"[theme music playing]" "[man] Deference to the executive cannot possibly justify the injuries to Mr. Mahmoud or the death of his family members." "If you do not say that this is wrong, that this is unconstitutional, there is nothing to prevent this sort of senseless tragedy from happening again." "We ask for nothing more than reform and oversight." "Your ruling is a crucial first step." " Thank you." " Thank you, Mr. Katyal." "Ms. Dunbar." "Mr. Chief Justice, and may it please the court, the security of American citizens is the reason our drone program and other covert operations exist." "But that security often comes with a cost." "At this very moment, the president is at Arlington Cemetery, laying to rest three Navy SEALs who perished on a mountainside in Afghanistan." "They gave their lives to save others." "[playing Amazing Grace on bagpipes]" "[priest] And God said to Abraham, "Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and sacrifice him."" "Abraham was willing." "But when he raised his knife above Isaac on the altar," "God stopped him." "For Abraham had proven his devotion to God." "Then God, to prove his devotion to us, made his own sacrifice." ""For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son."" "Devotion." "Sacrifice." "Love." "This is what the Lord teaches us." "And what these young men have exemplified." "We shall forever honor them." "And in heaven, they will have eternal life." "Amen." "[man] Ready, pull." "[Dunbar] As you are aware, we have invoked the State secrets privilege during our request for dismissal." "But I have authority from the president to share some of the classified brief in order to reinforce the government's argument." "Are you certain you want to do that, Ms. Dunbar?" "I am, Mr. Chief Justice." "And so is the president." "So the government is publicly admitting responsibility for the strike?" "[Dunbar] It is, Your Honor." "The terrorist successfully targeted was Zuri Aziz." "He routinely used civilians as human shields." "Mr. Mahmoud's family did not know Aziz was in the same building." "The drone strike is responsible for their deaths." "Mr. Mahmoud has suffered a terrible injury and loss." "While the government's action is tragic, it wasn't unlawful." "It was legal, it was necessary, and it was right." "[Frank] Heather Dunbar?" "She's never run for office." "You don't become Solicitor General without being politically savvy." "It takes more than savvy to be elected president." "Don't forget, she has a national profile after the Walker investigation." "Truth and justice personified." "If the leadership wants to redefine the party, she's" "No one with this little experience has ever been a real contender since Ross Perot, and at least he had the money." "So does she." "Her family owns Dunbar Armored Cars." "She could finance her entire campaign if she needed to." "But what prevents the abuse of power?" "[Dunbar] The executive can't legislate, can't receive appropriations, can't sentence people to imprisonment." "All of these depend on the other branches, which keeps executive power in check." "But we know for a fact that, in emergencies, the executive will contemplate actions that do not have clear legislative authority and might be constitutionally dubious." "Including" "Are you asking about drone strikes, Your Honor?" "Yes." "Drone strikes." "[Dunbar] The fear of an out-of-control executive is exaggerated." "The president has strong electoral and other political incentives to act in the public interest." "You yourself have investigated the White House for abuse of power." "It forced a president to resign." "Now you maintain that, uh, we should give our president a wide berth?" "I am not here to defend any one person, but rather the office of the presidency itself." "We must hold everyone in government accountable to the law." "But we must not manufacture our interpretation of the law to erode constitutional authority." "We can prosecute presidents, but not the presidency." "We have to assume this is happening." "We need to end her campaign before it begins." "She's clean." "Walker vetted her for Solicitor General, then again when he made her special prosecutor." "That's one of the things that makes her so attractive." " Thank you, Jackie." " Yes, sir." "Well, if we can't knock her out, we have to figure out another way." " It's something, isn't it?" " Yes, it is." "Traditionally, the United States has not supported military action in the Middle East." "But a neutral UN peacekeeping force in the Jordan Valley is an essential first step to sustainable, long-term peace." "The United States