Full Disclosure

"Full Disclosure" is the 103rd episode of The West Wing, and fifteenth of its fifth season. It originally aired on NBC on February 25, 2004. Events circle around a potentially embarrassing magazine interview with former Vice President John Hoynes. Written by Lawrence O'Donnell and directed by Lesli Linka Glatter, the episode contains a guest appearance by James Pickens Jr. "Full Disclosure" is notable for prompting a real-life letter from Senator Hillary Clinton. Plot Doing another appearance on Taylor Reid's news show, C.J. gets blind-sided with news about resigned Vice President John Hoynes. A New York Times interview leaked on the internet has him claiming the President and Leo asked him to stay once the sex scandal broke (which, as seen on "Life on Mars", is true). C.J. manages to get a copy of the interview, and it becomes clear that he is trying to portray his former boss and the Chief of Staff in a bad light. When it also emerges that he is writing a book (titled "Full Disclosure"), the White House staff suspect he is planning a presidential run, and that his tactics will involve a smear campaign against the current administration to distance himself and thereby appear in a better light. As a pre-emptive response, they draw up a long and detailed list of Hoynes' worst policy blunders from his time in office, to use if he should decide to campaign at their expense. C.J., however, seems more than reasonably distressed by the whole incident. She pays Hoynes a visit to give him a warning, and it becomes clear that she was one of the women whom the Vice President sexually harassed. She makes it clear to him that, should he attempt smear tactics against any of these women, she will fight him on it, and he says he had no plans to include information about her in his book. C.J. later relates to Toby how deeply she regretted sleeping with Hoynes. Distressed and in need of comfort, she decides to finally call her college boyfriend Ben, who has been trying to get in touch with her (and been ignored or shunted aside) for some time.