Designated Survivor (2016–2019): Season 1, Episode 20 - Bombshell - full transcript

Previously on "Designated Survivor"...

It's about the NATO summit.

The new French ambassador
wanted to talk about nukes.

It's an opening to De-escalate.

There's enough explosives in
here to blow up three Capitols.

She's been kidnapped.

She was looking into Browning Reed.

Agent Wells is convinced that
the ex-C.E.O. Patrick Lloyd's

involved with the conspiracy.

I'm brooming any connection between you,

Browning Reed, and the Capitol mission.



Soon, there'll be no
paper trail whatsoever,

and Agent Wells is contained.

Abe Leonard has eaten up
everything I've fed him.

When are we gonna see
something from him, then?

Any day, I expect.

Since the attack at the Capitol,

references to Browning
Reed have been deleted.

If we find out who
deleted these files...

we find our traitor.

Be advised. All security teams...

Hey, Seth, you okay?

Yeah, I'm sorry. Uh, I-I
don't know what's happening.

I-I don't usually get airsick.

Oh.



And to think, it's your first
time on Air Force One, too.

Hey, Seth, look.

You can send this one
to your mom, as well.

Time to rally, son.

We got to gaggle with
the press before we land.

Yes.

Bad time?

No. Come on in.

I, uh...

I think the pressure of his
first international summit

may have gotten to your press secretary.

And I just wondered how you're doing.

I'm fine. Is Seth all right?

Yeah, just a case of the jitters.

He'll get over it as soon as he realizes

that a NATO summit is no different

than an outsized cabinet meeting

in a lot of different languages.

I hope it's that simple.

Are they gonna think that
it's presumptuous of me,

putting an initiative on the table?

Hell no. You're the president
of the United States.

Right.

I know I'm not the
negotiator that you are...

Ah, don't sell yourself short.

You know, we may have
different styles, Tom,

but I think that's what
makes us a good team.

The professor and the politician.

You give them the facts,
and I'll twist their arms.

That works for me.

I know how important this is to you.

Yeah.

The arms control was going to
be a priority of my second term.

Well... now it's our priority.

I don't care about your overtime.

No, you search everywhere...

and then when you've done
that, search it again.

Still nothing?

No. I got every agency
in the country looking.

She knows how to take care of herself.

Yeah.

Where are you with the
Browning Reed investigation?

I got Chuck Russink
coming in to help out.

Russink? You serious?
He's a space cadet.

Hannah trusts him.

Whatever it takes, I guess.

I was gonna pay, Ms. Rhodes.

No, seriously. I'll get it.

Where's our server?

Will you guys excuse me a second?

Yeah.

What?

Hey, you.

Hey. Hey.

How you doing? It's good to see you.

Oh, oh. Emily Rhodes, meet
my cousin, Nadia Espinosa.

It's a pleasure.

Hi. You work for
Congresswoman Yoshida, right?

That's right.

- How's that going?
- I love it.

I mean, it's great to be able
to collaborate with good people.

Wow. Are you sure you two are related?

Yeah, I wonder all the time.

I need another beer. Do
you guys want anything?

- No, I'm good, thanks.
- No, thank you.

So, POTUS is heading up to Toronto.

Yes. The White House is all mine.

No, seriously, it's
his first NATO summit.

First time out of the country.

Polls are high.

I mean, he's on a roll. So are you.

I do have to admit, it feels good.

What about you? Are you
gonna follow Hookstraten?

No, she did offer, but, uh...

I don't see myself working
for the Secretary of Education.

It's not exactly the fast lane.

Let's just say, after
you work in the West Wing,

everything feels like a step down.

Well, just so you know,

I was not opposed to
Hookstraten for V.P.

I think it would've been great
to be working together again.

Yeah, it would've been.

It's Washington. Anything
can happen, right?

And it usually does.

Yeah.

I should get back.

Thanks for stopping by.

So, we attend the general
reception for 30 minutes,

smile for the cameras,

then we retreat to a hospitality suite

I set up for select members
of the Nuclear Planning Group.

That gives us a chance
to start some lobbying

- before the general session.
- Smart.

Well, it's not my first rodeo, son.

Now, our primary target

is French Prime
Minister Justine Massett.

Sharp as a tack and as
chauvinistic as Joan of Arc.