will vote "yes."" "Thank you, Mr. President." "[man] I give the floor to the representative of the Russian Federation." "[man 2] Russia is also committed to stability in the region." "But inserting the UN into such a complicated situation could irrevocably damage the hopes of real peace." "I strongly encourage my colleagues to not support this resolution." "Thank you, Mr. President." "[man] With no further requests to speak, I put the draft resolution to a vote." "All those in favor?" "Those against?" "Those abstaining?" "The vote is 13 in favor, one against, one abstention." "The draft resolution does not pass due to the "no" vote by a permanent member of the Security Council." "[speaking French] We hoped that Russia would change their mind but their veto doesn't surprise me." "So we need your support to bypass the Security Council." "[man speaking French] We don't want to undermine the veto of permanent members." "We will not establish a dangerous precedent." "The General Assembly can't override the veto without a majority." "Do you still have the support of Israel?" "I would not call you if this was not the case." "Then as long as Israel agrees, we agree." "Wonderful." "Thank you, Ambassador." "I'll let you know when we decide to submit it to a vote." "[line ringing]" "Ileana, France is in." "I need to be certain Israel will stand firm." "[man] Israel will never maintain its commitment." "Israel wants what the rest of the world wants, sustainable security." "Trust me on this, I've dealt with Jerusalem for many years at the UN." "The moment it gets difficult, they'll turn their back on you." " And it will get difficult." " You're right." "I can't predict how they will act down the road, but I do know they will vote for this resolution." "We'll see." "Going around the Security Council is a radical move." "It's not radical, it's justified." "You dust off some 60-year-old precedent and think you're justified?" "The Uniting for Peace resolution was used to start a war." "To end North Korea's aggression." "Semantics." "Ninety-three nations on board already, including Israel, that's not semantics." "Claire, I'm getting a lot of pressure from the Kremlin." "Petrov doesn't want this to go to the General Assembly." "Give me a little more time to work on him." "We've given you a month." "We're moving forward." "[phone ringing]" " Yes?" " [secretary] Ms. Dunbar is here." "Send her in." " [Frank] Heather." " Mr. President." "I listened to the audio of your defense this morning." "It was outstanding." "You were right about making the emotional argument." "I think it will help the country heal." "Please, have a seat." "I'm also going to meet later tonight with Mr. Mahmoud privately." " To personally apologize." " That's a compassionate thing to do." "When I listened to your argument, I also heard something else." "There was a moment when Justice Jacobs was asking you about drone strikes." "Yeah, I remember." "And he paused..." "for quite a long time." "I think..." "he just lost his train of thought." "Well... [clears throat]" "What I'm about to tell you has to remain between us." "Of course." "Justice Jacobs has Alzheimer's." "He came to me a few months ago to tell me." "Now, it's in the early stages, so you wouldn't even notice unless you know what to look for." "He wants to remain on the court?" "Well, that's what I want to discuss." "He wanted to retire." "I asked him to hold on just a little while longer, until I could find a suitable replacement and now I have." "And I want that replacement..." "to be you." "What do you think?" "I'm... humbled, sir." "And... honestly surprised that you'd consider me." " Why is that?" " Given our history." "When I said that was water under the bridge, I meant it." "You have the finest legal mind in this country, a deep understanding of the Constitution, and the Republicans wouldn't dare block your nomination." "After all, you prosecuted a Democratic president." "You're too good to be Solicitor General." "Let's make sure you have a job for life." "I appreciate you saying that, sir." "I'm sorry." "This is a lot to process." "It's important we do this before the election." "We could end up with a Republican president." "And I don't want to suggest your name to Jacobs unless you truly want the position." "So..." "I need to know now." "Yes." "It would be a great honor." "Good." "Congratulations." "You speak to your family." "I'll speak to Jacobs." "Thank you, Mr. President." "[beeps]" " [beeping] - [typing]" "[sighs]" " Did you see this?" " Hm?" "See what?" "I just got an alert." "I don't know." "I haven't, uh... seen Jim in