Fatal Conceit (56 page)

“She did more than that,” Marlene said. “She made you out to be some sort of superhero.”

“Great, just what I need,” Karp said, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, listen to this,” Marlene said, and then in her best stage voice read, “ ‘The dramatic collapse of National Security Adviser Tucker Lindsey on the stand culminated in his confession to his and Fauhomme's roles in the cover-up of the events in Chechnya and Dagestan, as well as in the murder of General Sam Allen.

“ ‘With the jury excused from the room, Judge Hart questioned Lindsey to determine if he was mentally competent. “Your Honor, I understand the nature of the charges against me. Yes, I am quite capable of assisting my lawyer in my own defense, and I take full responsibility for the consequences of what I intend to say,” Lindsey said. Thereafter the judge called the jury back and allowed Karp to proceed with his questioning.

“ ‘When Karp asked Lindsey about the motivation for the murder, Lindsey replied, “It was feared that if the truth came out, the president would lose the election.” Lindsey denied knowing beforehand that Fauhomme had directed Ray Baum to murder the general; however, he admitted to assisting in covering up the crime and trying to pin the blame on others. “I was knee deep in it,” Lindsey testified, “and saw no other way out.”

“ ‘Following the cross-examination of Lindsey and attempts by both defense attorneys to literally redirect him, Hart again sent the jury from the courtroom. He then asked if in light of his confession on the stand, Lindsey wanted to change his plea. In one of the most dramatic courtroom scenes this reporter has ever witnessed, the national security adviser, once one of the most powerful men in this country, tearfully pleaded guilty to the crime of murder, at which point his codefendant, Rod Fauhomme, stood up and began screaming at Karp. “Who are you to judge me? I'm the fucking man of the hour. I know what's best for this country. What does it matter if one man dies if progress is made?” The
former campaign manager was then subdued by court security personnel.

“ ‘Karp went on to explain to the court the reason for his earlier request for a delay. In essence, he informed the court that he had a new witness—a witness who turned out to be the equivalent of drawing an inside straight flush in a high-stakes poker game. He then called Augie Nieto, a high-level administrator with a private company contracted by the NSA to run their drone program. Nieto testified that Lindsey and Fauhomme watched the attack in real time and ignored calls for help. The drone overhead was armed, contradicting the administration's earlier claims that it wasn't, and it was online and able to respond. However, drone operators were told to stand down. Only later were they ordered by Fauhomme and Lindsey to fire on the hostages. He said that he passed the information about the attack on the compound in Chechnya to General Allen late Friday night, two days before he was murdered. The attack on the mosque in Dagestan, according to Nieto, was also intended to annihilate all terrorists, hostages, and witnesses.

“ ‘Asked after the trial why he waited to come forward until the eleventh hour, Nieto said that he was originally led to believe that telling the truth would have dire national security implications for the United States. “However, I could not sit there and listen to Lindsey lie, knowing that Fauhomme would do the same. Sam Allen was a better man than either of those two could ever be, and I felt like I had his blood and those of the other brave men who died in Chechnya and Dagestan on my hands.”

“ ‘Reached for comment following Nieto's appearance, White House press secretary Rosemary Hilb stuck to the script and denied his allegations. “Aware that the justice process is still continuing and there could be appeals if there is a conviction,” she said, “the president will withhold further comment at this time.” ' ”

Marlene snorted derisively, then continued to read. “ ‘The trial concluded with the attorneys giving their summations. The defense,
represented by former Assistant Attorney General Celeste Faust, stuck to the original story line that Allen was murdered by a conspiracy composed of his girlfriend, Jenna Blair, Fauhomme's girlfriend, Connie Rae Lee, and disgraced Marine Ray Baum. She fought the small details, such as claiming that there was no proof that Fauhomme was the person who answered the call Baum placed from Allen's room. “It was all part of the setup to make him take the fall.” She insisted that Lindsey's confession was motivated by a desire to “save himself, and in all likelihood he was the puppeteer behind the other co-conspirators. Ask yourselves, who had the power to pull this off, the president's national security adviser, or a politico, a lowly campaign manager?”

“ ‘However, in his summation, Karp described Fauhomme as “a kingmaker who thought of himself as the real power behind the throne.” In what has become a classic theme for the district attorney, Karp told the jurors that they could determine the truth “not from what I say, or what any individual witness says, but how each witness, each document or recording accepted into evidence, every technical or scientific piece of evidence, corroborates the rest. That's how you'll know the truth.” After several hours, broken only by short intermissions, Karp at last came to his grand finale.' ”

Karp sighed. “Oh, boy, haven't you read enough?”

“No,” Marlene said. “I think the boys should hear this. Oooh, this is good . . . ‘Standing in front of the jurors like Moses delivering the Ten Commandments to the wandering tribes of Israel . . .' ”

“I think I'd better leave now,” Karp said.

“Stick around,” Stupenagel said, “it gets better.”

