CLIFF [VO]
Because you were placed under oath, your testimony here today has the same force and
effect as if you were testifying before the committee in a courtroom. Do you understand?
DONNA
Yes.
CLIFF
This committee has been granted authorization pursuant to House Resolution 173, my
name is Clifford Calley. I'm Majority Counsel for the House Government Oversight and
Reform Committee. Would you state your full name for the record, please.
DONNA
Donnatella Moss. D-o-n-n-a-t-e-l-l-a M-o-s-s.
CLIFF
At this point I'd like the record to indicate that the Majority Counsel has met the witness
socially on several occasions, and without objection, I'd like to proceed.
WOMAN
No objection.
CLIFF
Counsel?
COUNSEL
No objection.
CLIFF
I'd also like to express the Committee’s appreciation to the witness for appearing on a
Sunday. Ms. Moss, are you here voluntarily or as a result of a subpoena?
DONNA
A subpoena.
CLIFF
No need to thank me. [beat] Donna, this is going to be easy, you can laugh. Were you
recently asked to help organize documents pursuant to this Committee’s current
investigation?
DONNA
Yes.
CLIFF
Would you describe how that works?
DONNA
On instructions from Joshua Lyman and the White House Counsel's office, I took over a
storage room at the OEOB and began sorting through any interoffice or
interdepartmental documents, both from the campaign and from the West Wing.
CLIFF
And for the record, the campaign you're referring to is...
DONNA
Bartlet for America.
CLIFF
How'd you guys do?
DONNA
[very seriously] We won.
CLIFF
Okay. [beat] My colleagues are going to ask you some questions. Then we'll get back to
me and finish up.
DONNA
Okay.
MAN
Ms. Moss? Do you keep a photo album?
DONNA
No.
MAN
Okay. Do you keep...
DONNA
I'm sorry. Uh... I keep photographs, I don't have them in an album.
MAN
Okay. Do you keep a scrapbook?
DONNA
No.
MAN
Do you keep letters, notes, or other correspondence you receive from people?
DONNA
Sometimes a birthday card or a letter from my father.
MAN
Do you keep a diary?
Donna
I’m sorry, can you repeat the question?
Man
Do you keep a diary?
Donna
What would a diary have to do with-
Man
Please answer the question, Ms. Moss.
Donna
I…I…I need to speak to my attorney
Man
Ms. Moss, you are here under subpoena, and are required to answer the question. If
you refuse to answer the question, you will be held in contempt. Do you keep a diary?
(Counsel for the White House nods for Donna to proceed and answer the question.)
Donna
Yes.
Man
This committee is requesting that you produce that document for review within 24 hours.
Donna
My diary? It has nothing to do with work. They’re just my personal thoughts.
Man
Within 24 hours Ms. Moss. Please tell the committee the first time you learned the
President was suffering with M.S.
Donna was so distracted and distraught at this point she didn’t even hear the next
question. Her eyes flew to Cliff’s hoping to see some indication of what she should do,
what she should say, but his face was completely neutral; like he didn’t know her
intimately.
The deposition lasted 2 more hours. They questioned her on everything from the
routines of the senior staff members to traveling on Air Force One. Once they were done
with her, she pleaded with the White House Counsel to keep her diary out of the hands
of the committee. When that proved fruitless, she took an even bigger risk and went to
see Cliff Calley at his home.
“Donna? What are you doing here? You shouldn’t be here.” He wouldn’t even open his
door to let her in.
“I need your help Cliff. I can’t give my diary to those people.”
“You don’t have a choice Donna. You were under oath and Congress has the power to
compel you to produce it.”
“You don’t understand. There is nothing in there to do with the President or M.S. I
swear! There must be a way to keep my personal diary out of a Congressional
investigation.”
Cliff saw the distress in her face and wished there was something he could do to fix
whatever this was for her, but the minute she admitted to keeping a diary that particular
fate was sealed.
“I’m sorry, Donna. I truly am, but there’s nothing I can do about that. You should talk to
your attorney, maybe they can quash the subpoena, or delay it for awhile.”
Donna let out a short laugh. “My attorney isn’t exactly speaking to me at the moment.”
“What?” Cliff was confused.
“Nothing. I wouldn’t want anything I say to you to be used against me.” Donna turned to
leave, her shoulders slumped in defeat. Cliff quickly shut the door, but watched her walk
back down the street through his window.
Donna walked back to the White House in a daze. She didn’t know what to do, and she
prided herself on always having a plan. She answered her colleague’s greetings
mechanically and found herself in Sam’s office. When she shut the door to his office he
looked up, startled.
“Donna…How did it go?...You okay?”
Donna simply shook her head ‘no’, not able to get any of the words out.
“Donna, what happened?” Sam got up from his desk and moved around it to seat her in
his visitor chair, kneeling next to her.
“Do you need some water?” he asked and again she shook her head ‘no’. She was
starting to scare him. He had been sure the deposition would be tedious, but routine.
What could have possibly happened?
“Can you be my lawyer, Sam? Or will that not work since we both work here and we’re
both under investigation?”
“Of course I can, Donna, but depending on what’s happening, you may need-“ Sam
interrupted himself. “Give me a dollar.” He instructed her and she dug a $5 bill from her
purse and handed it to him. “Now I’m officially under retainer. Tell me what happened.”
Donna haltingly told him about her testimony and the subpoena for her diary as tears
slid down her face. Sam went back to his desk and took notes on what she was saying.
When she finished, he looked up and met her eyes.