a while." "That's weird." "[sighs]" "I want to offer you my sincerest regret." "And I hope that you will accept my apology." "I'm sorry, but I can't." "I know it should have come sooner." "There needs to be more oversight." "Well, there is congressional oversight." "We have a rigorous system to prevent collateral damage." "Civilians are listed as "other militants."" "But the government offers no evidence that's true." "It definitely wasn't in my case." "How rigorous can your process be?" "The numbers of non-combatants who are being killed by drone strikes" " is lower than it's ever been." " Those numbers are false." "One civilian killed in 2010?" "That has to be wrong." "Look, I don't think the Pentagon is being honest about-  [moaning]" " Are you okay?" " I'll get the doctor up here." " Don't do that." "It'll pass." "Phantom pain." "You know what I dreamed of when I came here?" "Choking you with my bare hands." "[inhales deeply, exhales]" "Mr. Mahmoud, you may hate me." "You may hate the office I hold." "But here's the reality:" "I must make decisions every day that I hope are just." "I don't know right from wrong all the time." "I wish I did." "But what I can't be is indecisive." "It says in the Qur'an:" ""The taking of one innocent life is like the taking of all mankind."" "It also says that "the saving of one life is like the saving of all mankind."" "[chuckles softly]" "You didn't ask me here to apologize." "You asked me here to forgive you." "I didn't order the strike that" "I won't forgive you, Mr. President." "I don't want to make it any easier for you to sleep at night." "And knowing a few lines of the Qur'an does not absolve you." "I have a duty to this nation, Mr. Mahmoud." "I swore an oath." "There's a fine line between duty and murder." "Only you have the power to stop what happened to me." "The next time you wield it..." "I hope you'll think twice." "Yes, of course." "Meechum!" " Yes, sir?" " You show Mr. Mahmoud out." "[Gavin] Two months of random sampling across the country." "Less than a tenth of a percent of all incoming data." "Why so little?" "You have any idea how many cameras we monitor?" "The CPU core quota of every mainframe in Washington couldn't handle all that data." "I tried doubling the sample range and it set off alarms." "I came this fucking close to getting caught." "Okay, we just need to narrow the search, man." " It's too much ground to cover." " How?" "I need more information on Rachel." "Favorite books, fuckin' movies." " Anything." " I don't know." "Come on." "Did she ever talk about going anywhere?" " Traveling to some place?" " No." "Traveling wasn't an option." "I need more, man." " What about the other girl?" "Lisa." " I'm reading her e-mails." "I'm tracking her phone." "There's nothing there." "We should get close to her, though." "We should talk to her." " Extract something." " She might recognize me." " I'll do it." " That makes me nervous." "It's social engineering." "I'll just hack her that way." "She won't suspect a thing." "If we don't try something new, we're not gonna find Rachel." "[Frank] Help yourself to some boiled peanuts." "[Jacobs] No, thank you." "Too much salt." "First week I was here, I asked one of the stewards if I could have some boiled peanuts." "I used to eat them all the time as a kid, and I'll be damned if there hasn't been a full bowl of peanuts here every day since." "They must have a pot boiling 'round the clock." "Ruth has me eating kale crisps now." "Says they're good for me." "I can't stand the things." "I have them shucked in the kitchen, so you don't even have to get your fingers dirty." "Feel free." "Live a little." "Mr. Justice, since we last spoke, I've done a lot of soul searching." "It was unfair of me to ask you to stay on the bench." "If you want to retire, you should." "I appreciate your consideration, Mr. President." "Well, I thought the first thing I should do is to find a suitable successor." "Someone you would approve of to put your mind at ease," " and I think I've found one." " Who?" " Heather Dunbar." " I think she'd be an excellent justice." "I'm glad you agree." "Just an unlikely choice, given how vociferous she" "With the Walker investigation, yes." "But that only increases my estimation of her." "She has a great sense of duty." "More than any Solicitor General I've ever worked with." "I wish I'd known the reason you invited me beforehand." " I could have saved you the trouble." " Why?" "After I talked to you a couple of months ago," "Ruth said you'd given me a gift." "That I would be miserable if I weren't on the bench." "She talked to my sons and they