The House Special Subcommittee's Findings at CTU

by Marc Cerasini

  DRISCOLL: Agent Bauer, what precisely did Senator Palmer reveal to you about his role in Operation Nightfall, and please remember you are under oath.

  BAUER: David Palmer revealed that he had been following Drazen’s various war crimes through reports by the CIA, but he couldn’t get anything done through the usual channels. In his opinion, no one was dealing with the Drazen situation fast enough. So Palmer decided to cut through the red tape. He authorized the Operation Nightfall mission himself.

  DRISCOLL: You mean he bypassed the proper channels?

  BAUER: Yes, ma’am, but he had good reasons for what he did. He wanted to rid the world of a terrible monster.

  DRISCOLL: Drazen’s supporters don’t view him that way. And now he’ll never get his day in the world court to defend himself, will he?

  SCHNEIDER: What about Robert Ellis, Agent Bauer? Would you mind describing his role for us again, please.

  BAUER: Palmer gave NSA agent Ellis the order to kill Drazen and the money to do it through a discretionary fund. It was Ellis who gave me the job to execute the order. In that room with David, I concluded that if the assassins knew Palmer and I were connected to Nightfall, then they had to know about Ellis, too.

  We tracked down Ellis in New Orleans, and Palmer got on the phone first with him. Initially he was very pissed that Palmer and I were in the same room. He had worked hard to see that we were never connected. Then he understood that there was major blowback coming our way—and his. Ellis set up a feed through Milo’s computer, then he downloaded the Nightfall files to CTU’s server. One file was missing—

  FULBRIGHT: The one that turned up on Drazen’s computer?

  BAUER: That’s correct, Mr. Chairman. Milo printed out the other files, and Senator Palmer and I reviewed them. Ellis’s Nightfall files included a separate after-action report compiled by the Department of Defense and a copy of the original order to launch Operation Nightfall. I read through the pages and found lots of surprises—

  FULBRIGHT: SUCH AS?

  BAUER: First of all, Ellis’s report to the DOD stated that we’d hit a bunker and command center—not a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, as I’d originally thought.

  DRISCOLL: You’re saying Ellis lied about the target in his report to the DOD?

  BAUER: No. Victor Drazen had spent three million dollars to build a reinforced concrete bunker under that farmhouse. He spent another four million dollars for high-tech surveillance, radar, and communications equipment. The place was a command and control center. It was going to be the heart of his new headquarters, a center for power and a place to train more Black Dog assassins. And it was days from going on-line. Palmer knew all this when he authorized the mission. It was a valid target; he just didn’t want to waste valuable time going through the proper channels to prove it.

  SCHNEIDER: So what does that mean, Agent Bauer? Put it into bottom-line terms.

  BAUER: By designating that the strike was on a command and control center—a perfectly legal and legitimate target in NATO’s bombing campaign—Ellis had shielded Palmer from political fallout. The truth is, Palmer didn’t care about the bunker—he just wanted Drazen dead. But Ellis knew that the assassination alone could create political problems for Palmer, so he fudged the orders after the event to make the bunker look like the target, not Drazen.

  DRISCOLL: I’m still a bit confused. There was a bunker … under the house, you say?

  BAUER: Yes, ma’am. And that bunker explained a lot of things. Why air defenses were protecting the farm. Why there were so many Serb militiamen in the region. And why my team never knew that two innocent women—Victor Drazen’s wife and daughter—were in that bunker. I never knew until I reviewed those files that there was collateral damage. Neither did Palmer.

  FULBRIGHT: So this was all about revenge?

  BAUER: Yes, Mr. Chairman. Against me. Against Senator Palmer. Against Robert Ellis. And against my family. Palmer and I knew our families would never be safe until we flushed the assassins out into the open. To that end, Palmer went to Chappelle with me and backed up my provisional reinstatement as director of CTU’s Los Angeles office. Until the end of the day, I would have my old job back. After that, Chappelle was free to hold me accountable for disciplinary action or turn me over to the Justice Department.

  The clock was ticking, so I got back to work.

  3:00 P.M.-4:00 P.M.

  CHAIRMAN FULBRIGHT: Robert Ellis was murdered at approximately 3:00 P.M. Is that correct, Agent Bauer?