“I know it’s invasive and probably more than a bit embarrassing to have your private
thoughts and feelings passed around a Congressional committee, but it will be okay
Donna. They’re just looking for anything they can get their hands on that might implicate
any of us in the MS thing.”
“You don’t understand, Sam. There’s more there than they even know.” Donna cried.
“Did you know about the M.S.?...Donna, did you?” Sam demanded.
“No. I didn’t know anything about that until Toby told me, just a few days before the
announcement.” She insisted.
“Then what is all this-“ Sam began.
“Josh! It’s about Josh!” Donna blurted out. “God, Sam, everything we went through after
Rosslyn, how I fell in love with him, all the things I hoped for…and all that would be
humiliating enough, but then last Christmas…” her voice trailed off and Sam finally
connected the dots.
“The PTSD…”
Donna just nodded her head.
“I don’t know what to do, Sam. What do I do?”
“Nothing. You do nothing right now. They said you have 24 hours to produce the diary.
Let me have some of that time to see if we have any options.” Sam told her.
“We don’t.” she replied despondently. “I asked Cliff Calley and he said there was no
choice in the matter.”
“Why would you go to the Majority Counsel?”
“He…I…we had a relationship for a little while.”
Sam’s eyebrows flew up to his hairline. “Ohhhhkay…anything else you’d like to tell me
Donna?’
“That about covers it.” Donna said quietly
“Go home.” Sam ordered her.
“But what about-“
“I’ll tell him you were worn out after the deposition and I sent you home.” Sam reasoned.
“Not only true, but a huge understatement.”
“Go home. I’ll find out what I can and stop by later, okay?” Sam walked her to his door
and gave her a hug before he opened it. “It will be okay, Donna. We’ll make it okay.”
Donna gave him a watery smile and went home.
**********************************************
“Donna!” Josh bellowed from his office. When he received no reply, he stuck his head
outside his door and was puzzled to see no sign of his assistant or any of her things.
“Hey, Ed, have you seen Donna?” Josh asked him.
“About an hour ago. She was with Sam. Haven’t seen her since.”
“Thanks.” Josh said absently as he walked over to Sam’s office. Through the window,
Josh could see Sam pacing back and forth while talking animatedly on the phone. When
Josh knocked on the closed door, Sam glanced up and held up a finger to signal for
Josh to wait a minute. Sam got off the phone and opened the door for Josh. Once Josh
came in, Sam shut the door again.
“What’s going on?” Josh asked as he took a seat.
“Just a legal issue.” Sam replied.
“Ah-kay. Have you seen Donna? I can’t find her anywhere.”
“I sent her home, Josh.”
“Excuse me? Donna works for you now?”
‘You weren’t in your office and the deposition was really rough on her. Hell, it’s Sunday,
Josh, she shouldn’t be here at all.” Sam’s voice rose in fever and pitch.
“What the hell?” Josh stood up again. “I was just giving you shit, that’s all.”
“Sure. Yeah, I guess I overreacted a bit.” Sam calmed himself. “I need to head out. We’ll
catch up tomorrow?”
“Yeah, tomorrow.” Josh agreed as Sam hurried out of the office.
*************************************************
Josh called her twice since she got home, but she let it go to the answering machine
each time and he refused to leave a message other than, “It’s Josh. Call me when you
get in.”
She was tempted to take the phone off the hook, but she thought that would alarm him
more than no answer and cause him to stop by. She couldn’t handle that right now.
It was after 6 when Sam knocked on her door. He came bearing pizza and beer, and
despite his pleasant smile, she didn’t think he brought any good news with him. He tried
to coax her into eating, but she insisted she couldn’t keep it down.
“Just tell me what you found out.”
“I can’t quash the subpoena for the diary.” Sam thought it would be best to just say it
straight out, but as soon as the words were out of his mouth, she started crying again. “I’
m sorry, Donna, but you have to turn it over.”
“I should have lied. I should have never told them I had the damn thing.” Donna spat out.
“What happens, Sam, if I can’t find it, or it goes up in flames?”
“Well, besides the fact that you’ll go to prison for obstructing justice, it will paint the
President and everyone in the administration as co-conspirators.” Sam told her honestly.
“I can’t turn it over, Sam, I can’t! It will ruin Josh. He will have to resign from the White
House and rural city council members won’t be able to hire him for their campaigns. He’ll
never be able to work in politics again. That’s what he loves more than anything in the
world. What would he do?”
“It might be tough for a little while,“ Sam acknowledged and Donna laughed again, “But it
isn’t anything we can’t get through…nothing that he can’t get through.”
“No, we already took the hit for the President concealing his illness; this will be the straw
that broke the camel’s back. It’ll be game over for everyone.”
“You don’t know that. With a little planning, we can control the story and turn things
around.”
“Even if that were true, I’d never be able to walk in that building again after everyone
reads what I wrote about Josh; after he reads what I wrote. I have to resign immediately.”
Donna got up and walked to her desk. She picked up two envelopes and handed them
to Sam. One was addressed to Leo, the other addressed to Josh. “Will you deliver these
for me please?”
“Donna…”
“Please, Sam, as my attorney? I can’t go back there. I can’t.” Sam hesitated, but finally
took them from her.
“As your attorney, I need something else from you, Donna.” He met her gaze and she
nodded. She disappeared into her room for a minute, then returned with the diary and
placed it in his hands. “I’m going to have to read this. If I don’t know what’s in it, I have no
way to protect you. I’m sorry, Donna.”
