Zero Day

.

Evan Green has been released, but he should never have been detained.

What was done to him on behalf of the United States government

was unlawful, unethical, and inhumane.

George Mullen's overreach now threatens to eclipse the very terrorism

it was entrusted to stop.

And are we any safer for it? I don't think so.

Because inside this building, my client was nowhere near safe.

I just want to go home.

Are you gonna sue?

Oh, hey.

I was just thinking about Nick trying to do that stupid trick on his skateboard

from outside my office window in Albany.

He kept falling over and over,

and he just couldn't get it. And then finally, he did.

And I was gonna go outside and tell him, "Nice job, kid."

"Way to go. Keep at it."

But the phones were ringing or something. We were working on the budget, I think.

I don't even remember.

And that was it. I never… had the chance to say anything to him about it.

-Don't do this. Don't do it. -I…

Yeah. Today, in front of the Oversight Committee,

you can't hold back.

I don't want you defending me or the commission.

I…

I thought, whatever was happening, I… I just could stay ahead of it.

Well, maybe I was wrong.

I think Roger knew that.

But he could never say no to me.

I just couldn't walk away again. I just couldn't do that.

That would've just made things worse.

Why didn't you tell me what you were going through?

I don't know.

I don't know.

- Mr. Speaker. - Madam President.

The Russians and the Chinese are certainly having a field day.

Mullen's coming in day after tomorrow.

To resign, I hope.

Hasn't exactly been predictable, but I would think so.

Sheila Mullen's testimony today should guarantee it.

Quite the stunt.

If his own wife doesn't support him,

and if she still hopes to be confirmed to the bench,

there's no way she can,

neither will the public.

Madam President, I'm not proud of this.

But even you have to admit

a mistake was made in choosing Mullen, and it's not too late to correct it.

We need to reclaim the commission's integrity.

In the right hands, it's still the best and fastest way to find those responsible.

In your hands, you mean?

I have, once again, secured enough bipartisan support to be named its head.

Mullen resigns on Monday. I can be sworn in on Tuesday.

Or together, we can make an appeal to call for its immediate dissolution.

Call it what it was,

an error born in the aftermath of collective trauma.

With all due respect, Madam President,

you do not have the political capital

to put this genie back in the bottle.

The people want answers. I'm the only one that can give them to 'em.

Says the man already running against me?

We received in a written statement released today

shocking reports

that enhanced interrogation techniques were used on television personality

Evan Green,

who likened his experience to those of political prisoners,

tortured and humiliated at CIA black sites.

These allegations against the Zero Day commission

have been met with international condemnation.

Evan Green himself remained unusually silent following his release earlier…

Our work to find those responsible for this attack continues.

As I said before, Mullen remains head of the commission.

No, we have no comment on that.

Any update from the medical examiner?

The official cause of death was drowning,

but he had heroin in his bloodstream, which has a pretty short half-life.

He must have passed out in the tub right after taking it.

What's the status of the detainees?

All released,

though three were charged with crimes unrelated to the terror attack.

Uh, identity fraud,

cryptojacking,

data theft.

You hear from the boss?

Nope.

If nothing else, deterrence worked, right?

Hasn't been another attack.

Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you're about to give

will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,

so help you God?

I do.

-Morning, sir. - Morning.

Autopsy report, sir.

It's moot at this point,

but in reexamining the photos that Roger provided the commission,

our experts are now saying they're deep fakes,

the most technically sophisticated they've ever encountered,

but fakes, nonetheless.

Anyone could have fallen for it.

- -

- Sir? -Give me a minute.

Hi, everyone.

Nothing has changed, all right?

This is still an active investigation, and your responsibility, as always,

has been to the American people, not to me.

Our country was attacked,

and whoever did this has threatened to do so again.

It's your job, it's your duty to keep that from happening.

Thank you.

Sir, it's starting.

Okay.

Is it your opinion that the suspension of civil liberties is constitutional?

It's not without precedent.

During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus

with Proclamation 104, and more recently, FDR did it

with EO 9066 during World War II.

Both presidents were in office at the time, and as you stated,

both were in the middle of a war.

I think you'd agree the definition of war has expanded quite a bit since then.

After 9/11, the War on Terror was proclaimed.

The Patriot Act was passed.

Good, bad, or otherwise, many of its provisions remain law today.

Do you support the Patriot Act?

The job of a judge is to interpret the law,

not support or oppose it.

Torture is prohibited by Section 2340A, Title 18 of the United States Code.

Did you have a question, or was that just for my own edification?

Ma'am, did your husband break the law?

I can only surmise you're referring to allegations being made in the press

and not yet proven in court.

Torture is illegal.

Of course, if memory serves,

you voted against the law to ban enhanced interrogation techniques,

you didn't speak out when the NSA was conducting warrantless surveillance,

and you voted to expand the authority of military commissions

to hold detainees at Gitmo forever.

So, whatever the commission is alleged to have done,

it sounds rather consistent with your own past record,

Mr. Speaker.

How would you describe your husband's state of mind?

Sound.

How sound?

Given what's happened to this country

and what we've done to ourselves, how sound is yours?

Are you comfortable with the level of power President Mullen has been given?

Key word is "given."

He neither asked for nor wanted this appointment.

Fine, then should he have accepted it?

Well, the Founding Fathers never intended anyone to have the sort of power

Congress bestowed on my husband,

and the burden of that responsibility is his alone to bear.

But I would suggest that the members of this Oversight Committee,

all of whom voted in favor of the commission and its expansive powers,

take a hard look at themselves in the mirror.

I may be George Mullen's wife,

but it's all of you who are his partners in this endeavor.

The House Oversight Committee would like to declare a ten-minute recess.

Thank you.

Beltway types are weighing in. I'm seeing some criticisms,

but mostly positive.

Principled stances, knows her stuff, formidable and feisty.

I think she's coming off well.

Guys, can we have a sec?

I do wonder if it's wise for you to go to this funeral tomorrow,

in such a public setting, with the possibility of…

-Proteus. -We could secure the perimeter, but--

Look, whoever they are and whatever they're trying to do,

they've done it already.

I'm not gonna miss the funeral.

I came into this with Roger. It's only fitting I go out with him too.

They shall grow not old

As we that are left grow old

Age shall not weary them

Nor the years condemn

At the going down of the sun And in the morning

We will remember them

But where our desires are And our hopes profound

Felt as a wellspring That is a well-hidden sight

To the innermost heart Of their own land

Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain

Moving in marches Upon the heavenly plain