  SPECIAL AGENT JACK BAUER: Yes. I was speaking to him on the phone at the time. He was in the men’s room of a bar in New Orleans. I heard a scuffle, then the phone went dead. About that moment, I figured Bob was dead, too.

  REP. PAULINE P. DRISCOLL, (D) CONN.: That’s rather coldly matter-of-fact, Agent Bauer.

  BAUER: (Sigh) Ma’am, if you knew Bob Ellis, you would understand. The autopsy report indicated he was more than legally intoxicated. He’d been drinking for years, and it impaired his judgment the day he was killed and on all too many occasions before then.

  The truth is, Elhs was being edged out of covert operations. He could no longer be trusted because of his drinking and carelessness. That day in New Orleans when we called him, we warned him, yet he still failed to take precautions. He died because he let his guard down. I really liked the guy, but the sad fact is that Ellis had been letting his guard down for years.

  FINAL ANATOMIC AND FORENSIC SUMMARY

  SUBJECT: Robert Ellis

  CASE #: 01-097

  CTU FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: George R. Capaldo, M.D.

  CAUSE OF DEATH: Ligature Strangulation

  MANNER OF DEATH: Homicide

  EXTERNAL EXAMINATION:

  The 5’ 11′, 820-pound body is that of a normally developed and well-nourished white male consistent with the stated age of 46 years.

  The scalp is unremarkable. The scalp hair is brown.

  The ears are unremarkable.

  The irides are brown. The pupils have a bilateral diameter of 0.4 cm. Scleral hemorrhage and conjunctival petechiae are present bilaterally.

  The bones of the bridge of the nose are freely mobile and the external nares are unremarkable.

  The face shows marked congestion and brown stubble is present.

  The oral cavity is unremarkable. The upper and lower dental arches show fair dentition.

  The neck is markedly edematous and shows an indenting ligature mark which extends circumferentially 21 cm.

  The chest is symmetrical and the breasts are unremarkable.

  The abdomen is flat.

  The external genitalia are intact and atraumatic.

  The right and left upper extremities are unremarkable.

  The right and left lower extremities are unremarkable.

  The back is atraumatic and unremarkable.

  Evidence of Medical Therapy: None.

  INTERNAL EXAMINATION:

  The 380-gram heart has a smooth and shiny epicardial surface. The major coronary arteries depart from the base of the aorta and follow their anatomic course. The left main, left anterior descending, circumflex, and right coronary arteries are elastic, widely patent, and free of thrombosis or atheromatosis. The myocardium is homogeneously red-brown, firm, and free of focal mottling or fibrosis. The endocardium and trabeculae carneae are smooth and glistening. The valve leaflets and valve cusps are freely mobile and the chordae tendineae are delicate. The orifices of the coronary arteries are free of obstruction. The carotid arteries are elastic and free of atheromatosis. The aorta is elastic with minimal atheromatosis.

  SUBJECT: Robert Ellis CASE #: 01-097

  The trachea and major bronchi are pink-tan and free of obstruction.

  The hyoid bone and thyroidal cartilage are fractured.

  The 530-gram right lung and 340-gram left lung have smooth and shiny blue-gray visceral surfaces with mild to moderate anthracotic reticulation. The cut surface of both lungs is spongy gray with focal red mottling. The minor bronchial passages ar
e patent and free of lesions. The pulmonary vasculature is free of atheromatosis and thromboemboli.

  The 1400-gram liver has a smooth and shiny brown capsule. The parenchyma shows mild-moderate fatty changes and is otherwise without prominence of lymphoid follicles. The major lymph node groups of the body are not enlarged.

  The 180-gram right kidney and 170-gram left kidney have smooth and shiny brown surfaces. The parenchyma is homogeneously brown, firm, and with distinct corticomedullary junctions. The calyces and pelves are unremarkable. The ureters are patent and not dilated. The bladder has a tan mucosa.

  The testes have a light tan parenchyma and are free of nodularity. The prostate gland is gray-white, firm, and nonenlarged.

  The 1490-gram brain has translucent arachnoid membranes. The sulci and gyri are flattened. The Circle of Willis remnants are free of atheromatosis or aneurysm. The skull, after stripping the dura, is free of anomaly.