“Of all the people who will have their hands on this book, you are the least of my
concerns.” She stood up. “I’m going to bed now. I’m pretty wiped.”
“I’ll bet. Call me if you need anything and I’ll be in touch with whatever information I get.”
Sam promised and gave her one last hug before he let himself out.
*********************************
Sam made sure he met Josh as he came in the West Wing Monday morning. Josh
looked surprised to see him. Josh’s expression turned wary when Sam told him he
needed to speak to him alone in his office. They didn’t exchange another word until they
were in Sam’s office and Josh was very concerned that there was some sort of
complication in the case against the President. Sam was unusually somber.
“I have something for you to read, but you’re not going to like it and I want you to tamp
down the urge to give into some knee jerk reaction.” Sam advised.
“Donna asked me to give this to you. I’ll leave you alone to read it.” Sam handed him the
envelope with Donna’s distinctive scrawl on it. Josh already had a feeling something was
wrong when Donna didn’t return his calls the previous evening. Now that sick feeling in
his stomach was intensifying. He hesitated, then opened the letter.
Dear Josh,
I’m sorry to do this with a letter, but I just can’t face anyone there right now. My
deposition didn’t go quite as planned yesterday and I’m afraid my mistakes are now
going to affect you. I’m so sorry.
I know you’re aware I keep a diary, since you’ve teased me about it often enough, but
now the Congressional committee knows too. They asked me under oath if I had one,
and I tried to avoid answering, I really did, but in the end I told the truth and now it’s
being subpoenaed. That’s where the trouble starts.
They’re going to be shocked, but delighted, when they find not a report about the
President’s M.S., but a detailed account of what the White House Deputy Chief of Staff
was going through last Christmas and information about your diagnosis from Stanley. I
was so worried about you, Josh, and there wasn’t anyone I could trust to talk about it
with so I poured my heart out on paper. It’s all there for them, laid out in excruciating
detail. Sam, acting as my attorney, has possession of the diary right now. You should
read it before he has to turn it over so you are prepared for whatever they take from it.
There’s a little more, Josh, and this is where it gets personally humiliating for me. There
are many entries about you on those pages. Thoughts and feelings I had about and for
you. They are blessedly clear in the fact that nothing improper ever happened between
us, but they are equally clear that I wished that was not the case. You have a right to
know about the things I wrote before strangers get a chance to examine my every
thought and feeling.
I’m so sorry for all the trouble this is going to bring to your door. You have to believe that
the last thing in the world I would ever want to do is hurt you; personally or
professionally. I hope that with a little help from Sam and C.J., you will be able to
overcome having your personal medical history spilled across the district.
I’m so sorry, Josh. I wish there was something I could do to fix this or make this
disappear. You have to know that I would give anything to turn back the clock and toss
the damn thing in the Potomac before any of this started. Since that isn’t an option,
however, I am resigning my position, effective immediately. If I can’t fix all this, at least I
can try to minimize the damage to you and the President.
Listen to what C.J. and Sam tell you and take care of yourself. It’s important.
Love,
Donna
Josh re-read the letter twice, unable to take everything in. He had to find Sam. He tore
around the offices and finally spotted him in C.J.’s office. He went in and slammed the
door shut.
“THIS was the legal issue you were dealing with yesterday?” he asked Sam.
“Yes.” Sam replied quietly and C.J. remained silent. Later, Josh would learn Sam had
been given permission to bring C.J. up to speed on the current events.
“And you didn’t say anything?!” he asked incredulously.
“I couldn’t. She’s my client.” Sam remained perfectly calm.
“She wrote that she’s resigning, Did she tell you that too?”
“Yes.”
“Damn it, Sam!”
“I’ve already spoken to Leo and he’s agreed to a personal leave of absence for her. Now
I just have to convince Donna to take the leave instead of resigning.” Sam told him.
“You don’t have to worry about that. I’ll make sure she-“
“You can’t Josh.” This came from C.J. “Given the situation, it would be much better if it
came from anyone but you.”
“Like it matters. Once the PTSD comes out, I’LL be the one on unemployment. This isn’t
her fault. She’s taking all the blame and it’s her personal life that’s being invaded.
Because she works for me!” Josh exclaimed as he wandered around C.J.’s office.
“Kind of like how we are all under the microscope because we work for the President.
We get it Josh. There just isn’t much we can do about it except try to minimize the
damage.” C.J. said. “You need to think about whether or not you’d like your therapist to
make a statement. Something along the line of ‘Although diagnosed with PTSD, Josh
Lyman is able to function professionally in his capacity as Deputy Chief of Staff and
continues to work effectively at the White House’.”
“He should read the entries first.” Sam noted.
“No.” Josh refused immediately.
“Everyone else is going to see it-“ C.J. protested.
“No. I won’t be one of them. Sam can tell me what I need to know.” Sam didn’t think that
was the best course, but he also didn’t think it was worth the argument right now. He’d
made copies of the relevant pages and could show them to Josh after he had a chance
to cool down.
“I have an appointment.” Sam informed them and squeezed Josh’s shoulder as he
walked out.
“Josh…” C.J. began.
“Don’t spin right now, C.J., okay? I need a friend right now, not the Press Secretary.”
Josh’s tone brooked no argument.
C.J. walked around her desk and sat with him on the couch. “Talk to me.”
Instead of talking, Josh handed her Donna’s letter. By the time she was finished reading
it, she was in tears herself.