all agreed." "As long as I'm well enough to serve the court, that's where I want to be." "And we'll keep an eye on 2016." "If it looks as though the Republicans will win, I'll step down." "If not, I'll stay." "But, there's no rush." "Must I destroy this man?" "Mr. President?" "No." "I won't." "Excuse me?" "I won't stand by and watch you make this mistake." "I've thought this through." "We're not friends, Robert." "We don't know each other that well." "But I care about you." "Because you served for more than 20 years on the bench." "You've established legal precedents that will outlive both of us." "And... maybe you can explain away yesterday as a senior moment." "But what if another moment happens that you can't explain away?" "What if somehow the news of your illness leaks?" "Then every decision you've written will be called into question." "They'll be challenged." "And a life's work will be undone in a heartbeat." "Do you have some ulterior motive here?" "Only your best interests." "But why the urgency?" "I want to protect you." "Justice, I'm asking you, I'm pleading with you." "Don't let events get out of your control." "Will you reconsider?" "I appreciate your concern, Mr. President." "Let me speak again to Ruth and I'll get back to you." "Thank you, Justice." " It's a moratorium." " We're not calling it that." "Call it whatever you want, nobody's talking." "We're trying to prevent misinformation." "I'm supposed to write about AmWorks." "How can I do that when no one from the executive branch will speak to me?" "This thing's shifting under our feet in Congress." "By the time I finish the morning brief, it's already outdated." "I'm not asking for a one-on-one with the president, but... the Secretary of Labor, Treasury, one of his economic advisors." "Give you special treatment?" "I think you issued the moratorium because you're losing the battle." "It's 500 billion dollars." "This is the largest jobs program since the New Deal." "Of course it's a slugfest." "That doesn't mean we're losing." "Then let me speak to someone who can confirm that." "Because all I'm hearing from the Republicans is that" "AmWorks will never see the light of day." "I sympathize with you, Ayla." "I wish I could give you what you want." "[knock on door]" " The president needs us." " So we'll talk later." "[man] Michael Corrigan, the activist who organized the protest at the state dinner last month, arrested by Russian police three hours ago in Moscow." "The video is going viral." "He's a high profile gay rights activist, nationally and abroad." "And he's been very vocal in Russia over the last six weeks." "Here's the bureau file on him, sir." "Have we been in touch with the Kremlin?" "[Claire] Secretary Durant is in Tangier right now." "I briefed her by phone and she reached out to Bugayev." "But they have not connected yet." "Ambassador Grimes is making calls in Moscow, but nobody's engaging, other than to say they plan on fully prosecuting him." "Ambassador, do you think this could be in retaliation for what you're doing at the UN?" "It could be." "The Russians are very upset about this resolution." "I'll see what I can find out from Moryakov." "Let's hold off on the press conference until tomorrow." "I'd like to deliver some good news instead of no news." "In the meantime, put out a statement that we're in communication with Moscow." "And that we're doing everything we can to get Mr. Corrigan back to the United States." "Thank you all." "Personally, I hate the law." "It's medieval homophobic nonsense." " But it's the law." " I don't think it's coincidence that Corrigan was arrested after our conversation." "Well, I wouldn't think it was a coincidence either." "So what do you hope to achieve?" "The same thing as you do:" "Mr. Corrigan's release." "If I withdraw the resolution." "I think Moscow would certainly see it as a sign of goodwill." "Well, we don't barter goodwill for the freedom of American citizens." "I actually advocated for his immediate deportation." "I agree that tossing him in jail is counterproductive, but my superiors are adamant." "Save Petrov from himself." "It's not my place to question him." "Unlike you, I'm not married to my boss." "I'll relay the Kremlin's position to the president." "If we give in, the Jordan Valley plan is over and we show the Russians we can be blackmailed." "So we're just supposed to let Corrigan rot away?" "I think if we continue to drive hard at the UN, we'll gain leverage." " What does Cathy think?" " She agrees." "I'm gonna take flak every day that Corrigan remains in jail." "And you'll take more if you back down." "But