  The esophageal serosa is pink-tan, smooth, and unremarkable. The esophageal mucosa is light gray and free of ulceration or stricture. The stomach contains approximately 35 cubic cm. of a green-tan, pasty liquid. The-underlying gastric mucosa is light gray and free of ulceration.

  The surfaces of the small and large intestine are gray-tan, smooth, and glistening. The mucosal aspect varies from green-tan to pink-tan and is free of ulceration, neoplasia, or diverticula.

  The pancreas is yellow-tan, firm, and well-lobulated. The adrenal glands are present bilaterally with distinct corticomedullary junctions. The thyroid gland is amber brown and free of nodularity. The pituitary gland is situated in the sella turcica and is not enlarged.

  The surfaces of the pleural cavities are smooth and glistening. The peritoneal cavity has a shiny surface.

  LAB RESULTS:

  Alcohol blood level is: 0.3 g/100 ml. Further drug tests are negative.

  AUTOPSY FINDINGS SUMMARY:

  Ligature strangulation with attendant organic changes.

  Positive alcohol blood level.

  Hepatic fatty changes.

  FULBRIGHT: Continue with your activities during that hour, Agent Bauer. You said you were provisionally reinstated.

  BAUER: Yes, Ryan Chappelle and Alberta Green both went back to division headquarters. But my reinstatement wasn’t what I’d call a full reinstatement.

  FULBRIGHT: EXPLAIN.

  BAUER: Chappelle pulled the plug on my security clearance. I was now on the same clearance level as Milo. Chappelle also sent George Mason to closely supervise me and my unit. So Mason was sitting in my office, I could barely download my own files without Milo’s help, and Chappelle got busy behind the scenes, making sure we were out of the loop—

  DRISCOLL: (Interrupting) We?

  BAUER: CTU, Los Angeles. The whole division was isolated by the rest of the Agency [CIA] out at Langley [Virginia, CIA headquarters]. The Company [slang for CIA] acted like they couldn’t trust me, yet they believed me when I told them about Walsh’s suspicions—that there was a mole in CTU. Until that mole was revealed, our entire division was being contained. We just didn’t know it yet.

  REP. ROY SCHNEIDER, (R) TEX.: What do you mean by “contained,” Agent Bauer?

  BAUER: I mean a blackout of information. Sometime between 3:00 and 4:00 P.M. two assassins struck the safe house in an attempt to kill my family. They killed the outside security team first, then entered the house and killed Agent Ron Breeher with a single dart to the carotid artery. Agent Derek Paulson was stabbed in the back and shot twice. My wife and daughter barely escaped the house. After a high-speed chase, there was an accident and my wife and daughter were separated.

  I was not informed of this attack for hours, long after my daughter called Tony Almeida to alert him. Almeida and Mason were both told that my wife and daughter had escaped—which was true—and that there were no survivors at the safe house—which was false. I learned later that Agent Paulson had survived the attack—barely….

  SPECIAL AGENT VANCE RICKARD: Can you hear me?

  SPECIAL AGENT DEREK PAULSON: (Faintly) yes …

  RICKARD: Do you remember what happened, Agent Paulson?

  PAULSON: They got into the ’ safe house … I don’t know how. The motion sensors should have warned us even if the guys outside were dead.

  RICKARD: How many were there?

  PAULSON: One … no, there were two. I got one … didn’t I?

  RICKARD: You did, Agent Paulson. He’s dead.

  PAULSON: And Ron [Ronald Breeher]?

  RICKARD: I’m sorry. Stay with me, Agent Paulson. Do you remember what happened to Teri Bauer? To Kimberly Bauer?

  PAULSON: They got out … drove away. I don’t know where.

  RICKARD: What happened to the men outside, Derek? What happened to your security team?

  PAULSON: The motion sensors … they should have worked … they …

  RICKARD: Paulson! Stay with me … Derek?

  VOICE OP PHYSICIAN: That’s enough, Rickard. Out of the way! Let’s go, people, we’re losing him.

  BAUER: One break finally came when Milo downloaded surveillance photos of the three suspected assassins—Mishko Suba, Jovan Myovic, and Alexis Drazen. I had the photos sent over to Palmer campaign headquarters, and the Secret Service showed the photos to the staff. A Palmer aide named Elizabeth Nash recognized one of the shooters. She had been drawn into a relationship with him and was due to meet him at his hotel room in one hour.