“Oh, God.” C.J. responded. “You need to go see her Josh. You need to talk to her about
this. Don’t mention work, or the deposition; you two have already blurred the line
between personal and professional way too much so you need to keep this personal.”
“I’ve got Fielding in an hour.” Josh told her.
“Farm it out. Can Toby take it?”
“No. I have to take it.” Josh replied wearily.
“After that then?” C.J. proposed.
“After that then.” Josh confirmed and got up to prepare for this meeting with Fielding. He
had to get his head in the game. When he sat down at his desk and found index cards
for his meeting with Fielding he nearly lost it. Donna must have come in overnight and
done them. He put his head in his hands a minute, then took a deep breath and started
reading the cards.
*************************************************
“Mr. Seaborn.”
“Mr. Calley. Thanks for taking this meeting privately.” Said Sam.
“What can I do for you?”
“I’m here to provide the diary under subpoena by your committee.” Sam took it out of his
briefcase, but held it in his hands rather than passing it on to Cliff.
“I’m sorry to have to put Donna through this. I understand the kind of invasion this is, but
I can’t figure out any way around it.”
“I can.” Sam replied. “Limit the people who review it. I imagine if the majority counsel and
Congressman Thomas reviewed the document and determined that there wasn’t
anything relevant to the ongoing investigation…”
“What is this about, Mr. Seaborn?”
Sam leaned forward, about to take a leap of faith with Cliff Calley that he wasn’t sure
would pan out. “I have reviewed every page in the diary. There is not so much as a hint
of anything to do with the President’s condition until Toby Ziegler informed her about it
mere days before the announcement.”
“But…”
“But there is extensive documentation about Josh Lyman’s diagnosis of Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder and quite a bit of information regarding Donna’s personal feelings about
her boss.” Silence reigned for almost a full minute.
“I can limit the initial review of the document in the interest of preserving the witness’s
personal dignity, but I can tell you right now even a limited review is going to end up with
a feeding frenzy on the PTSD issue. The other information…is of no interest to the
committee, although I find it personally fascinating.” Cliff smiled as he remembered his
time with Donna and how she spoke about Josh Lyman.
“Can we have a couple days head start to soften the ground?” Sam asked carefully.
Given what Donna had told him about her personal relationship with Calley, Sam figured
this could go one of two ways; either Cliff would be the rejected suitor and leave Donna
and Josh out to dry, or he would act on his personal affection for Donna and try to help
in whatever way he could. Given his knowledge of Donna and the reaction she provoked
from people, he was betting, pretty heavily, on the latter.
“I imagine it could take two, maybe three days before I get the pages copied and
manage to set up a meeting with the relevant parties. Bureaucracy can be such a bitch,
you know?”
“Yeah…thanks. “ Sam reluctantly handed the diary to Calley and left feeling
considerably better than he had before he walked in.
************************************************
Josh couldn’t find Donna. Sam told him to relax, that she was probably just ducking calls,
so he went over to her apartment. He tried buzzing, but there was no reply, so he used
the key she had given him long ago without a qualm. He did knock first, but barely
paused between knocking and unlocking the door. It was depressingly empty. He did a
little investigation and found she had been looking at flights to Wisconsin on the Internet.
That seemed to answer the question of where she’d gone, but how long she’s be gone
was another question entirely.
When he got back to the office he ignored C.J.’s message to come find her and instead
looked up Donna’s records to find her parent’s number in Wisconsin.
“Mrs. Moss? It’s Josh Lyman.”
“Hi, Josh. I’ve been expecting your call.”
“Can I speak to her please?”
“She’s over at her cousin’s right now Joshua. I don’t know when she’ll be back.”
“I need to talk to her. Did she tell you what’s going on here?”
“Yes, we talked last night, before she came home. Josh, I think she just needs a little
time.”
“A little time I can live with, Mrs. Moss, but I’m afraid it’s more than that.”
“She’s…upset, Josh.”
Josh let out a laugh. “I think you may be understating it a bit. We’re all…upset. Will you
tell her I called and ask her to call me back? I’ll keep my cell phone with me.”
“Of course I will. I just can’t promise any results.” She told him sadly.
“I understand, thanks.” Josh hung up the phone and went to C.J.’s office.
“Any luck?” she asked him.
“She’s in Wisconsin.” He told her glumly.
“That might be better for her for a few days. She can avoid the press and have support
from her family.”
“Yeah…”
“We need to talk about leaking some of this. Sam was able to buy us a couple days, but
it’s going to come out and we need to control the story.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I’ll leak it to someone I trust, when you get the question, you need to answer it honestly
and without any defensiveness.”
“So…get out of my private life you blood sucking leeches…?”
“Not a good response, no.” C.J. smiles despite the seriousness of the topic.
“I’ll put something together and run it by you. Who are you going to leak it to?”
“I thought about Danny, but since you’re friends…I’m thinking Chris.”
“’Kay.” Josh looked up at the ceiling. “This is shaping up to be a great week, don’t you
think?”
“Sam said Callley is going to try to minimize the…personal information in Donna’s diary.”
“It’s ALL personal information, Claudia Jean.”
“You know what I-“
“Yeah…okay. When are we taking this to Leo?” Josh saw the look on her face. “Let me
guess, you already did?”
“It’s my job Josh.” She paused and met his eyes. “We’re all going to get through this, but
we need to work together. We’re in his office over lunch.”
Josh nodded and walked back to his office fingering his cell phone like he could will it to
ring if he concentrated hard enough.