She can be very prickly.

Why would she be? It was
the French who wanted us

to bring up arms reduction
in the first place.

Yes. Privately.

But in front of NATO,

the French want us to bring
up the initiative first,

giving them an opportunity to criticize

or even withdraw, if they so choose.

It's all part of the game...

Don't stick your neck
out if you don't have to.

Then there's Jonas Grottke,

just re-elected as German Chancellor.

He's also a chairman of
NATO's Nuclear Planning Group.

Strong ally. Got you covered there.

Good. One less thing
for me to worry about.

The one unknown to me is Aruna Mahajan.

The first British Indian
prime minister in U.K. history.

Fiercely independent but
was able to forge a coalition

and under extremely
turbulent conditions.

Well, we have something in common.

True enough.

I can work with that.

What?

Thank you.

Hey.

Mayday, mayday. This is FBI
Agent Hannah Wells. Mayday.

FBI Agent Hannah Wells. Mayday.

Mayday. This is... Hannah Wells.

Hannah Wells, this is

Coast Guard Station 142, Indian River.

Coast Guard Station 142

calling the ship Hannah Wells.

This is FBI Agent Hannah Wells.

Mayda...

Unh!

To begin, I want to thank
you all for being here.

As you know, in addition to
tomorrow's regular schedule,

the United States will be
introducing an initiative

that would reduce
NATO's nuclear arsenal.

Now, I want to be absolutely clear

that this is a proposed
weapons-reduction change,

not a change in doctrine.

And it's entirely predicated
upon the Russian Federation

scaling back its
strategic nuclear weapons

in proportional response
to NATO's actions,

something that the Russian president

has assured me he is ready to do.

What, you believe him, Cornelius?

Yeah, I do.

On what basis?

On the basis of our 20-year relationship

and being able to tell when
he's lying and when he's not.

And based on the fact that it
is in the interest of all sides

to agree on anything that will lead

to a more stable and secure planet.

Despite recent disruptions
to the world order,

this is not the time to retreat
into isolationism or populism.

This is the time to show
that global cooperation

can and will lead us to a safer future.

Not to mention that the way
that we keep our nuclear arsenals

is insanely expensive.

It's intriguing, Mr. President,

but Poland and Slovakia have
no nuclear weapons of our own.

We rely on your American
nuclear umbrellas.

So what can you offer
by way of a guarantee

that our peace and our safety
will still be protected?

The closest thing I can offer
to a guarantee is my word,

not as Tom Kirkman,

but as President of the United States,

your most steadfast ally.

You can believe him there, Jozef.

We can all believe him.

Obviously, I am hoping for your
support at tomorrow's summit.

Thank you.

France looks forward to your proposal.

I appreciate that, Madame.

This isn't on the White House tour.

Access to Agent Wells' office
is extremely restricted.

Where is Hannah?

On assignment.

Any chance we can recover those
deleted Browning Reed files?

Not without a time machine.

Someone ran a brute-force
deletion program.

It's the mother of data erasers.

Cleaned them right off
the White House servers.

So we got nothing.

I didn't say that.

Because there were so
many files to begin with,

whoever's been covering their tracks

has been deleting them in small batches

over the past few months.

There are only five
files still remaining

associated with Browning Reed.

Gonna need you to make
copies and print them up.

Check this out.

It's a digital fingerprint left behind

by the person who deleted the files.

Now, they tend to be
unique, but if I'm good...

And I like to think I am...

I can program a trace and
plant it in the remaining files.

So if the traitor tries
to delete any of them,

we can track the user back
to an exact I.P. address.

Exactly.

How long will it take
you to build a trace?

- A few hours?
- You got one.

Those files are the
only lead to the insider,

and once they're
deleted, we got nothing.

No pressure, huh?

Well, thank you. Yes.
Thank you very much.

Well, that's it.

Our proposal is the
third item on the agenda.

We're on our way.

- No media, right?
- Nope.

Just you and 27 other
leaders of the free world.

Relax, Tom.

All we're asking is
to start a conversation

that's long overdue.

Come in.

Seth.

Hey. Sorry to disturb
you, Mr. President.

I just, um, thought you
should see this right away.

Why didn't we get a heads-up?

We did. Abe asked me about Al-Sakar
a couple days ago, remember?

Right.

