Chapter Ten

The Fox News studio was cold. Too cold. Jason sat in the interview chair, adjusting his tie as the stage crew bustled around him, fixing his mic and positioning the camera angles. Across from him, anchor Bradley Holt—a staunch conservative and a longtime defender of the Supreme Court’s right-wing justices—shuffled his notes with a smirk.

“Justice Simpson,” Holt began once they were live, “thank you for joining us tonight.”

Jason gave a tight smile. “Happy to be here.”

Holt wasted no time. “Let’s get right to it. Your remarks on the steps of the Supreme Court caused an uproar. You’ve been accused of undermining the legitimacy of the Court and of inciting public outrage. What do you say to your critics?”

Jason clasped his hands. “I say the legitimacy of the Court isn’t derived from public perception or tradition. It’s derived from its commitment to justice. If the Court betrays that commitment, it has no legitimacy to stand on.”

Holt leaned forward, eyes gleaming. “But some would argue that you’re the one undermining justice. You’ve openly attacked your fellow justices. You’ve criticized their decisions in ways that some call ‘personal’ rather than legal.”

Jason’s expression didn’t change. “When decisions from this Court strip people of their rights, it is personal. For the millions affected, it is deeply personal. And I will not pretend otherwise just to satisfy some outdated notion of decorum.”

Holt smirked, sensing an opportunity. He shuffled through his papers before carefully selecting a page. “That brings me to your comments about Chief Justice Leonard Reynolds. In private conversations and, reportedly, in chambers, you’ve referred to him as, quote, ‘a relic from a bygone era of oppression masquerading as a constitutional purist,’ end quote. Do you stand by that?”

Jason didn’t blink. “Yes.”

A murmur rippled through the production crew. Holt’s smirk widened. “So you’re saying the Chief Justice—the most senior jurist in the country—is an oppressor?”

Jason leaned in slightly. “I’m saying that Chief Justice Reynolds has consistently ruled in ways that undermine the rights of minorities, all while cloaking himself in the language of ‘originalism.’ The idea that the Constitution must be read exactly as it was in the 18th century is not a legal philosophy—it’s a political strategy designed to maintain the status quo of power.”

Holt raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you being a bit extreme?”

Jason tilted his head. “Extreme? Tell me, Bradley—what’s more extreme? Fighting to protect fundamental rights? Or stripping them away under the pretense of judicial restraint?”

Holt exhaled through his nose, composing himself. Then he leaned forward, voice softening, adopting the patronizing tone he often used when debating liberals. “Justice Simpson, don’t you think you should practice tolerance toward those who disagree with you?”

Jason gave a humorless chuckle. He met Holt’s gaze head-on, his voice steady as steel. “As long as Justice Reynolds remains intolerant toward women, Black people, gay people, poor people, immigrants, and the First and Fourteenth Amendments, I will remain intolerant toward him.”

The studio fell into stunned silence.

Holt blinked. Twice. The control room, visible through the glass panel behind him, was a flurry of frantic movement. Producers gestured wildly, speaking urgently into headsets. The interview had just become something much bigger than anticipated.

Holt finally recovered. “That’s… quite a statement, Justice Simpson.”

Jason shrugged. “It’s the truth.”

Holt glanced down at his notes, clearly recalibrating. He had planned for a confrontational interview, but he hadn’t expected Jason to lean in so unapologetically.

“You talk about intolerance,” Holt said, shifting gears. “But isn’t that exactly what you’re practicing? You are unwilling to respect the views of your fellow justices, of conservative Americans who believe in originalism and states’ rights. Doesn’t your brand of liberalism demand the very inclusivity you refuse to offer?”

Jason folded his hands in his lap, his expression unchanging. “Inclusivity doesn’t mean tolerating intolerance. It doesn’t mean standing by while the rights of marginalized communities are systematically dismantled. This isn’t a disagreement over tax policy. This is about whether people have autonomy over their bodies, whether they have equal protection under the law, whether they are seen as full citizens in this country. And I will not be ‘tolerant’ of those who believe certain Americans deserve fewer rights than others.”

Holt shifted in his chair. “But don’t you think—”

Jason cut him off. “Bradley, let me ask you something. If the Supreme Court ruled that you, as a journalist, no longer had the right to free speech, would you still call that a ‘difference of opinion’? Would you be expected to simply ‘respect’ the justices who took that right from you?”

Holt’s mouth opened slightly, but no words came out. Jason continued.

“That’s what we’re dealing with here. This isn’t some abstract debate in a law school classroom. This is real. People will suffer because of what this Court is doing. And I will not, under any circumstances, pretend that those responsible deserve my respect.”

Holt cleared his throat, straightening his tie. He glanced at the producers through the glass, clearly getting signals to wrap it up. “Well, Justice Simpson, I think we’ll leave it there.”

Jason nodded. “I thought you might.”

The camera light flickered off. The moment it did, Holt let out a slow breath, giving Jason a measured look. “You’re going to have a lot of people coming after you for that.”

Jason stood, unhooking his mic. “Let them.”

Outside the studio, his phone was already vibrating with alerts. Grace, waiting in the wings, had been watching the live broadcast. She approached, shaking her head. “You don’t do damage control, do you?”