Because you were placed under oath, your testimony here today has the same force and
effect as if you were testifying before the committee in a courtroom. Do you understand?
DONNA
Yes.
CLIFF
This committee has been granted authorization pursuant to House Resolution 173, my
name is Clifford Calley. I'm Majority Counsel for the House Government Oversight and
Reform Committee. Would you state your full name for the record, please.
DONNA
Donnatella Moss. D-o-n-n-a-t-e-l-l-a M-o-s-s.
CLIFF
At this point I'd like the record to indicate that the Majority Counsel has met the witness
socially on several occasions, and without objection, I'd like to proceed.
WOMAN
No objection.
CLIFF
Counsel?
COUNSEL
No objection.
CLIFF
I'd also like to express the Committee’s appreciation to the witness for appearing on a
Sunday. Ms. Moss, are you here voluntarily or as a result of a subpoena?
DONNA
A subpoena.
CLIFF
No need to thank me. [beat] Donna, this is going to be easy, you can laugh. Were you
recently asked to help organize documents pursuant to this Committee’s current
investigation?
DONNA
Yes.
CLIFF
Would you describe how that works?
DONNA
On instructions from Joshua Lyman and the White House Counsel's office, I took over a
storage room at the OEOB and began sorting through any interoffice or
interdepartmental documents, both from the campaign and from the West Wing.
CLIFF
And for the record, the campaign you're referring to is...
DONNA
Bartlet for America.
CLIFF
How'd you guys do?
DONNA
[very seriously] We won.
CLIFF
Okay. [beat] My colleagues are going to ask you some questions. Then we'll get back to
me and finish up.
DONNA
Okay.
MAN
Ms. Moss? Do you keep a photo album?
DONNA
No.
MAN
Okay. Do you keep...
DONNA
I'm sorry. Uh... I keep photographs, I don't have them in an album.
MAN
Okay. Do you keep a scrapbook?
DONNA
No.
MAN
Do you keep letters, notes, or other correspondence you receive from people?
DONNA
Sometimes a birthday card or a letter from my father.
MAN
Do you keep a diary?
Donna
I’m sorry, can you repeat the question?
Man
Do you keep a diary?
Donna
What would a diary have to do with-
Man
Please answer the question, Ms. Moss.
Donna
I…I…I need to speak to my attorney
Man
Ms. Moss, you are here under subpoena, and are required to answer the question. If
you refuse to answer the question, you will be held in contempt. Do you keep a diary?
(Counsel for the White House nods for Donna to proceed and answer the question.)
Donna
Yes.
Man
This committee is requesting that you produce that document for review within 24 hours.
Donna
My diary? It has nothing to do with work. They’re just my personal thoughts.
Man
Within 24 hours Ms. Moss. Please tell the committee the first time you learned the
President was suffering with M.S.
Donna was so distracted and distraught at this point she didn’t even hear the next
question. Her eyes flew to Cliff’s hoping to see some indication of what she should do,
what she should say, but his face was completely neutral; like he didn’t know her
intimately.
The deposition lasted 2 more hours. They questioned her on everything from the
routines of the senior staff members to traveling on Air Force One. Once they were done
with her, she pleaded with the White House Counsel to keep her diary out of the hands
of the committee. When that proved fruitless, she took an even bigger risk and went to
see Cliff Calley at his home.
“Donna? What are you doing here? You shouldn’t be here.” He wouldn’t even open his
door to let her in.
“I need your help Cliff. I can’t give my diary to those people.”
“You don’t have a choice Donna. You were under oath and Congress has the power to
compel you to produce it.”
“You don’t understand. There is nothing in there to do with the President or M.S. I
swear! There must be a way to keep my personal diary out of a Congressional
investigation.”
Cliff saw the distress in her face and wished there was something he could do to fix
whatever this was for her, but the minute she admitted to keeping a diary that particular
fate was sealed.
“I’m sorry, Donna. I truly am, but there’s nothing I can do about that. You should talk to
your attorney, maybe they can quash the subpoena, or delay it for awhile.”
Donna let out a short laugh. “My attorney isn’t exactly speaking to me at the moment.”
“What?” Cliff was confused.
“Nothing. I wouldn’t want anything I say to you to be used against me.” Donna turned to
leave, her shoulders slumped in defeat. Cliff quickly shut the door, but watched her walk
back down the street through his window.
Donna walked back to the White House in a daze. She didn’t know what to do, and she
prided herself on always having a plan. She answered her colleague’s greetings
mechanically and found herself in Sam’s office. When she shut the door to his office he
looked up, startled.
“Donna…How did it go?...You okay?”
Donna simply shook her head ‘no’, not able to get any of the words out.
“Donna, what happened?” Sam got up from his desk and moved around it to seat her in
his visitor chair, kneeling next to her.
“Do you need some water?” he asked and again she shook her head ‘no’. She was
starting to scare him. He had been sure the deposition would be tedious, but routine.
What could have possibly happened?
“Can you be my lawyer, Sam? Or will that not work since we both work here and we’re
both under investigation?”
“Of course I can, Donna, but depending on what’s happening, you may need-“ Sam
interrupted himself. “Give me a dollar.” He instructed her and she dug a $5 bill from her
purse and handed it to him. “Now I’m officially under retainer. Tell me what happened.”
Donna haltingly told him about her testimony and the subpoena for her diary as tears
slid down her face. Sam went back to his desk and took notes on what she was saying.
When she finished, he looked up and met her eyes.