“As I was saying . . . ‘wandering tribes of Israel, Karp delivered a sermon worthy of a Sunday Baptist revival. “This case is extremely significant not only for you as jurors, but also for the people, our fellow citizens. We have learned from the evidence in this case, beyond any and all doubt, the true nature of the character of these defendants.” ' ”

“ ‘Slowly walking along the jury rail, looking each juror in the
eyes, he asked, “So who are they?” He whirled and pointed at the defendants. “We know from the evidence that they lie, they hide the truth; that they mislead the public and accuse anyone who dares challenge them of being politically motivated or guilty of the crimes that they themselves committed.” Then he turned back to the jury. “Here in this court we witnessed in grave detail the defense accusing Jenna Blair and Connie Rae Lee of murder, and myself and my office of manipulating the process and unfairly charging them with a heinous crime. The defendants, and those they work for, do these things because they are guilty of extreme arrogance, believing—or having convinced themselves—that they know what's right for all of us. Sometimes they'll do it for money; sometimes they'll do it to enhance their resumes; but always, it's about the power. We know what they are; they are evil. So isn't it fitting that we confront them in this courtroom? Why?” Karp allowed his question to sink in before his answer. “Because a trial is a solemn and sacred search for the truth under the rules of evidence.

“ ‘ “So who are we? The best way, it seems to me, to describe who we are is to understand where we came from.” A few decibels at a time, Karp allowed his voice to rise. “We are the product of American exceptionalism. That is not some arrogant or superior concept. Not at all. It came to America with the Puritans, who saw themselves like the Children of Israel from the Old Testament. They fled oppression in Europe, engaged in a perilous journey across the vast ocean, and came to what they regarded as the Promised Land. One of their leaders, John Winthrop, who founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony, said in 1630, in substance,
We are the city on the hill and we will be judged by the Almighty with respect to how we live our lives
. So this concept of American exceptionalism is a moral and spiritual belief system. We are a moral people. We try to institutionalize virtue and recognize that evil exists and it must be confronted and defeated. That's who we are. That's where we came from. It's in our spiritual DNA.

“ ‘ “What does that mean?” Karp asked the rapt jurors and the
gallery. “It means we don't leave our brothers and sisters on the battlefield to be mutilated and slaughtered. We rescue them when they are in peril. We don't lie to cover up our mistakes. We admit them and try to rectify them and only then do we move on. That's who we are as a people. We must continue to be a moral and spiritual force for good.”

“ ‘Karp walked into the well of the courtroom and held his hands out to his sides as if to encompass not just the physical surroundings but the people in attendance. “In this courtroom that means you have the opportunity to strip these defendants of their deceit, their manipulations, their lies, and their fatal conceit. We can all agree that good conscience demands, common sense requires, and justice cries out that the defendant Fauhomme, like his codefendant Lindsey who admitted as much on the stand, is guilty of murder.” He then returned to his seat as silence enveloped the courtroom.' ”

Marlene looked up from the paper, her eyes wet with pride. “Wow, honey, that was really good.”

“That was cool, Dad,” the twins chimed in.

“There's more,” Stupenagel said. “Go on.”

Marlene dutifully began to read again. “ ‘Sent to deliberate, the jury took less than three hours to reach their verdict: guilty as charged. Pale and shaking, Fauhomme collapsed into his chair. The convicted man then half-walked and was half-carried by the team of court officers from the courtroom. His last words before he disappeared from sight: “I'm a dead man. They'll never let me live.” And then he was gone.

“ ‘Meanwhile, in the two weeks since the trial, Karp is still pursuing bigger quarry. Although he won't comment on the workings of the grand jury, a source close to the DAO . . .' ”

“Gilbert!” Karp said with a scowl.

Murrow's eyes got big. “It wasn't me, I swear,” he cried out.

“Forget it, Karp, I'd never expose the love of my life like that,” Stupenagel said. “I have spies everywhere. Read on, Marlene.”

“ ‘. . . a source close to the DAO says that Tucker Lindsey has been revealing details about others involved in the cover-up and the administration's deceit while misleading the American public regarding the terror attack in Zandaq and the events in Dagestan. More indictments are sure to follow. In fact, two days ago, Israeli businessman Ariel Shimon was indicted by the attorney general of Israel for illegal arms sales to Iran. Lindsey testified at the trial that the administration had used knowledge of the sales to coerce Shimon into lying for the defense. As for Rod Fauhomme, he remains in administrative segregation in the Tombs awaiting final sentencing before Judge Charles Hart, Jr.' ”

Marlene closed the newspaper and patted her friend Stupenagel's hand. “You done good, girl,” she said. “That was a great story. So, how's the book going?”

“Signed on the dotted line last night,” Stupenagel said. “It's going to be nice to be able to put it all together, along with a lot of detail I didn't know or couldn't fit.”

“I hope we'll get a signed copy,” Marlene said. She looked up at her husband. “What do you think, honey?”

Karp tossed the
Sunday Times
that Dirty Warren had given him on the table. A large bold headline blared from the top of the page: IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS BEGIN.

“Sic semper tyrannis,” he said. “And so it begins again.”