it does mean I have to get in front of the press with absolutely nothing of substance to say." "You spent 20 years in Congress." "You're good at that." "[laughs]" "It's good to hear you laugh." "Get some sleep." "I'll call you tomorrow." "Good night." "[man] Who specifically is communicating between Washington and Moscow?" "[Frank] All of our communication is between the State Department and the Russian Foreign Ministry." "Ayla." "In your statement, you persisted in calling this a free speech issue, but isn't gay rights really at the center of this?" "Well, Mr. Corrigan was arrested for speaking his mind." " No matter what his opinions-- - [Ayla] Aren't you skirting that," "Mr. President, because your stance on gay rights is unclear?" "What is clear is that Mr. Corrigan's detainment is unjust and, as I said, we're doing everything we can to make sure that he can come home." "Yes, Zachary." "Following up." "Isn't dodging gay rights a calculated move for a man not running for office?" "You think I'm dodging?" "Well, then let me be as clear as I possibly can be." "Gay people have rights." "And this administration has always believed that Mr. Corrigan has the right to speak his mind without fear of being arrested on any issue, whether it's gay rights or something else." "And what is also quite clear is that you must have failed etiquette class." "Why won't you speak to John Pasternak, Michael Corrigan's husband?" "Mr. Pasternak has been trying to contact the White House" " and no one will speak with him." " I do apologize, I have a meeting." "I wish I could've gotten to all your questions." "Any further inquiries, please direct them to Mr. Grayson." "Thank you very much." "I apologize, sir." " You went too far." " I did my job." "There's protocol." "There's basic decorum." "How about this: you lift the moratorium for me on AmWorks," "I disappear for five weeks." "Focus on my long-lead piece." "I don't touch Corrigan or anything else." "You wanted me to chew you out." "If that's what it takes to get us talking." "Which is why I need your credential." " What?" " Your credential." " [laughs] You're kidding." " Do you see me laughing?" "You don't control my credential." "The Correspondents' Association does." "And I just spoke to Joel Weinmann." " He wouldn't." " You succeeded, Ayla." "I'm lifting the moratorium for every other member of the press corps." "The price was your credential." " He has no grounds." " You disrespected the president, the office, and most importantly, your fellow colleagues." " It wasn't a tough sell." " Then this becomes my next story." "Punishing a member of the press." "Collusion." "Pay for play." "And I'll deny." "And do you think the head of the association is gonna admit anything?" "You don't have any friends, Ayla, on either side of the fence." "The president just made a statement about free speech." "Now you're gonna start kicking reporters out of the White House?" " No." "Just you." " No, not just me!" "You're fucking with the second largest daily in America." "You can get rid of me, but you can't get rid of the institution I work for." "You done?" "Don't let your 15 minutes of power go to your head, Seth." "You can keep the plastic if you want..." "as a souvenir." "That's all it's good for, now." "[phone ringing]" "Hello?" "Yeah." "Are you serious?" "Okay." "Fuck." "I need to speak to the president." "[camera shutters clicking]" "Through our laws, we seek to create a more perfect union." "Government officials who abuse the law, or, at the very least, exploit the edges of it for their own personal gain, tarnish our democracy and weaken the bonds of our great nation." "The Democratic Party must step out of the shadow of scandal and redefine itself." "I want her here when she's done with this stunt." "Embracing a new era of transparency, honesty and justice, this country deserves a president who has dedicated herself to those ideals in this court and many others, who has spent her entire life defending the law, and who now wants to dedicate herself to enforcing it." "Let's restore integrity to the Oval Office." "Use its power to root out corruption and lead by example." "Today, before my family and friends, my God, and the highest court in our land," "I announce my candidacy for President of the United States of America." "[male reporter] There was no indication Ms. Dunbar had plans to run for president." "This will make her the second Solicitor General in history to run for president, the only other being William Howard Taft in 1908." "With President Underwood declaring he will not" " Mr. President." " Ms. Dunbar." "Please, take