“I know it’s invasive and probably more than a bit embarrassing to have your private
thoughts and feelings passed around a Congressional committee, but it will be okay
Donna. They’re just looking for anything they can get their hands on that might implicate
any of us in the MS thing.”
“You don’t understand, Sam. There’s more there than they even know.” Donna cried.
“Did you know about the M.S.?...Donna, did you?” Sam demanded.
“No. I didn’t know anything about that until Toby told me, just a few days before the
announcement.” She insisted.
“Then what is all this-“ Sam began.
“Josh! It’s about Josh!” Donna blurted out. “God, Sam, everything we went through after
Rosslyn, how I fell in love with him, all the things I hoped for…and all that would be
humiliating enough, but then last Christmas…” her voice trailed off and Sam finally
connected the dots.
“The PTSD…”
Donna just nodded her head.
“I don’t know what to do, Sam. What do I do?”
“Nothing. You do nothing right now. They said you have 24 hours to produce the diary.
Let me have some of that time to see if we have any options.” Sam told her.
“We don’t.” she replied despondently. “I asked Cliff Calley and he said there was no
choice in the matter.”
“Why would you go to the Majority Counsel?”
“He…I…we had a relationship for a little while.”
Sam’s eyebrows flew up to his hairline. “Ohhhhkay…anything else you’d like to tell me
Donna?’
“That about covers it.” Donna said quietly
“Go home.” Sam ordered her.
“But what about-“
“I’ll tell him you were worn out after the deposition and I sent you home.” Sam reasoned.
“Not only true, but a huge understatement.”
“Go home. I’ll find out what I can and stop by later, okay?” Sam walked her to his door
and gave her a hug before he opened it. “It will be okay, Donna. We’ll make it okay.”
Donna gave him a watery smile and went home.
**********************************************
“Donna!” Josh bellowed from his office. When he received no reply, he stuck his head
outside his door and was puzzled to see no sign of his assistant or any of her things.
“Hey, Ed, have you seen Donna?” Josh asked him.
“About an hour ago. She was with Sam. Haven’t seen her since.”
“Thanks.” Josh said absently as he walked over to Sam’s office. Through the window,
Josh could see Sam pacing back and forth while talking animatedly on the phone. When
Josh knocked on the closed door, Sam glanced up and held up a finger to signal for
Josh to wait a minute. Sam got off the phone and opened the door for Josh. Once Josh
came in, Sam shut the door again.
“What’s going on?” Josh asked as he took a seat.
“Just a legal issue.” Sam replied.
“Ah-kay. Have you seen Donna? I can’t find her anywhere.”
“I sent her home, Josh.”
“Excuse me? Donna works for you now?”
‘You weren’t in your office and the deposition was really rough on her. Hell, it’s Sunday,
Josh, she shouldn’t be here at all.” Sam’s voice rose in fever and pitch.
“What the hell?” Josh stood up again. “I was just giving you shit, that’s all.”
“Sure. Yeah, I guess I overreacted a bit.” Sam calmed himself. “I need to head out. We’ll
catch up tomorrow?”
“Yeah, tomorrow.” Josh agreed as Sam hurried out of the office.
*************************************************
Josh called her twice since she got home, but she let it go to the answering machine
each time and he refused to leave a message other than, “It’s Josh. Call me when you
get in.”
She was tempted to take the phone off the hook, but she thought that would alarm him
more than no answer and cause him to stop by. She couldn’t handle that right now.
It was after 6 when Sam knocked on her door. He came bearing pizza and beer, and
despite his pleasant smile, she didn’t think he brought any good news with him. He tried
to coax her into eating, but she insisted she couldn’t keep it down.
“Just tell me what you found out.”
“I can’t quash the subpoena for the diary.” Sam thought it would be best to just say it
straight out, but as soon as the words were out of his mouth, she started crying again. “I’
m sorry, Donna, but you have to turn it over.”
“I should have lied. I should have never told them I had the damn thing.” Donna spat out.
“What happens, Sam, if I can’t find it, or it goes up in flames?”
“Well, besides the fact that you’ll go to prison for obstructing justice, it will paint the
President and everyone in the administration as co-conspirators.” Sam told her honestly.
“I can’t turn it over, Sam, I can’t! It will ruin Josh. He will have to resign from the White
House and rural city council members won’t be able to hire him for their campaigns. He’ll
never be able to work in politics again. That’s what he loves more than anything in the
world. What would he do?”
“It might be tough for a little while,“ Sam acknowledged and Donna laughed again, “But it
isn’t anything we can’t get through…nothing that he can’t get through.”
“No, we already took the hit for the President concealing his illness; this will be the straw
that broke the camel’s back. It’ll be game over for everyone.”
“You don’t know that. With a little planning, we can control the story and turn things
around.”
“Even if that were true, I’d never be able to walk in that building again after everyone
reads what I wrote about Josh; after he reads what I wrote. I have to resign immediately.”
Donna got up and walked to her desk. She picked up two envelopes and handed them
to Sam. One was addressed to Leo, the other addressed to Josh. “Will you deliver these
for me please?”
“Donna…”
“Please, Sam, as my attorney? I can’t go back there. I can’t.” Sam hesitated, but finally
took them from her.
“As your attorney, I need something else from you, Donna.” He met her gaze and she
nodded. She disappeared into her room for a minute, then returned with the diary and
placed it in his hands. “I’m going to have to read this. If I don’t know what’s in it, I have no
way to protect you. I’m sorry, Donna.”
