled conservative causes.

This is Suzanne Moore, our administrative officer.

It's an honor.

Really? Then you haven't heard what's been going on with me.

CITRONE: We have. That's why we asked

Congresswoman Latham to introduce us.

Well, call me naive, but I would have thought

that you and the Congresswoman would despise each others' principles.

We're politicians, not fanatics.

We can distinguish our philosophical differences from our common humanity.

I only agreed to set this up because I'm worried about you, Harm.

The Navy will do anything to minimize its embarrassment,

including throwing you to the sharks.

I remind you, Congresswoman Latham,

you have a habit of underrating the Navy.

And how would you rate the way they've proceeded against you so far?

I believe they'll do the right thing.

We just want to make sure of that.

So we're offering you top legal counsel, at no charge.

Well, sir, no disrespect, but you people are famous for being anti-Clinton.

I show up with one of your lawyers

I'll be proving their case against me.

Then don't use our lawyer.

We'll hire you a Communist, if you want.

It's still your money.

MOORE: We're not poison, Commander Rabb.

We've won very important victories for student-led school prayer,

the right not to be forced into unions...

I brought you some copies of our newsletter.

"Moral values, not market values.

Raise our children with discipline and devotion,

not the wackily trendy guidelines

of the education establishment."

I'm sure you agree with at least some of our issues.

I'm just not ready to be one of your issues.

Harm, you're going to be an issue whether you want to or not.

At least go to battle with help.

Don't they teach something like that at Annapolis?

The fact that I'm innocent should be enough.

That's a lawyer's joke, right?

[sighs]

Harm... you've had a dozen calls from reporters, and Tiner's been sending them to me.

What's he sending them to you for?

Well, I don't know. Maybe he thinks my accent will confuse them.

Look, if there's anything you need...

As a matter of fact, Mic, there is.

No worries, mate. Come on in.

Take a load off.

This used to be my office.

[chuckles]

You want it back?

I'm not sure it's going to help with the case, though.

You inherited my old computer.

You've had time to crack the password.

[chuckles]

So I wrote the op-ed piece?

Now, would that be before or after I killed JFK?

Somebody wrote it, Mic.

Wouldn't be a crime if you did it.

Not unless it defamed Her Majesty, the Queen.

See, that's our law, mate.

You find this all very amusing, don't you?

No, I don't.

RABB: Well, you haven't stopped smiling since I came in here.

Because you've accused me of libeling the President of the United States

and framing one of my fellow officers for the deed.

Now, if I didn't find this all very amusing...

I might take a poke at you, mate.

WOMAN [over P.A.]: Chief Pharmacist, call In-Patient Services.

Chief Pharmacist...

MAC: It's going to be all right, Laurie.

I know. I just... I can't stop thinking about what they're doing to him.

The procedure was completed a few minutes ago.

A urologist looked at the sperm

and they appear to have good motility.

-As soon as you like... -WOMAN: Are you Dr. Cannon?

Yes.

And this is Laurie, right?

I can't believe your nerve.

Ma'am, you are...?

Melinda Davy. Mrs. Melinda Davy.

Mrs. Davy?

That's right. I'm the wife of the man the doctor here just cut up.

Laurie?

They're divorced.

Not until Friday. He's still my husband... or he was.

That's why you're getting married on Saturday.

It was some kind of waiting period, a formality.

Right. So, formally,

I'm the widow, not to mention the victim of a husband-stealing tramp.

They say you removed my husband's sperm. I want them destroyed.

Colonel?

MELINDA: I want them destroyed right away,

or I'm going to march down to my lawyer's office

and get a court order to make you do it.

Help me.

Please.

So did you, uh... rule out Commander Brumby, sir?

For the moment.

You think Tiner might have got a little giddy one night?

[chuckles]

I don't think Tiner can spell "hypocrisy," sir.

You know, one of the witnesses in the Mosley court-martial

took a swing at me after court one day.

William Johnson, sir. I believe he's still in the service,

and he's on the Reeves,

and they've been out to sea since August.

You have voice activation on your computer, Bud?

No, sir.

Well, who's typing on it then?

"Give your friend Harm my condolences.

Tough break.

Did I put my foot in his mouth?"

CITRONE: It's a mental game, Commander.

That may be, but I still get to hit something with this big club.

[chuckles]

I heard you had a mysterious intruder

on one of your office computers

and the Inspector General is too busy investigating you

for criticizing the President to look into it.

Where did you hear that?

You have friends, Commander.

Why don't you let me be one of them?

One of my friends did look into it.

