Claire’s crisis I
I just didn't feel that
we could work together constructively any longer.
I think that's a perfectly legitimate reason...
Of course it is.
But what you can't do is fire someone for being pregnant.
Is that what she's saying?
Ms. Cole claims that you said,
quote, "I need employees, not mothers,"
and, quote, "Go focus on your baby."
Can I see that?
That's completely false. I...
- I never said that. - She claims you did.
It's her word against mine, right?
Well, juries are very sympathetic with expecting mothers.
This is extortion.
We don't want this going to trial, Claire.
You and your husband are public figures.
This will result in some very bad press.
I suggest we go back to them with a settlement offer.
Report to president
- He hasn't said a word. - And you haven't brought it up?
I just asked him if he was still considering Tusk.
He said yes, but that he wanted to speak to you first. That's it.
I wish we knew if they'd spoken at all.
Well, he has a private line. I can't track those calls.
- Frank. - Mr. President.
Tell me about St. Louis.
He's a hard man to read. I did my best to probe him,
but I don't think I left any wiser to which way he's leaning.
I must say, though,
I think he is by far and away the best candidate.
Why do you say that?
Doesn't it make sense for you to nominate someone you know so well?
I don't know him. That's why I sent you to St. Louis.
Forgive me, Mr. President. I didn't mean it that way.
I meant that the world knows so well.
You, me, everyone knows Raymond Tusk.
We don't need to convince anyone of his worthiness.
But you said he still seems ambivalent?
Which is why I think you should make a personal overture.
Invite him to the White House.
Well, I don't want to appear desperate.
I agree with Frank.
Inviting him is a very good idea.
If you're serious about Tusk, you should wine and dine him.
Make him feel very special.
I'm sure we can find time in the schedule.
Let's give him a few more days.
We have less than a week, sir.
I wouldn't wait any later than Friday.
We can make Friday work, sir.
All right. Well, let's see if he's available.
Remy won’t help
How long?
The next board of directors meeting is three weeks from now.
That is too late. Remy, look,
the President is gonna nominate Tusk in a week or less.
I've urged Scott Cunningham to call a special meeting,
but that doesn't happen overnight.
There's a lot of machinery in a corporate attack like this.
I want to meet Scott Cunningham myself.
I'm not sitting you down with Scott. You know the rules.
These are extraordinary circumstances.
Frank, Sancorp's officers
do not meet with politicians, period.
You talk to me, I talk to Scott Cunningham,
and vice versa. That's how it works.
All right, Remy. Whatever you think best.
I'll call you when I know more.
Nancy!
Of all the things I hold in high regard,
rules are not one of them.
I will not place my fate solely in the hands of the middleman
if I can go directly to the supplier.
Book a flight to Atlanta. Tomorrow morning. Let Meechum know.
Yes, sir.
Sancorp won’t help
I'm not a fan of surprise visits, Frank.
Remy wouldn't arrange a meeting.
Remy Danton exists so we don't have to meet.
I needed to speak with you.
There's a congressional travel report
that puts you on a trip to Atlanta
the same day I was pulled out of an investors' briefing.
Those are the sort of coincidences we want to avoid.
Were you briefing your investors on Raymond Tusk?
Meechum can be trusted.
Why would I be speaking to them about Tusk?
- I thought Remy filled you in. - No.
He didn't say anything about the vice presidential nomination?
He didn't. And I have a feeling I'd rather not be told.
Trust me, you want to know.
I've appeared in front of grand juries before, Frank.
It's much easier when you can tell the truth.
Please, don't put me in a position where I have to lie.
If Tusk has the President's ear,
you will see this administration
shift its support toward nuclear energy and away from natural gas.
His subsidiaries and his suppliers, go after them.
Frank, we should end this conversation right now.
He will not accept the nomination
if his assets are in a blind trust
and he can't fight off the threat.
- Okay, we're done. - Scott...
I don't wanna hear another word.
Go back to the airport.
Figure out a good reason you needed to be in Atlanta today.
You can pull over at the next corner.
I'll have my car pick me up.
Talk to Remy
Claire is sleeping upstairs.
You shouldn't have gone to see Cunningham.
He says you didn't bring up Tusk.
You really think he'd admit to that?
If we go through with this, it's insider trading.
He didn't strike me as a man hearing the news for the second time.
You want to believe I'm playing games?
I can walk away from the whole thing.
But I'm all you've got right now.
I'm the one doing you and Sancorp a favor,
not the other way around.
I can tell when I'm being used, Frank.
I just want to know what for.
I don't use people unless I can throw them away afterwards.
I'm trying to strengthen our partnership.
Smells an awful lot like bullshit.
Don't condescend.
Eight years I worked on your staff
and never once made it further than your front doorstep.
Well, now I'm in your living room, Frank.
It's not because of what you taught me,
it's because I finally woke up to what my value is
and how undervalued I was slaving away for you.
This is business. Keep your sob story to yourself.
I want to maintain
the influence that I have worked to achieve in the White House,
which translates into the influence
that you have in the White House,
through me.
I'll get in touch with Scott again tomorrow.
See if we can push this forward faster.
Thank you, Remy.
But you gotta let me do this my way.
Claire’s crisis II
The message was very clear.
She doesn't want a settlement, no matter what the figure.
Even if we give her World Well back?
She wants to go to court.
They said we can expect a formal summons next week.
- This is ludicrous. - Her lawyers agree.
They'd much prefer a settlement too, but she's not playing ball.
I'll keep pushing them. But in the meantime,
you should start gathering
all the correspondence you ever had with her...
E-mails, notes, every scrap of paper.
Okay. Thanks, Oliver.