“Of all the people who will have their hands on this book, you are the least of my
concerns.” She stood up. “I’m going to bed now. I’m pretty wiped.”
“I’ll bet. Call me if you need anything and I’ll be in touch with whatever information I get.”
Sam promised and gave her one last hug before he let himself out.
*********************************
Sam made sure he met Josh as he came in the West Wing Monday morning. Josh
looked surprised to see him. Josh’s expression turned wary when Sam told him he
needed to speak to him alone in his office. They didn’t exchange another word until they
were in Sam’s office and Josh was very concerned that there was some sort of
complication in the case against the President. Sam was unusually somber.
“I have something for you to read, but you’re not going to like it and I want you to tamp
down the urge to give into some knee jerk reaction.” Sam advised.
“Donna asked me to give this to you. I’ll leave you alone to read it.” Sam handed him the
envelope with Donna’s distinctive scrawl on it. Josh already had a feeling something was
wrong when Donna didn’t return his calls the previous evening. Now that sick feeling in
his stomach was intensifying. He hesitated, then opened the letter.
Dear Josh,
I’m sorry to do this with a letter, but I just can’t face anyone there right now. My
deposition didn’t go quite as planned yesterday and I’m afraid my mistakes are now
going to affect you. I’m so sorry.
I know you’re aware I keep a diary, since you’ve teased me about it often enough, but
now the Congressional committee knows too. They asked me under oath if I had one,
and I tried to avoid answering, I really did, but in the end I told the truth and now it’s
being subpoenaed. That’s where the trouble starts.
They’re going to be shocked, but delighted, when they find not a report about the
President’s M.S., but a detailed account of what the White House Deputy Chief of Staff
was going through last Christmas and information about your diagnosis from Stanley. I
was so worried about you, Josh, and there wasn’t anyone I could trust to talk about it
with so I poured my heart out on paper. It’s all there for them, laid out in excruciating
detail. Sam, acting as my attorney, has possession of the diary right now. You should
read it before he has to turn it over so you are prepared for whatever they take from it.
There’s a little more, Josh, and this is where it gets personally humiliating for me. There
are many entries about you on those pages. Thoughts and feelings I had about and for
you. They are blessedly clear in the fact that nothing improper ever happened between
us, but they are equally clear that I wished that was not the case. You have a right to
know about the things I wrote before strangers get a chance to examine my every
thought and feeling.
I’m so sorry for all the trouble this is going to bring to your door. You have to believe that
the last thing in the world I would ever want to do is hurt you; personally or
professionally. I hope that with a little help from Sam and C.J., you will be able to
overcome having your personal medical history spilled across the district.
I’m so sorry, Josh. I wish there was something I could do to fix this or make this
disappear. You have to know that I would give anything to turn back the clock and toss
the damn thing in the Potomac before any of this started. Since that isn’t an option,
however, I am resigning my position, effective immediately. If I can’t fix all this, at least I
can try to minimize the damage to you and the President.
Listen to what C.J. and Sam tell you and take care of yourself. It’s important.
Love,
Donna
Josh re-read the letter twice, unable to take everything in. He had to find Sam. He tore
around the offices and finally spotted him in C.J.’s office. He went in and slammed the
door shut.
“THIS was the legal issue you were dealing with yesterday?” he asked Sam.
“Yes.” Sam replied quietly and C.J. remained silent. Later, Josh would learn Sam had
been given permission to bring C.J. up to speed on the current events.
“And you didn’t say anything?!” he asked incredulously.
“I couldn’t. She’s my client.” Sam remained perfectly calm.
“She wrote that she’s resigning, Did she tell you that too?”
“Yes.”
“Damn it, Sam!”
“I’ve already spoken to Leo and he’s agreed to a personal leave of absence for her. Now
I just have to convince Donna to take the leave instead of resigning.” Sam told him.
“You don’t have to worry about that. I’ll make sure she-“
“You can’t Josh.” This came from C.J. “Given the situation, it would be much better if it
came from anyone but you.”
“Like it matters. Once the PTSD comes out, I’LL be the one on unemployment. This isn’t
her fault. She’s taking all the blame and it’s her personal life that’s being invaded.
Because she works for me!” Josh exclaimed as he wandered around C.J.’s office.
“Kind of like how we are all under the microscope because we work for the President.
We get it Josh. There just isn’t much we can do about it except try to minimize the
damage.” C.J. said. “You need to think about whether or not you’d like your therapist to
make a statement. Something along the line of ‘Although diagnosed with PTSD, Josh
Lyman is able to function professionally in his capacity as Deputy Chief of Staff and
continues to work effectively at the White House’.”
“He should read the entries first.” Sam noted.
“No.” Josh refused immediately.
“Everyone else is going to see it-“ C.J. protested.
“No. I won’t be one of them. Sam can tell me what I need to know.” Sam didn’t think that
was the best course, but he also didn’t think it was worth the argument right now. He’d
made copies of the relevant pages and could show them to Josh after he had a chance
to cool down.
“I have an appointment.” Sam informed them and squeezed Josh’s shoulder as he
walked out.
“Josh…” C.J. began.
“Don’t spin right now, C.J., okay? I need a friend right now, not the Press Secretary.”
Josh’s tone brooked no argument.
C.J. walked around her desk and sat with him on the couch. “Talk to me.”
Instead of talking, Josh handed her Donna’s letter. By the time she was finished reading
it, she was in tears herself.