Apparently, that signal bounced around the world a few times,

including off a couple of satellites.

It'll take a lot of resources to track down whoever sent it.

We have a lot of resources.

And a lot of political baggage, sir.

Would your rather take help from an organization

that participates legally in our vibrant democracy?

Or be railroaded all on your lonesome?

No press releases, no public announcements.

You just help me find this son of a bitch quietly.

You make the rules, Commander.

We just want to help.

Hey, Harm, congratulations. I heard you're on the promotion list.

I think we can consider that temporarily delayed.

This whole thing is ridiculous.

They'll find whoever wrote that editorial.

Well, they don't seem to be looking very hard right now.

What is that?

Frozen sperm.

And I got in trouble for telling a Clinton joke.

Don't start.

This was removed from the body of a dead Marine.

His fiancée wants to use it. His almost-ex-wife wants it destroyed.

Last time I saw her, she was running off to get a court order.

You're hiding it from the court?

No. I don't know that she actually got an order. I'm just keeping it safe.

Next to my lasagna?

Frozen sperm. It's hers.

Oh, some kind of do-it-yourself kit, right?

Excuse me?

Commander Rabb, they told me I could find you in here.

Yeah, let's, uh... let's go to my office.

These two want to be alone.

Excuse me.

This place is so impressive.

Just a bunch of lawyers , and I'm sure you see a lot of those in your business.

Not with three dozen combat missions under their belt.

I am just so excited to be working with you, Commander.

Harm.

Harm.

Is this yours?

Were you wearing it when you flew over Kosovo?

Yeah.

Unfortunately, now I have to wear it when I come into the office.

Did you find anything, Ms. Moore?

Suzanne.

Suzanne.

Did you find the joker who sent the e-mail?

As a matter of fact, yes.

We did a worldwide search.

Hired analysts in three different countries.

That message went through two pornographic Web sites on Malta alone.

So where did it come from?

Do you know anybody in Leavenworth, Kansas?

MAN [over P.A.]: Yards four and five are now open.

Yards four and five now open.

What exactly is your connection with Clark Palmer?

He's kidnapped me, sir. He's tried to kill me.

He tried to trick me into shooting my former girlfriend.

He's a sociopath who's made me his hobby, Colonel.

Well, he's safely locked up now. I don't see how he can hurt you.

[buzzing]

Where is he exactly?

WARREN: Right in here.

He has a computer.

We have a labor contract

with the National Park Service.

Our inmates take reservations for campgrounds.

Palmer has a long history of fraud and violence, Colonel.

On the outside, not in here.

We have to motivate them to behave.

Working this unit is a reward.

Harm, long time no see.

You don't write, you never call.

You write me though, don't you, Palmer.

I wanted to cheer you up. Heard you got into a little bit of trouble, huh?

[clicking tongue]

Boy Scout like you.

These are dedicated terminals.

They have no link to outside networks.

You want to bet, Colonel? Excuse me, Palmer.

What are you doing?

Global search, sir.

"Physical and moral coward,"

highlight of a recent op-ed piece, supposedly written by me.

There it is, Colonel.

Under a file called harmbaby.high.

Sloppy of you, Palmer, not to have erased it.

Why would I erase it?

I liked it so much, I downloaded it from the newspaper...

after it was published.

You're telling me this Palmer character is some kind of evil genius,

manipulates the world from his cell?

Leaps over tall buildings?

I'm telling you that he's very smart.

We did what you asked and looked at his computer.

The date stamp on his copy of your op-ed piece...

His op-ed piece.

...is from the day after the editorial appeared.

So he reset the clock on the computer.

It doesn't take a genius to do that.

Commander Rabb, the newspaper's Web site

sticks a few invisible bytes into every article it uploads.

They call it a digital watermark to track the usage of its material

and to protect its copyrights.

And those bytes were on the copy in Palmer's computer?

That's right.

He didn't send the article to the newspaper.

He got the article from the newspaper.

He's playing with us.

If you have any other evidence to offer in your defense,

I'll be happy to examine it.

You sure this is legal, ma'am?

There's no court order yet.

I just think it'd be prudent to keep it somewhere...

Where no one can find it.

You got room in there?

Let me look.

I have to keep the breast milk.

I can defrost this roast. I was going to cook it this weekend anyway.

It's weird, isn't it?

The mystery of life, the urge to reproduce.

Dating... "Should I call him on Thursday

if he doesn't call me by Wednesday?" Blah, blah, blah. And it all comes down to this.

Well, I do want to have children someday.

Hey, women do it all the time.

Well, I guess I'll give the intact organisms a few more years.