a seat." " My letter of resignation." " I can't accept that." "You're too valuable to us." "I can't run for office as Solicitor General." "Then you should reconsider running for office." "It's too late for that, I think." "I don't understand, Heather." "I offered you a seat on the Supreme Court." "If Jacobs was stepping down, which he isn't." "You spoke to him." "As Solicitor General, I'm friendly with all the justices." "I keep those relationships private so no one will suspect any bias toward me." "But Robert and I are very close." "He and Ruth have me over for dinner once a month." "So you already knew about the Alzheimer's?" "He told me the day he was diagnosed." "I've never had anything but his best interests at heart." "You don't care about Robert." "You wanted to sideline me." "So you actually think you have a shot at this office?" "Yes, I do." "And so does the leadership." "You're in over your head, Heather, no matter what Birch and Womack are telling you." "Why should it concern you, Mr. President?" "You've announced that you're not running." " Is this personal for you?" " [sighs] Don't flatter yourself." "You got Walker, but you couldn't get me." "I don't have to run to make sure you leave office." "You couldn't win anyway." "I'm running because I know I'd make a good president." "You might very well make a good president." "But right now, you're being delusional." "When Birch approached me, I wasn't sure." "I was tempted, but I knew it was a long shot." "And when you offered the nomination, I was overwhelmed." "It's what I'd been working toward my entire career." "But then I spoke to Robert." "And when he told me how you threatened him, I knew I had to run." "Someone needs to scrub the stink from this office." " I didn't threaten him." " What would you call it?" "I was trying to save him, in the same way I'm trying to save you now." "Once the news of his Alzheimer's gets out, which it will, because no matter how much we all try to lie about it, it's gonna leak, can you imagine what that's going to do to his reputation?" "He deserves better than that." "And you deserve better than being an also-ran." "Help me convince him." "Take the seat on the court where you belong." "Is this how you live with yourself?" "By rationalizing the obscene into the palatable?" "I haven't excused you yet." "See you in Iowa." "[Lisa] I wouldn't have made it through the past eight months without my faith." "But I wouldn't have made it without this community, either." "And on tough days..." "I remind myself of that." "That I'm not alone." "That I have all of you." "And I think it's important to acknowledge that." "To give thanks." "So thank you." "All of you." "For always being there." "For always being here." "[applause]" "I have to go." "I'll see you soon." "Hey. [clears throat] I just wanted to say, what you said... it really connected with me." " About community." " Thank you." " Yeah." " I'm glad." " I'm Lisa." "Hi." " Of course." "Max." "Hi." " You're new." " It was my first time, actually." " Do you live around here?" " Towson." "Just drove up." "How did you find out about us?" "Online." "Website." "Yeah, I was surfing around, and I was..." "I was looking for something and..." " It's stupid." " No." "No, no." " Tell me." " Um..." "Okay, well, a few months ago, this girl..." "Um..." "The love of my life, actually..." " Breakup?" " She just left me." "Out of the blue." "You know, one day she just said it was over and that was it." "Yeah." "That's hard." "I went through something similar not that long ago." "Oh, really?" "Sort of what I was talking about tonight with the hard time I had been through." "What happened?" "Oh..." "Ancient history." "A guy left you?" " It was a woman." " Oh." "I guess I'm not completely over it, but time heals, you know?" "Mm-hmm." "I gotta get home, but it was nice to meet you, Max." "Nice meeting you, Lisa." "[Dunbar] Can we reschedule?" "Let me see." "Yeah, yeah." "Can you move that up by a half an hour?" "[phone rings]" " Hello?" " [Doug] Is this a good time, Ms. Dunbar?" " Who is this?" " Doug Stamper." "How did you get this number?" "Phone numbers are easy." "What you should be asking is how I knew you were meeting with Senator Giallo tonight." "Look down the hallway." " Go ahead." "I'll meet you down there." " All right." "No." "Stay where you are." "We wouldn't want to be seen together." "Did the president send you?" "No." "He and I aren't in touch." "Then why are you here?" "You're forming your team." "I want to be a part of it." " The real reason." " That is the reason." "He sent you." "Don't lie to me." "I've