We stonewalled. I thought
that was the end of it.

Then he published anyway.

So, what's our plan?

This is total crap!

We're figuring that out right now.

I'll call you back.

I knew Abe Leonard.
He was a good reporter

until he started getting fast
and loose with his sources.

You should have no problem
shooting this one down.

Just tell them it's nothing
but a big pack of lies.

No, I want our position to
be that this is conjecture,

but we will investigate
all of the allegations.

Sorry, sir. Why not just
openly deny it if it's not true?

Seth's right.

Deflecting this now is
only gonna raise suspicion.

Yeah, the American people
believe that we captured

the terrorists responsible
for the Capitol bombing.

This article says that
we got the wrong guy.

I mean, if we don't push back hard now,

confidence in the
administration's gonna tank.

You can say that we're standing by

our intelligence agencies
and our military officials.

I'm sorry, Mr. President. I
don't think that goes far enough.

Just write it up and
bring it back to me!

Yes, sir.

What the hell was that?

It's how I have to handle this.

You realize this story puts
your credibility at risk.

Your 100 days, everything
we want to do here,

goes right out the window if
you don't crush this right now.

- I can't.
- Why not?

Because it's true.

Unbelievable.

A homegrown conspiracy?

A possible traitor in the White House?

Yeah.

And you didn't tell me?

It was a matter of security.

Emily doesn't know. Neither does Seth.

Well, I'm your Secretary
of State, for God's sake.

I mean, I-I'm in the line of succession.

You didn't think you could trust me?

- This isn't a matter of trust.
- The hell it's not!

Now, I came out of retirement for you.

I put my legacy on the line for you!

And this is how you repay me?!

- I thought I had it handled.
- Well, you were wrong.

You were dead wrong, and now my head

is on the block right along with yours!

Well, I probably should've let you in.

That is the understatement of the year.

I have seen you exercise poor judgment
before, Tom, but this takes the cake!

Cornelius, I'm sorry if I offended you.

It's the last thing I wanted to do.

But the president of the United States

has a responsibility to protect

classified information
and ongoing investigations.

This isn't a matter of trying
to mislead the American people.

This is about trying to protect them.

And you should know that.

Now, I've made a
mistake, and I am sorry.

But right now I need your counsel.

What are my options?

You don't have any. That's the problem.

You can't deny the story
without committing perjury,

and you can't confirm
it without admitting

that you still don't know
who's behind all this,

throwing the whole American
country into a panic.

That's why we need Seth
to buy us some time.

But how much time?

The jackals are at the
door, Mr. President.

I think we're really close
to cracking this thing.

Do you really?

Your lead investigator
is missing, possibly dead.

The man who tried to
kill you is still alive.

And the mole in the White
House remains unknown.

It looks to me like you're doubling down

on a mighty poor hand.

Well, it's the only hand I was given.

All right.

We brass it out.

This is Moss.

Yes.

Of course. We'll be right there.

Our allies have requested
our presence downstairs.

They want an explanation for the story.

Welcome back.

We're joined now by
Pulitzer Prize-winning

journalist Abe Leonard, whose story

in today's New York Standard
has raised serious questions

about who was really responsible

for the attack on our Capitol.

- Welcome, Abe.
- Thank you. It's good to be here.

Let's start with the big headline.

Al-Sakar did not blow up the Capitol?

No. They didn't have the
money or the manpower.

Their leader, Majid Nassar,
was paid to take credit.

Paid? By whom?

Nestor Lozano, the man

who tried to assassinate
President Kirkman.

Yet our government went
after Majid Nassar...

Actually captured him
in a S.E.A.L. team raid

where the commanding officer was killed.

I believe they were misled.

Misled by whom?

Bad intelligence.

They bought the story
Lozano was selling.

But who was he protecting?

Whitaker.

Are you watching Abe
Leonard on television?

No, but I read his story.

It's all working.

Everyone's focused on the FBI, not us.

Well, that's great, but where did
he get this stuff about Lozano?

I don't know. He did that on his own.

Well, he's treading on dangerous ground.

Not really. He thinks Lozano's
dead, just like everyone else.

Abe Leonard has served his purpose.

Roger that.

As I said, the president stands

by our intelligence
community and our military.

Answer the question, Seth. Did
Al-Sakar blow up the Capitol?