-Men? -Men.

What's the status on this thing anyway?

Well, the almost-ex-wife has got a hearing date coming up.

The girlfriend's trying to raise money for a lawyer

and the only injunction that we have to abide by

is not to inseminate anyone with it.

TV REPORTER: Mr. President... Then we won't, right?

what is the status of the case against the naval officer

-who wrote the op-ed piece attacking you? -Harriet.

CLINTON: I have not gotten the final report yet.

All I've gotten, so far, is secondhand stuff. Yes?

Pentagon sources say you are pressing for prosecution

because you were personally offended.

For me personally, I didn't care.

People say whatever they want to say about the P...

uh, me, personally.

It had no impact on me, and I thought,

well, here's a guy who's served this country

and, you know, so what if he doesn't like me?

He doesn't know me from Adam's off-ox,

So he's just repeating something he's heard.

But will the officer be prosecuted?

They're going to make a report once they have all the facts

and then they'll be some action taken.

Ain't it grand to be famous?

No, sir, it isn't.

What have you heard, sir?

They want a court-martial, Commander.

CITRONE: We promised you no press conferences, Commander.

The President did not.

Good thing, too, 'cause we know

how that man hates to break his word.

So, what's next?

We have a press conference?

Or better yet, a parade?

I defend you to the best of my ability, if you'll let me.

And yes, that may require taking your case to the public

to make them see how outrageous this prosecution is.

"War hero hounded by dastardly president."

I see, I fit right into your program, don't I?

And we fit yours.

You want to be acquitted, and Mr. Pappas is the finest attorney

you will find inside or outside the Beltway.

We'll leave you two alone.

I spoke to the Navy.

They'll let it drop if you resign your commission.

Out of the question.

Good.

So, Mr. Pappas, what is your strategy, aside from making the public

see how outrageous, blah, blah, blah?

I know you're a fine attorney, Commander,

but do you really think it's wise for you to try to help me win your case?

Yes.

Okay, but I'm not going to split my fee.

They have two things.

The electronic trail from your computer to the newspaper.

Suggestive, not conclusive.

And the congruence of the attitudes

expressed in the editorial with your own attitudes.

Are they congruent?

Some are. Some aren't.

PAPPAS: Let's see how it looks.

Pretend you're going to be on the stand.

I will take the stand, Mr. Pappas.

Fine. Then we better practice.

Commander Rabb, moving beyond your party jokes

concerning the President and Ms. Lewinsky...

15 million Americans told those jokes.

Only one is on trial.

Commander Rabb, do you think the President is a coward?

I have no idea.

But in Kosovo, when our planes were ordered to fly three miles high,

for their own safety, while people

were being massacred on the ground,

you believe that those orders were cowardly, don't you?

I believe they were overly cautious.

What's the difference?

All I know is, the aviators who flew those missions were not cowardly.

So, who was?

-Objection. -Overruled.

It would be sustained.

Maybe.

Commander Rabb, do you think the President is a liar?

I believe that he has not always been completely honest.

So, you think he's a liar.

I think he has lied.

How do you feel about the fact that he's confessed to behavior

that wouldn't be tolerated by military officers under his command?

Commander Rabb?

Commander?

How did it go?

Terrific.

You know, even if you're convicted...

I'm not saying you will be, but even if you were,

it wouldn't be completely terrible.

This whole thing is going to make a name for you.

Something good could come of this.

Like what?

Have you ever thought of running for Congress?

No.

I'm sorry.

I'm-I'm just trying to think of good things for you.

But they're things that I think are good, not what you think.

I'm sounding like an idiot, aren't I?

Suzanne, can we talk later?

Yes. Good, good.

Later, we'll talk.

Are you her lawyer?

No. I'm just trying to find a resolution to this.

The judge will give us a resolution this afternoon:

"Destroy that tank and everything in it."

My husband's dead. It's cruel to make me even deal with it.

You don't have to deal with this. You could have stayed away.

Oh, and you're the expert on staying away?

You couldn't stay away from my husband.

You were already separated.

You expect me to believe that?

That's the truth.

-Ladies! -You're a lying slut!

Mrs. Davy, what if Ms. Westin could prove

to you that she didn't meet your husband

until after your marriage was over?

Now, how can she do that? We were living near Washington. She lives in Washington.

Not that year. She was teaching English in Japan.

We were stationed in Japan two years ago.

When she was in Washington.

We'll get you her passport. We'll get you her employment contract.

Really?

These are some letters that your husband wrote to Ms. Westin

after your separation was official.

They show what your husband wanted.

