Philip C. Kearney
The
book deals with a report that the President groped a female reporter in
the Oval Office. This is one of many charges recently leveled against
the President. To combat these charges, the President and his Chief of
Staff decide to form a covert group in the White House to smear his
enemies. Two misfits are recruited to carry
out this campaign; one is an FBI agent and the other a Staff writer in
the USDA. Both are about to be fired from the government. They are
assigned to a nonexistent office in the Old Executive Office Building. Ample resources are made available to hire additional personnel: including a retired FBI agent, a former US senator close to indictment and a secretary with limited clerical abilities. The book is apolitical and does not involve the two major parties.
Five
targets are identified by the White House: a whistle blower who is
critical of the President's energy polices; a popular radio commentator
who is receiving sensitive inside information from the White House; an
Under Secretary of State who represents a challenge to the President;
the potential Presidential candidate and a groped female reporter. The
action shifts from a biker-bar in California, a country music station in Oklahoma, the State Department and the business /theater districts in New York City.
With some misinformation, superb timing and a lot of luck, the group is
amazingly adept at solving many of the President’s problems.
Dr. Kearney has BS and MS degrees from University of Maryland and a PhD degree from Cornell University. He accepted a Post Doctorate position in Biochemistry at Michigan State University. He was hired as a research Chemist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture at the Beltsville Agriculture Research Center. Kearney
conducted research on the fate of pesticides in the environment. He
served on several panels in the National Academy of Sciences, and the
White House Interagency Committee on Agent Orange. He served as Environmental Coordinator in the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture. Kearney
published over 100 peer reviewed scientific papers and compiled several books
on environmental issues. He currently copublishes two newsletters
annually that deal primarily with environmental issues concerning the Chesapeake Bay. The
distribution is about printed 300 copies. He has a deep insight into
how the government functions, both good and bad. He has met or worked
with many of the types of characters encountered in his book. .
As the new
point man responsible for dealing with some matters concerning the President’s
image, Morrison was obliged to meet with other parties involved in related
activities. Chief among these was the President’s legal staff. Morrison hosted
a meeting with some of the President’s brightest young lawyers and close
personal advisors. The President’s Chief Legal Council operated on the
assumption that Nora Benton was looking for a monetary settlement. If
that assumption proved correct, Benton
would have to be supplied with a convincing story to explain her misleading
explanation of what actually occurred in the Oval Office. The ensuing
conversation, led by the young legal team, explored possible scenarios that
could be given to Benton
as a plausible explanation for the President’s behavior.
“Suppose
she says that when she bent over, she accidentally backed into the President’s
hand?”
“Suppose when he kisses the First Lady in private, he grabs her ass too. We
could argue it is a conditioned reflex.”
“Suppose she fondled him, and he responded in kind? Quid pro quo.”
“Suppose
while she was kissing the President, one of the reporters groped her. We could
get one of those guys to take the fall.”
“How would
we do that?”
“We
promise to give him an exclusive story.”
“What
exclusive story.”
“We make it up.”
The
youngest and most naïve lawyer cleared his throat. “Jesus, are you serious, we
could get into big trouble.”
“No,
we would just join an elite group of people known as ‘Sources close to the
President said...”
The
Chief Council finally quelled his young protégées. “Gentlemen, I appreciate
your serious input on this delicate situation, but I don’t see a viable defense
strategy emerging here.
