Chapter 694 - 325: Capital’s Panic
West Wing of the White House, Chief of Staff’s Office.
David Stern clutched a copy of the Political Newspaper. Three men stood beside him.
One was the White House Communications Director, another a senior agent from the Special Service Bureau, and the last was the Chief Technology Officer for cybersecurity.
Stern didn’t speak. He just pointed to the headline on the paper.
"Who?" Stern asked.
The discussions about Leo Wallace’s potential nomination for Vice President were supposed to be absolutely confidential.
But now, this secret that should have been kept under wraps was plastered on the front page of the Political Newspaper, a copy of which was in the hands of everyone in Washington’s political circles.
This was a blatant betrayal.
At this critical juncture, an uncontrolled leak of this nature could destroy the entire campaign.
"We’ve checked all the call logs."
The Special Service Bureau agent stepped forward and handed him a tablet.
The screen was a dense stream of data, showing all communications signals that had entered or left the West Wing in the past forty-eight hours.
"There were no anomalies. Everyone who had access to the relevant memo has undergone preliminary questioning. We did a log traceback on the printers. Only one copy was printed, the one on the President’s desk."
The cybersecurity officer reported next.
He looked a little nervous. After all, a technical failure at a time like this often meant the end of one’s career.
"There are no signs of a firewall breach, and the mail servers are clean. If this really was an internal leak, it was passed on physically, word-of-mouth, or someone used a device outside our surveillance network."
Stern flipped through the reports.
He felt like he was back in Moscow during the Cold War.
Everyone was suspicious of each other; it seemed like every wall had ears.
"Polygraphs," Stern ordered.
The Communications Director was stunned. "You mean... for all the core staff?"
"Everyone," Stern said, looking up. His gaze swept over each person in the room. "Including you, including those nerds in the legal counsel’s office, and including the intern who brings the President his coffee."
"I want to know who sold this top-secret information to Mike Allen."
For the next four hours, the West Wing of the White House transformed into a massive interrogation room.
The Special Service Bureau took over the conference rooms. The polygraph needles danced across the charts.
People lined up to go in and came out drenched in sweat.
Stern sat behind the monitors, watching every single one of them.
He needed to find the traitor.
If even his inner circle was leaking, this fight was unwinnable.
The investigation concluded at two in the afternoon.
The results were in.
There was no traitor.
No one had lied.
No one had contacted any reporters from the Political Newspaper during that period.
Stern stared at the report that cleared everyone and fell deep into thought.
If it wasn’t someone from the White House, then there was only one other possibility.
The leak hadn’t come from inside this white house.
It had come from Pittsburgh.
Stern shot up from his chair and walked to the window.
He suddenly understood everything.
Leo Wallace.
The young man was making his own move.
He had leaked the news himself.
He had taken advantage of the ambiguity of the White House’s consideration to create the illusion of a done deal.
The tension that had gripped Stern suddenly dissipated.
If Leo did this himself, it meant one thing: Leo didn’t actually want to be Vice President.
If someone truly coveted that position, they would be cautious. They would cooperate with the White House’s confidentiality requirements, terrified that the slightest rumor could derail the nomination.
Only someone who didn’t want the job would hype it up so recklessly.
What Leo wanted was buzz.
Stern smiled.
"Call it off," Stern said, waving a hand at the Special Service Bureau agent. "There’s no need to investigate further."
"Then how do we respond to the media?" the Communications Director asked. "Everyone out there is waiting for our statement. Should we deny it?"
"No."
Stern straightened his tie and sat back down behind his desk.
"Don’t say anything at all."
"But..."
"It’s the best response," Stern said, picking up a pen and starting to go through some documents. "Silence makes us invincible."
The White House’s silence would let the speculation fester, making everyone believe the story was true.
This was exactly what Stern wanted.
As long as the public believed the White House was seriously considering Leo, he would be seen as one of them.
The Republican Party’s plan to use Leo to sow chaos within the Democratic Party would fail.
Moreover, this fire would spread in another direction.
Stern looked out the window.
"I imagine we’re not the ones who should be worried right now."
"It’s the pharmaceutical companies."
"They’re about to find out they aren’t just fighting a mayor, but a future vice president."
...
「Washington D.C., K Street.」
The legal office of Pfizer.
On the television screen, a CNN host was on a call with a constitutional law professor, gravely discussing the possibility of amending the age requirement.
George Vance’s brow furrowed.
He picked up the remote and changed the channel.
Fox News. A conservative host was roaring, "The Democratic Party is willing to tear up the Constitution just to win! They want to put a radical socialist in the White House!"
He changed the channel again. MSNBC.
A liberal commentator was singing praises: "This is a bold move. Perhaps we need some new blood to break the deadlock."
Every channel was discussing the same topic.
Leo Wallace.
Vance turned off the TV.
He felt an unprecedented chill, a cold born from the fear of a situation spiraling out of control.