“Oh, God.” C.J. responded. “You need to go see her Josh. You need to talk to her about
this. Don’t mention work, or the deposition; you two have already blurred the line
between personal and professional way too much so you need to keep this personal.”
“I’ve got Fielding in an hour.” Josh told her.
“Farm it out. Can Toby take it?”
“No. I have to take it.” Josh replied wearily.
“After that then?” C.J. proposed.
“After that then.” Josh confirmed and got up to prepare for this meeting with Fielding. He
had to get his head in the game. When he sat down at his desk and found index cards
for his meeting with Fielding he nearly lost it. Donna must have come in overnight and
done them. He put his head in his hands a minute, then took a deep breath and started
reading the cards.
*************************************************
“Mr. Seaborn.”
“Mr. Calley. Thanks for taking this meeting privately.” Said Sam.
“What can I do for you?”
“I’m here to provide the diary under subpoena by your committee.” Sam took it out of his
briefcase, but held it in his hands rather than passing it on to Cliff.
“I’m sorry to have to put Donna through this. I understand the kind of invasion this is, but
I can’t figure out any way around it.”
“I can.” Sam replied. “Limit the people who review it. I imagine if the majority counsel and
Congressman Thomas reviewed the document and determined that there wasn’t
anything relevant to the ongoing investigation…”
“What is this about, Mr. Seaborn?”
Sam leaned forward, about to take a leap of faith with Cliff Calley that he wasn’t sure
would pan out. “I have reviewed every page in the diary. There is not so much as a hint
of anything to do with the President’s condition until Toby Ziegler informed her about it
mere days before the announcement.”
“But…”
“But there is extensive documentation about Josh Lyman’s diagnosis of Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder and quite a bit of information regarding Donna’s personal feelings about
her boss.” Silence reigned for almost a full minute.
“I can limit the initial review of the document in the interest of preserving the witness’s
personal dignity, but I can tell you right now even a limited review is going to end up with
a feeding frenzy on the PTSD issue. The other information…is of no interest to the
committee, although I find it personally fascinating.” Cliff smiled as he remembered his
time with Donna and how she spoke about Josh Lyman.
“Can we have a couple days head start to soften the ground?” Sam asked carefully.
Given what Donna had told him about her personal relationship with Calley, Sam figured
this could go one of two ways; either Cliff would be the rejected suitor and leave Donna
and Josh out to dry, or he would act on his personal affection for Donna and try to help
in whatever way he could. Given his knowledge of Donna and the reaction she provoked
from people, he was betting, pretty heavily, on the latter.
“I imagine it could take two, maybe three days before I get the pages copied and
manage to set up a meeting with the relevant parties. Bureaucracy can be such a bitch,
you know?”
“Yeah…thanks. “ Sam reluctantly handed the diary to Calley and left feeling
considerably better than he had before he walked in.
************************************************
Josh couldn’t find Donna. Sam told him to relax, that she was probably just ducking calls,
so he went over to her apartment. He tried buzzing, but there was no reply, so he used
the key she had given him long ago without a qualm. He did knock first, but barely
paused between knocking and unlocking the door. It was depressingly empty. He did a
little investigation and found she had been looking at flights to Wisconsin on the Internet.
That seemed to answer the question of where she’d gone, but how long she’s be gone
was another question entirely.
When he got back to the office he ignored C.J.’s message to come find her and instead
looked up Donna’s records to find her parent’s number in Wisconsin.
“Mrs. Moss? It’s Josh Lyman.”
“Hi, Josh. I’ve been expecting your call.”
“Can I speak to her please?”
“She’s over at her cousin’s right now Joshua. I don’t know when she’ll be back.”
“I need to talk to her. Did she tell you what’s going on here?”
“Yes, we talked last night, before she came home. Josh, I think she just needs a little
time.”
“A little time I can live with, Mrs. Moss, but I’m afraid it’s more than that.”
“She’s…upset, Josh.”
Josh let out a laugh. “I think you may be understating it a bit. We’re all…upset. Will you
tell her I called and ask her to call me back? I’ll keep my cell phone with me.”
“Of course I will. I just can’t promise any results.” She told him sadly.
“I understand, thanks.” Josh hung up the phone and went to C.J.’s office.
“Any luck?” she asked him.
“She’s in Wisconsin.” He told her glumly.
“That might be better for her for a few days. She can avoid the press and have support
from her family.”
“Yeah…”
“We need to talk about leaking some of this. Sam was able to buy us a couple days, but
it’s going to come out and we need to control the story.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I’ll leak it to someone I trust, when you get the question, you need to answer it honestly
and without any defensiveness.”
“So…get out of my private life you blood sucking leeches…?”
“Not a good response, no.” C.J. smiles despite the seriousness of the topic.
“I’ll put something together and run it by you. Who are you going to leak it to?”
“I thought about Danny, but since you’re friends…I’m thinking Chris.”
“’Kay.” Josh looked up at the ceiling. “This is shaping up to be a great week, don’t you
think?”
“Sam said Callley is going to try to minimize the…personal information in Donna’s diary.”
“It’s ALL personal information, Claudia Jean.”
“You know what I-“
“Yeah…okay. When are we taking this to Leo?” Josh saw the look on her face. “Let me
guess, you already did?”
“It’s my job Josh.” She paused and met his eyes. “We’re all going to get through this, but
we need to work together. We’re in his office over lunch.”
Josh nodded and walked back to his office fingering his cell phone like he could will it to
ring if he concentrated hard enough.
