Separation of Power

Ke

There was too much going on, when the three cars pulled around the corner, for the protestors and media types to notice. The caravan came to a quick stop and the car doors flew open. Ke

Set up in the broad hallway outside room 216 were correspondents from every network plus the cable news shows. One correspondent who worked for one of the more sensational cable news shows a

They continued up the sloped ramp and into the hearing room. At the door Ke

The wall of marble behind the senators looked like a Rorschach test gone bad. Ke

The upper galleries were bristling with black camera lenses and microphones. The room was packed, and the entire event was being carried live on national television. The senators on the dais with their phalanx of staffers behind them were peering down at her as if she were a mass murderer. Today Ke

Senator Clark smacked the wooden block with his gavel. He looked tan and handsome in his dark wool suit and deep claret colored tie. The room ignored him, so he tried again with much greater force and better results. The talking trickled to a drip, and then there was silence, Clark looked down at Ke

"Dr. Ke

"A lot has happened since we spoke on Friday." Clark glanced down at a piece of paper before him. It was a predetermined gesture that he thought would look good on TV. "I was wondering if before we resumed with our questions, you would care to respond to the accusations that were made against you yesterday by Congressman Rudin?"

Ke

"Excuse me, Mr. Chairman!" bellowed Senator Jetland. He repeated himself four more times until he'd drowned out the others. Having silenced his colleagues, he didn't bother to wait for the chair to recognize him. "I think our purposes would be better served today if we were allowed to ask the nominee some very pointed questions." The senator from New Mexico gave Ke

Despite the lust for blood, several of the senators wanted to hear what Ke

The surprise came from the witness table. "If that's what Senator Jetland would prefer that's fine with me." Ke

Again, not waiting to be recognized by the chair, Senator Jetland grabbed the pedestal of his microphone and said, "That is very kind of you, Dr. Ke

"Could you be a little more specific, please?"

A faint smile spread across Jetland's face and he asked, "Did you advise the President or Director Roach of the FBI, or anyone at the FBI for that matter, that they should launch this raid against Congressman Rudin?"

All eyes turned to Ke

Shocked whispers rustled through the gallery. Senator Clark banged the gavel twice before the room fell silent. Ke

Senator Jetland placed both elbows on the table and said, "I find it very disturbing that you would launch a vendetta against a member of the House of Representatives after he went public with certain allegations that might be damaging to your career." He glared at Ke

Unfazed, Ke

"The only thing I'd like to respond to is your choice of the word vendetta." Ke

"So that excuses you ordering the President to have Congressman Rudin treated like a criminal?"

"Senator, one does not order the President to do anything. Especially not this President. President Hayes is--"

Jetland cut her off. "Have any federal agents broken down your door lately, to rifle through your personal effects?"