The Naperville White House by Jerome Bartels

Author:Jerome Bartels [Bartels, Jerome]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-890862-91-6
Publisher: Bancroft Press
Published: 2010-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

Sandra Beckman: You didn’t take my advice. Can you give me a reason I should stay?

President: I think I need you.

Beckman: I gave you advice. You didn’t take it.

President: I wanted to help.

Beckman: Then help yourself.

President: I have responsibilities.

“I almost walked out of the room,” Beckman told me. But instead, she took a minute to study Jay Weise. “When Janel called me to tell me about Jay Weise, I liked the facts, but in a high-profile case, everything depends on the defendant. The defendant’s image and personality make all the difference.” Beckman thought his curved, dark eyebrows made him look friendly but not very bright. “He looked like he was always confused,” she said. “The cow-licked, uncombed hair made him look younger than thirty-five.” She thought

he looked “like a fifteen year old in a grownup’s suit.” Beckman concluded that his image was simple and awkward, not slick and professional. In short, he looked innocent.

The President laughed when I told him about Beckman’s description.

Beckman: I think we might be able to work together, Mr. Weise. You’re lucky Janel is a close friend.

President: How is Alesia? Is she free?

Beckman: I can’t talk about that. Janel is very good. If anyone can keep her out of trouble, Janel will. I can’t say the same for you. You’ve done yourself a lot of damage.

President: Why did you come?

Beckman: Because of this. [Beckman removes a piece of paper and slides it across the table.] I did some research before I came over. Thirty-eight percent of the public believes the government is lying. Seventy-three percent wants the FBI to negotiate a release of the Maryland hostages.

President: I don’t get it. What does this mean for me? Publicity?

Beckman: God knows I don’t need publicity. And I don’t need the work. I wanted to defend someone who hasn’t murdered, raped, or embezzled money.

President: They’re polling this?

Beckman: They have to. This is becoming a political issue. The protests are growing.

The protests started when Bryan Paulson was executed. Protestors gathered in Kingsville, Maryland, a couple miles from the hostage site. The anti-war movement gradually joined the protests. After Congress announced that it would investigate the Pentagon, protests began popping up around the country.

Congress’s decision to investigate, designed to end the hostage standoff and make Congress look proactive, backfired, instead fueling speculation. Newspaper editorials asked: If there was something to investigate, why hadn’t there been investigations before Paulson’s death? Liberal commentators began spinning the issue against the military, asking if any weapons program was worth the lives of five Americans.

President: So how does this help me?

Beckman: [Assistant U.S. Attorney] Reed has to convene a grand jury to seek federal charges. She takes orders from the attorney general. What happens in Washington directly affects Reed’s decision.

President: These numbers don’t help me.

Beckman: It’s not just you. It’s your friend, Julia Ortiz. They took her into custody, too. She’s somewhere in the building right now. I saw a couple dozen protestors outside. A young Hispanic woman protesting against weapons—why couldn’t Janel give me her name?

President: I tried to keep Julia out of it.

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