been out of the game for nine months, Ms. Dunbar." "I want to get back in." "You're forming your team, and I want to get in on the ground floor." "The leadership isn't enough." "You need the rank and file." "Their connections to county and municipal power brokers." "The chiefs of a thousand kingdoms in every primary from Iowa to Super Tuesday." "I worked in the whip's office for ten years." "I have files on every single member." "What they want, who they sleep with, what they eat for lunch." "I can be valuable to you." "How did you know I was meeting with Giallo tonight?" "You rub shoulders with the leadership." "I rub shoulders with the people who work for them." "[elevator dings]" "Think about it, Ms. Dunbar." "That's all I ask." "[electronic voice] Going down." "I made a mistake." "I mean, the way she spoke to me in the Oval," "I wanted to strangle her." "I mean, what is she thinking?" "Running against an incumbent when I offered her a seat on the court" "[Claire] She was going to run the moment Birch whispered in her ear." "Once people imagine themselves in the Oval, there's no turning back." "You know that as well as anybody." "It's my own damn fault." "Shouldn't have given Jacobs the choice." "I should've just announced her nomination before I even asked her." " Should I come home?" " No." "I just need to think." "I need to clear my head." "Tell me what I can do." "[chuckles softly]" "Why did I hold back?" "Why did I show Jacobs any mercy?" "Francis, this doesn't sound like you." "Put this behind you." "Think about what's next." "It was because of Mahmoud." "I let him get to me." "And all those flags on those coffins and those soldiers, whose" "I deployed and then I buried in the ground." "It's my" "Stop it." "This isn't doing you any good." "I will talk about this with you if you want, but if you're doubting yourself, I can't indulge that." "No, you're right, of course." "Well, let's talk in the morning." " I'm here if you need me." " I know." " Good night." " Good night, Francis." "Yes, can you reach out to Bishop Eddis for me?" "I'll hold." "[doors close]" "[Frank] Thank you, Meechum." " If we can have some privacy." " [Meechum] Yes, sir." "Still riding the Bonneville?" "Sold the '67 for a Pipeburn." "Beautiful bike." "You should take me for a spin sometime." "[laughs] I don't think so." "They're a death wish." "At least you know you have a place in heaven." "What's on your mind, Mr. President?" "The burial the other day." "You talked about Abraham and Isaac." "God giving up his only Son." "Between you and me, that's the same sermon I always use at Arlington." "You put enough soldiers in the ground, you get tired of writing new ones." " It was the first time I had heard it." " Won't be the last." "I want to understand what justice is." "[chuckles] That's a big one." "I know." "There's our justice, the kind men create." "We base it on things like the Ten Commandments." "But those can be read a million different ways." ""Thou shalt not kill" seems pretty clear." "Who's to say?" "If we didn't kill, others would kill instead of us." "There's a lot of killing in the Bible." "King David was a warrior." "How do you reconcile that with the laws that God gave Moses?" "Even those laws require interpretation." "There are two laws we have to remember above all else." "He tells us to love God and to love each other." "You can't love the people you kill." "You sure as hell can." "And you have to love the people who are trying to kill you." "Jesus loved the Romans." ""Father, forgive them," he said, "for they know not what they do."" "Why didn't he fight?" "Why did he allow himself to be sacrificed?" "I ask myself that question a lot." "I understand the Old Testament God, whose power is absolute, who rules through fear, but... him." "There's no such thing as absolute power for us, except on the receiving end." "Using fear will get you nowhere." "It's not your job to determine what's just." "It's not your place to choose the version of God you like best." "It's not your duty to serve this country alone, and it better not be your goal to simply serve yourself." "You serve the Lord." "And through him, you serve others." "Two rules:" "Love God." "Love each other." "Period." "You weren't chosen, Mr. President." "Only he was." "May I have a few moments?" "For myself." "To pray." "It's all yours." "[doors close]" "Love?" "That's what you're selling?" "Well, I don't buy it." "[rattling]" "[footsteps running]" "Is everything all right, sir?" "I was praying and it just fell." "Please have someone clean this up." "Yes, sir." "Well, I've got God's ear now."