That is the official
explanation at this time.

But it could change?

All I said is we're looking
into the allegations.

So does that mean you don't know?

It means we're looking into it.

- Seth!
- Yes.

?El presidente Kirkman
est? diciendo la verdad

a la cumbre De la OTAN?

Ah, see? A question about NATO.

Unfortunately, my Spanish
is no longer as good.

Could you repeat the question?

Perdon.

Is President Kirkman telling
the NATO summit the truth?

I've already answered this question.

Of course he's telling the truth.

If the president stands
by his intelligence,

why is he looking into the allegations?

Sure. So, I've tried
to be perfectly clear.

You want answers. The
president wants answers.

Which is why he is looking
into the allegations, okay?

And he'll make a statement

to the public at the appropriate time,

but right now he is focused
on the first NATO summit,

which is what I would love
to answer questions about.

This is Foerstel.

Special Agent Foerstel,

this is Chief Petty
Officer Lucy Fernandez,

U.S. Coast Guard,
Indian River, Delaware.

We received a mayday call
from Hannah Wells last night.

- You found her?
- Not exactly, sir.

Uh, because of the static
of the distress call,

we thought that Hannah Wells was a ship.

It wasn't until we ran the
call through a digital filter

that we realized she was
saying "FBI Agent Hannah Wells."

Okay. I don't understand.

- Do you have her or not?
- We don't.

In response to the mayday, we
scrambled an H-65 helicopter

and a response boat to the coordinates,

but the results were negative.

Okay. So where does this leave us?

Uh, we're working on a
broadened search grid,

factoring in current changes,
but it's gonna take time.

All right. I'm gonna be
there within the hour.

I'm gonna want better answers than that.

Peter MacLeish was a brother to me.

You kill my family...

I kill yours.

Jason...

Good morning.

I know that there has been
a great deal of speculation

with regards to an
article that was published

in this morning's New York Standard.

Although I cannot confirm
or deny the allegations,

I can tell you in
confidence that my government

is in the middle of an
extensive investigation

that is highly classified.

Unfortunately at this time, I
cannot share that information

with you because of reasons
of national security.

Mr. President, you can be assured

of our continued support.

Thank you, Chancellor.

Then, in the spirit of
mutual understanding,

I suggest that we move
over to the initiative

regarding nuclear disarmament.

I'm sorry, Mr. President.

But France is not satisfied.

May I remind the new American president

that when he initiated a mission

to capture Majid Nassar in Algeria,

we allowed him to use French airspace.

Spanish radar assets
and Italian naval support

were also employed.

Now, we must all face the
fact that we supported you

under what might turn
into false pretenses.

We deserve to know

if Al-Sakar did not
perpetrate the Capitol bombing.

I'm afraid my government
agrees, Mr. President.

We have learned from
our mistakes in Iraq.

We cannot discuss your
initiative any further

without knowing the truth.

If my esteemed
colleagues will excuse me,

you are not seriously suggesting
that the French and British

don't have classified intelligence

that they keep secret for
reasons of national security.

Mais oui.

Of course we have our
discretions, Secretary Moss.

But we also have reason
to trust each other,

a long history of
cooperation and experience.

Monsieur Kirkman has no such history.

He is president only because

the previous government was wiped out.

No, my point is...

how can we trust someone
who appears to be a...

What's the word?

Gaffeur. Maladroit.

I believe the word you're
searching for is "blunderer."

Oui.

Who apparently abused article
five of the NATO charter

by asking us to assist him in
going after the wrong target.

As I said earlier,
Madame, I am not at liberty

to comment on that any
further than I already have.

Then France proposes
tabling any discussion

of the U.S. initiative

until the president
can say more and does.

All I can do...

is ask you all, please...

please do not allow my
nation's domestic issues

to interfere with our global objectives.

Then I move to have the
Nuclear Planning Group

revisit the initiative this afternoon.

The Nuclear Planning Group

will meet after the morning
session to... reconsider.

Thank you.

Now let's move to some of the less...

controversial items on our agenda.

The trace has been planted.

If someone deletes these digital files,

we'll be able to track the bastard.

Don't thank me all at once.

- All right, all right.
- Way to go, Abe!

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Go back to work. Enough.

All right, thank you.

All right. Thank you very much.

