Posse Comitatus (The West Wing)

"Posse Comitatus" is episode 66 of The West Wing. The name of the episode refers to the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878.

Plot

In the season finale, Bartlet must decide the fate of Abdul ibn Shareef, the defense minister of Qumar, who has been using his position to plan terrorist attacks against the US. Military advisers counsel the President to authorize his assassination, which would be disguised as a plane crash. Because the Posse Comitatus Act prohibits the military from enforcing civilian law and US law prohibits assassination on US soil, the assassination must occur in a third jurisdiction, with Bermuda being selected.

Meanwhile, the President and his staff are planning to attend a performance in New York which the opposition candidate, Governor Ritchie, is expected to attend. Toby and Sam manipulate the press to discredit Ritchie. Ritchie tells the press he is going to see a Yankees game before heading to the performance, and says that going to baseball games is what ordinary Americans do (a slap at the perceived elitism of the President). Toby and Sam joke about sending the President's motorcade into the Bronx and thus hold up Ritchie in traffic for a few hours. Bartlet encounters the late-arriving Ritchie, the two men converse briefly, and it is evident there is no love lost between them. Ritchie appears to despise Bartlet's erudition, whilst Bartlet challenges Ritchie for deliberately dumbing down his campaign.

Josh's continued support of a key welfare reform bill that his girlfriend, women's rights activist Amy Gardner, opposes causes increasing problems between them. Josh eventually cuts a deal with Amy's boss that allows the Administration's version of the bill to pass. Amy castigates Josh for not supporting her and knows she has to resign her position.

The flirtation between C.J. and her Secret Service bodyguard, Simon Donovan, is limited by their professional relationship, but after C.J.'s stalker is arrested in New Jersey while armed and trying to travel to New York City, they agree meet later to have drinks. Later in the episode, Donovan walks into a convenience store in the midst of a robbery. He disarms one thief and is then shot dead by a second who was hiding in the back, and C.J. breaks down in tears when she hears the tragic news.

As the search continues for a replacement for the deceased Mrs. Landingham, Charlie recommends Deborah Fiderer, who embarrasses herself in an initial interview with the President. President Bartlet is aghast and can't believe Charlie would promote her as the top candidate, but Charlie tells him that Ms. Fiderer was fired from her job because she got him hired at the White House in the first place.

Near the episode's end, President Bartlet has given the difficult order to assassinate Shareef. As Bartlet listens to a performance of The Wars of the Roses that he had earlier praised, a montage cuts between the stage performance and Shareef's assassination.

Trivia

• The song "Hallelujah" performed by Jeff Buckley plays after Simon Donovan is shot and killed and over a montage of C.J.'s reaction to the news of his death.

External links

• The West Wing Episode Guide
• Posse Comitatus at the Internet Movie Database