Mrs. Davy, what do you say?

[crumpling letter]

No.

He never wanted children with me.

[door slams]

[knocking]

GUNNY: Excuse me, Commander.

RABB: Come on in, Gunny.

This came for you, sir.

Thanks, Gunny.

Also, if I may say, sir...

Speak your mind.

I know you didn't write that editorial, sir,

but if you did, I just want you to know

a lot of Marines stand behind what you said, sir.

A thousand percent.

If you said it, which you didn't.

Thanks, Gunny.

Aye, sir.

Well, they were right. I could've run for Congress.

ROBERTS: On whose platform, sir?

Theirs.

RABB: You know, Bud, I realize that they're using me.

But I'm using them, too.

The lawyer's good, and, uh...

their publicity machine is great.

"Harm, sorry for my sensitivity-deprived attempt

to cheer you up, but all of us, including Pappas,

think you should meet these reporters

we've invited to our office tomorrow morning.

Suzanne Moore."

These are all A-list names, sir.

Major outlets.

They tell me it's a media trial, Bud.

If I want to save my career, I take it to the media.

Are you really going to go through with this dog-and-pony show, sir?

Bud, you helped me out of loyalty and friendship.

Everybody else has a price.

I'm sure you'll do what's right, sir.

"Sensitivity-deprived attempt to cheer you up."

Do you have a safe place to put that?

I'll treat them like my own babies, lady.

What's going to happen to them, Colonel?

I don't know. The judge wants to hear full arguments

in a couple of months, but...

that may not matter.

Why not?

Thank you.

Well, Laurie Westin called me today.

She wasn't feeling well. She got a home test. She's pregnant.

Well, that's wonderful.

Wh-What about those little guys?

Little guys?

Little girls.

They may not make it, Harriet.

-Colonel. -Bud.

Hey, uh, who's that guy, and what's in the cooler?

The mystery of life.

CITRONE: People, if you'll just follow us into the conference room...

Give us a minute.

No, bear with us just a moment, folks.

We'll get all your questions answered, I promise you.

I'm glad you decided to come.

Well, it wasn't an easy decision.

I know, but it was right, I promise.

"Sorry for my sensitivity-deprived attempt to cheer you up."

[chuckles]

I am. I really am.

"Our President, my Commander in Chief

has imposed his bravery-deprived character on the Armed Forces."

What are you doing?

"Sensitivity-deprived." "Bravery-deprived."

Pretty unusual word construction.

I don't understand.

The newsletter: "The wackily trendy guidelines of the education establishment."

The op-ed piece:

"Sleazily disgraceful restrictions."

You like to use adverbs to modify your adjectives.

Are you saying that I wrote that?

Pretty distinctive style, Ms. Moore.

Harm...

Shouldn't be too hard to find that electronic trail,

now that we know where to look, huh?

So, where did you send it from?

Computer in your office? That would certainly make it easier.

No.

My laptop.

Why me?

Who better?

You're everything he isn't.

The poster boy for Clinton-bashing.

Acquitted or convicted, a martyr to your cause.

Your cause, too.

You don't know that.

Harm...

we have to show these people up for what they really are.

What are you?

Organizations like this are trying to put the country back on the right track.

Then I'll stay on the wrong track, thank you.

Okay, think what you want,

but I didn't even commit a crime.

I am not a military officer.

I am allowed to write an editorial criticizing the President.

But you're not allowed to commit telecommunications fraud

or to impersonate a military officer,

or to conspire to interfere

with the administration of justice.

I'm sure the Clinton Department of Justice

will think of a few more things to charge you with.

This will help him.

You don't even like him.

Doesn't matter if I like him.

He's my Commander in Chief.

Now I'm ready to talk to the press.

RABB: I will bear true faith and allegiance

to the Constitution of the United States

and the country whose course it directs.

I take this obligation freely and without any mental reservation

and I will well and faithfully discharge the duties

of the office I am about to enter,

So help me God.

RABB: So help me God.

You are hereby promoted to the rank of Commander.

Thank you, sir.

Rabb, have you ever, once in your life, done anything the easy way?

No, sir.

PALMER: Yes, ma'am.

Yes, ma'am!

Oh, they tell me that the Grand Canyon

is just exquisite this time of year.

WEXLER: Anita, call Frank in from the newsroom.

I've got an e-mail here that looks like the record of a Swiss bank account

held by Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb, Jr.

Huh...

How would he accumulate 800,000 dollars on an officer's pay?

Congratulations on your promotion.

Thank you.

Congratulations, sir.

Congratulations, Commander.