- Good job. Great job.
- Thank you.

You didn't get my texts?

Well, I've been busy making us famous.

Come in.

Abe Leonard, Alyssa Abboud.

Uh, are we here to discuss
promotional opportunities?

Actually, Alyssa's from Legal.

Oh.

The FBI wants to talk to you.

That's so predictable.

I just didn't expect it this soon.

Abe...

For weeks, I couldn't
get them on the phone.

They even put a tail on
me to try and scare me off.

What? Now they want to talk?

I mean, forget it. I'm
not talking to them.

We'd like you to.

I'm sorry. What?

They believe that you
could be a potential witness

in their investigation
into the Capitol bombing.

No way. I'm not giving up my sources!

No one's asking you to.

So what are you asking me?

To go in for an interview. That's all.

- See what they want.
- Why should I?

Because they can
subpoena you if you don't.

Fine. Let 'em.

What Alyssa's saying is
if you go in voluntarily,

it buys good will, for
you and the paper...

The paper that gave
you the time and money

and support to get this story.

Yeah, and possibly pick up

another Pulitzer for their troubles.

I'm asking you, Abe.

This is what New York wants.

It's important to me.

Okay.

Well, I guess it's a date.

We'll leave together
from here. One hour.

What's her problem?

She represents journalists.

Hey. You never told
me about Air Force One.

I can't believe you're asking
me about that on a day like this.

I want to know how it went.

I'm really crazy-busy right now, Emily.

Everyone is crazy-busy right now, Seth.

Really quickly, just tell me,

was it everything you'd hoped it'd be?

Uh, let's just say that the anticipation

far outweighed the actual event.

Mm. So I heard.

What do you mean? Moss told you?

He may have sent me a photo.

We are no longer friends.

Fernandez? Agent Foerstel.

- Nice to meet you.
- Status update.

We've covered this entire
area. So far, nothing.

It's unacceptable.

The ship must have
disabled its transponder.

You add in rough seas and a low ceiling,

it makes the search twice as difficult.

I need you to put every
resource you have on this.

It's already being done, sir.

But, in my experience,

it's hard to find a ship
that doesn't want to be found.

I don't care. Find it.

Come in.

It's the readout we drafted
for the afternoon session...

Minus the U.S. initiative.

It's just standard boilerplate.

If you're good with it,
I'll get it out to the pool.

This is fine. Send it out.

- Thank you.
- Seth...

Thank you for what
you did this afternoon.

Oh, you mean dying on the world stage?

Yeah.

Pretty awful, wasn't it?

Well, look, I'll be honest.

It was one of my more
colorful briefings.

But your job is way harder
than mine, especially right now.

I appreciate you saying that.

And I appreciate you not
asking for more information.

Well, I've known you
for a while now, sir.

Long enough to know that,
uh, when you make a decision,

it's for a good reason, and
that's good enough for me.

Just wish it was good
enough for the press.

Yeah.

Excuse me. This might be important.

Seth Wright.

Thank you.

The Nuclear Planning Group voted.

They're not gonna be putting your
initiative back on the agenda.

So that's it then.

Sir, the First Lady's
on the phone for you.

Thank you.

I'm sorry, sir.

Next time.

Alex.

Hey.

Everything all right?

We're fine. How are you?

I've been better.

I'm sorry.

I know this can't be easy.

No.

So, I've... I've been
thinking about you all day.

You know, the story.

I-I think I understand.

Understand what?

You shutting me out at the hospital

when that FBI agent came to see you...

the way you react every
time Mike enters a room...

the reason you can't let the family

come back to the White House.

It's true, isn't it?

Someone else blew up the Capitol,

and you don't know who it is, do you?

Tom?

There are so many things
I've wanted to tell you.

So many things I still want to tell you.

But you can't.

I was thinking,

a year ago...

the only thing I ever had
to worry about on a weekday

was whether or not I'd get to
Penny's soccer practice on time.

That is a lifetime ago.

Yeah.

Tom, how can I help you?

Don't lose faith in me.

Come on.

I'm always on your side, right?

Okay? Got it. Thanks.

I think we found 'em.

Where?

Port of Baltimore.

They just received a call
from an unscheduled freighter

looking to unload cargo.
Location works out.

When it's estimated to arrive?

Less than an hour. Slip 216.