Jason smirked. “Grace, I am the damage.”

She sighed, checking her phone. “The clip is already trending.”

Jason took the phone from her, glancing at the screen. His words—“As long as Justice Reynolds remains intolerant toward women, Black people, gay people, poor people, immigrants, and the First and Fourteenth Amendments, I will remain intolerant toward him”—were everywhere.

He handed the phone back. “Good.”

As they stepped into the cool night air, Jason knew the storm was coming. He had just escalated the fight in a way no Supreme Court justice ever had before.

And he wasn’t the least bit sorry.

###

The White House press briefing had started off routine—too routine.

Vicki Smith was halfway through a carefully rehearsed statement about the administration’s new infrastructure initiative when she noticed a shift in the room. The press corps, who had been nodding along disinterestedly, suddenly came to life. A buzz of whispered conversations, reporters glancing at their phones, exchanging knowing looks. Something was happening.

She knew that look. And it terrified her.

She barely had time to process it before Greg Weller from The New York Times shot his hand into the air.

“Madam Press Secretary,” he said, cutting through her statement. “Does the White House have a response to Justice Jason Simpson’s comments about Chief Justice Reynolds?”

Vicki froze. Oh no.

She blinked. “Uh… I’m sorry, what?”

The room erupted.

Lisa Tran from NBC News jumped in. “Justice Simpson just told Fox News—and I quote—‘As long as Justice Reynolds remains intolerant toward women, Black people, gay people, immigrants, and the First and Fourteenth Amendments, I will remain intolerant toward him.’ Does the President share that sentiment?”

Vicki’s throat went dry. This wasn’t in her notes. She scrambled to stall. “Uh, well, I—I haven’t, um, seen those remarks in full, but, uh—”

Daniel Klein from CNN pounced. “So you’re saying the White House has no stance on a sitting Supreme Court justice accusing the Chief Justice of intolerance?”

Vicki’s hands fumbled with the stack of papers on the podium. Where the hell is my crisis response memo? “Uh, the President, um, supports respectful discourse among the justices, and—”

Weller cut in. “But do you agree with Justice Simpson? Is Chief Justice Reynolds intolerant toward those groups?”

“I—I wouldn’t, um, characterize it that way—”

Lisa Tran leaned forward. “Then how would you characterize it?”

Vicki let out a short, nervous laugh. “Well, uh, obviously, the President believes in, um, the importance of judicial independence and, uh, robust debate.”

The room wasn’t buying it. The reporters smelled blood.

Klein folded his arms. “So does the White House condemn Justice Simpson’s remarks?”

“I—I wouldn’t say that either,” Vicki stammered.

“So you do agree with him?” Weller fired back.

Vicki’s face burned. “Well, no, I mean—I mean, not exactly—”

Lisa Tran wasn’t letting go. “Then what exactly does the President think? Does he believe the Chief Justice is intolerant?”

Vicki forced a smile, gripping the podium so tightly her knuckles turned white. “Well, um, I think the President believes in, uh, tolerance for all—”

Daniel Klein pounced. “Even for people who are intolerant?”

Vicki blinked rapidly. “Uh—well—I—”

Another reporter shouted, “So you believe Justice Reynolds is intolerant?”

Vicki felt the walls closing in. She flipped through her notes frantically. There was nothing there. Why the hell didn’t anyone warn me about this?

She was drowning.

Lisa Tran delivered the final blow. “Madam Press Secretary, it sounds like you’re trying to say everything and nothing at the same time. Can you give the American people a straight answer?”

Vicki could feel her face heating up, her pulse pounding in her ears. She tried to speak, but nothing came out. Just the sound of her own shallow breathing.

The silence stretched.

A camera clicked. Another. The image of her wide-eyed panic would be on every news site before she even left the podium.

Finally, she let out a shaky breath. “I—I think that’s all for today.”

And with that, she grabbed her notes and fled the podium.

Within minutes, the headlines rolled in.

WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY FLAILS OVER SIMPSON’S REMARKS – The Washington Post

VICKI SMITH FLOUNDERS AS REPORTERS GRILL HER ON CHIEF JUSTICE REYNOLDS – CNN

‘EVERYTHING AND NOTHING’: PRESS SECRETARY FAILS TO EXPLAIN PRESIDENT’S POSITION ON COURT DRAMA – Politico

Cable news played the clip on repeat. Twitter had a field day. The hashtag #VickiMeltdown trended nationally. Late-night hosts were already preparing their jokes.

Inside the White House, a firestorm was raging.

Jason watched the whole thing from his office. Grace sat across from him, scrolling through reactions on her phone.

“She was completely unprepared,” Grace said, shaking her head. “Didn’t see it coming at all.”

Jason took a sip of his coffee. “They should have.”

Grace glanced up at him. “The White House is scrambling. They have no idea how to handle you.”

Jason smirked. “Good.”

She sighed. “You do realize you just forced them to take a side, right?”

Jason nodded. “That was the point.”

She studied him. “You planned this.”

Jason leaned back in his chair. “Grace, you know me well enough by now. I don’t do anything by accident.”

She exhaled, shaking her head. “Well, congratulations. You just dragged the entire White House into a war with the Supreme Court.”

Jason’s smirk widened. “Then let’s see how well they fight.”