  4:00 P.m.-5:00 p.m.

  CHAIRMAN FULBRIGHT: Elizabeth Nash … (pause).

  SPECIAL AGENT JACK BAUER: YES, MR. CHAIRMAN?

  FULBRIGHT: What a mess.

  BAUER: Yes, Mr. Chairman.

  FULBRIGHT: You should know, Agent Bauer, that we requested Ms. Nash appear herself to testify about her actions during this hour. Unfortunately, we were informed by her attorney that she is not mentally fit to testify. A memo from her psychiatrist confirms that she is in a “fragile state.”

  REP. ROY SCHNEIDER, (R) TEX.: Ah, yes, the handy-dandy doctor’s note.

  FULBRIGHT: This is not the place for humor, Roy.

  SCHNEIDER: It’s not the place for political favors, either. POP, Jayce … FOP.

  FULBRIGHT: For the record, I have no hesitation in admitting that Ms. Nash’s father is a close personal friend of President-elect Palmer. Burton Lee Nash, a highly respected Maryland attorney, and David Palmer were roommates at Georgetown University. And David Palmer is also Ms. Nash’s godfather. Out of respect for that relationship, we would prefer not to pressure what could be a mentally unstable young woman—

  SCHNEIDER: Could being the key word.

  FULBRIGHT: I’m going to ignore that remark, Roy, and advise this subcommittee to give Ms. Nash the benefit of the doubt. If Agent Bauer cannot supply adequate answers to this subcommittee, we will certainly revisit the decision to subpoena Ms. Nash, who—I might point out to Representative Schneider—is very likely to take the Fifth for all the good it will do.

  SCHNEIDER: True. You’ve got a point there, Jayce.

  FULBRIGHT: Therefore, Agent Bauer, if you could explain to us the situation surrounding the unfortunate incident with Alexis Drazen and the … ah … what was it (papers shuffling) … the letter opener?

  BAUER: Certainly, sir. Elizabeth Nash was, as you know, a member of David Palmer’s campaign staff. She was very unhappy to learn that she’d been duped into having an intimate relationship with the assassin Alexis Drazen. He used Elizabeth to learn vital information about Palmer’s schedule, including travel itineraries, hotel stays, and public appearances.

  We could have set up an arrest trap for Alexis, but we knew our best chance of stopping the Drazen plan was to tail him. So Elizabeth agreed to see Alexis one more time in his hotel room and plant a small tracking device in Alexis’s wallet.

  I made it very clear to her that her safety was the most important thing. If she felt uncomfortable in any way, all she had to do was utter the phrase “I hope I’m not getting a cold,” and in seconds I would have a SWAT team of federal a
gents through the door and in the room to help her.

  We had the hotel room hooked up with fiber-optic cameras and listening devices. I watched as she entered the room and gained Alexis’s confidence through physical contact, and when he had left her alone for a moment, I watched as she took his wallet from his jacket and placed the tracking device inside.

  The operation was over then—or it should have been, anyway. I called her cell phone so she could answer, make her excuses to leave, and get out of there. If she had done that, we would have tracked Alexis’s every move, flushed out and set up his assassination team, and ended it on our terms.

  But Elizabeth was … she was not as mentally stable as she appeared to be before entering that hotel room. It was a very high-pressure situation, and I remember she did express concern that she was somehow to blame for allowing Alexis to use her—even though I and my colleagues assured her she was not. I also remember her saying she appreciated the opportunity to “redeem herself.”

  The trigger appeared to come when Alexis Drazen said that he had “fallen in love” with her. It was about then I called her cell phone—twice. The first time she hung up. The second time, she shut the phone off completely. And very deliberately

  She seemed to be baiting Alexis after that. She told him to tell her again that he loved her. He did, and he then said (pause, paper shuffling) … he said, “If I am not very much mistaken, it seems that you are falling in love with me, too.” She took her jacket off, and he called room service for a hamburger because she said she was hungry.

  She paced the room, and when he hung up the phone and approached her again, asking if there was “anything else,” she said, “Yes,” and plunged the sharp end of a letter opener Into Alexis’s stomach, shouting … uh (paper shuffling) … yes, shouting, “You son of a bitch, you son of a bitch.”