Yes. Foerstel.

I need an HRT en route to the
Port of Baltimore, Slip 216.

I'm gonna meet them there.

Mr. Leonard, thank you for coming in.

My pleasure.

Should we get started?

Do I have to answer that?

You don't agree.

That's not what I'm saying.

But you don't think it'll work.

What I think doesn't matter right now.

It's what the president thinks.

And I support the president.

Now, Prime Minister Massett

has agreed to give you five minutes.

So...

Make 'em count.

See you in five minutes.

Thank you.

Thank you, Madame, for seeing me.

You understand why we took the
initiative off of the agenda.

I did not agree with it,
but, yes, I understand.

I need to earn your trust.

Oh, not just me. All of NATO.

Fine.

But I would like to start with France.

We began this dream of
weapons reduction together.

And I will need you there to finish it.

And how do you expect to do that?

By proving to you that the
United States is serious

about reducing the nuclear threat.

My country has 200 missiles

in bunkers scattered across Europe.

Russia has twice that number.

The old dogmas of mutually
assured destruction

versus secondary strike capabilities

need to be seriously re-examined,

especially given the threat

of our control systems being hacked.

It's a terrifying thought.

Yes, it is.

And the more weapons that are out there,

the greater chance
something could go wrong.

For me, it is very simple.

What kind of a world do we
want to leave our children?

You are a dreamer, sir.

Yes.

Yes, I am.

And I won't apologize for that.

I have asked Secretary Moss to begin

bilateral negotiations with Russia

in the hopes that you will join us soon.

Madame...

I do hope you join us.

Because I believe wherever
France goes, NATO will follow.

I hope we can discuss this
more fully at the next summit.

I would like nothing more.

Ritter.

We got the son of a bitch.

Where is he?

The West Wing.

Okay, our guy's on the move.
Go straight and take a right.

Yeah. Keep going.

How much farther?

Take a left at the end of the hallway.

Wait, wait, wait, wait,
wait. Actually take a right.

Um...

No. Wait.

Where am I going, Chuck?

No, no, no, no. Come on. Come on.

What happened?

Our guy.

He cloned his digital fingerprint.

_

Hey.

Hey.

Poor guy.

Not quite the trip he expected.

Not quite the trip anyone expected.

True enough.

Thank you.

What for?

For standing by me.

Well...

you didn't give me much choice.

If you go down, I go down with you.

I'm being serious.

Well, I am, too.

You know, you drive me nuts, Tom.

You're just so damn...
academic at times,

I want to slap you upside the head.

But damn if I don't see
something special in you,

something that might...

Well, might even approach greatness...

if you don't trip over your own feet.

Thank you. I think.

But we're not out of the
woods yet. Not by a long shot.

You may have salvaged some credibility

with NATO for the time being,

but we're gonna have
a whole new firestorm

waiting for us when we land.

I know.

You ready for it?

I'm gonna have to be.

President Kirkman returns this afternoon

to a very different political landscape

than the one he left just yesterday.

Abe Leonard's bombshell story,

which asserts Al-Sakar
was not responsible

for the attack at the Capitol,

sent shock waves through Washington,

and it couldn't have come at
a worse time for the president,

who's at the height of his
first international trip.

Many are calling this the worst day

of Kirkman's young presidency.

Let's go! Let's go!

- Let's go!
- Move up on my six.

- Let's go.
- Follow 'em up. Go, go, go.

Go. Go, go.

Here we go.

- Freeze!
- FBI! See those hands!

Go!

- Nothing.
- Nothing, nothing.

Hey, hey.

Eyes open.

FBI! Put your hands up!

- Don't move! Do it now! Now!
- Hands up!

Get down!

Down!

- Let's go.
- Take him downstairs.

We're all clear, sir.

I want every container
opened and searched.

Wells is somewhere on board. Find her.

- Yes, sir.
- Let's go!

Let's get them down there now.

On the ground!

This one's clear!

All clear!

All clear, sir.

- Let's check the others.
- What about this one?

It's welded shut, sir.

Well, blow it.

Yeah, we're set here.

Here we go.

We're all set here.

Let's go! Fire in the hole! Cover!

- Go.
- Door's open.

Hey, hey! On the ground right now!

Get your hands behind your head!

- Get on your knees!
- Get down! Now!