Battlefield Korea

Enemies Within

It was a beautiful September morning as the leaders of both the Republican and Democrat parties from the House and Senate walked into the Oval Office. It was unusual for them to be called to the White House so early in the day. As they entered the Oval, they all immediately observed that several additional chairs had been brought in so that there would be room for everyone. They could tell it was a serious meeting, seeing that the Director of the FBI and the Attorney General were also in attendance (neither of whom looked very happy).

As the Congressional leaders took their seats opposite of each other on the couches, the President took his seat at the head arm chair, opposite the Attorney General (AG) and FBI Director. His face was somber, and it looked like he had aged a year or two within a few days.

“Thank you for coming so early in the morning, everyone,” began the President. “I’ve asked you all to be here today because I felt it was important to make sure the leaders of Congress know what was about to happen and why. As you know, there have been an unprecedented number of intelligence leaks since I have taken office. We have worked to address those leaks, and this morning is the first step in doing just that.”

The President paused and looked at the AG and FBI Director before continuing, “I’ve asked the Director of the FBI and the AG to be here to explain the facts of the case. The evidence has been collected, and now it’s time to walk you all through it. This is too big a deal for me to not bring your offices into the loop.”

Concern was written all over the faces in the room. They knew things had not been going well with the war in Ukraine, but this move had them wondering what shoe was about to drop.

The Director of the FBI and the AG began to lay out the evidence and case against the three congressmen and one senator who had been caught committing espionage against the country. At first, the Senate and Congressional minority leaders thought this was a partisan witch hunt, until they heard the audio records, watched the videos, and read the highlighted portions of both emails and text messages. As the President spoke, the reality of what happened began to set in. They could not believe that members of Congress could commit such an open act of treason against the people they had been elected to represent. The Speaker of the House was equally appalled that one of his caucus (a member who sat on the Armed Services Committee no less) had committed acts of espionage, especially during a war that resulted in US service members being killed. He was seething with anger.

They were further aghast by the number of other high-level government officials that had been identified in the dragnet. “What is being done about all of this?” asked the Speaker, horrified.

The AG answered, “These individuals are being arrested right now while this meeting is taking place. A press conference is being scheduled to take place within an hour, at which time, the President will announce the findings. The FBI Director and I will also speak to the press.”

The President looked intently at both of the party leaders. “I want to assure both sides that despite what we’ve learned today, the war is still going on. The country and our military still need your support. I ask that we put aside our differences and come together as one country, one people, to defeat the Russians and ensure the Chinese do not threaten our allies.”

Gates thought to himself, “Man, I hope the Congressional leaders can finally unite for the good of the country.”

As the meeting broke up, everyone headed to the White House press room to watch the President give his address. The media largely sat there in stunned silence, shocked by the information the President had just given them. Many suddenly realized they had been played by Russian intelligence, that they had unwittingly been a pawn of a foreign power. When the AG and the Director of the FBI laid out the evidence, it suddenly became clear how they had also been complicit in all of this.

Once the statements were complete, there was about fifteen seconds of complete silence. However, as soon as the first journalist raised their hand to start asking a question, the room erupted into a din of hungry wolves, each trying to speak over one another to get their words heard above the others. The Attorney General and the Director of the FBI managed to stay professional despite the ravenous crowd.

The American people were enraged by these revelations. On social media, the vast majority of the country was fuming, railing against the Russians and the Chinese for their involvement. People were demanding a response, calling for action. Most of all, people wanted revenge.