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Reporting live from downtown New Orleans,

where the biggest political scandal in recent memory continues to unfold. Sex,

scandal, heat, passion, politics, and espionage. Of course,

I'm talking about the Johnson-Wheaton affair. Well, the jury has said guilty.

Here we come. Great accent.

I'd say you spent your early childhood here, ages eight, no, no,

five through eight, maybe nine.

Maybe.

Maybe.

We're supposed to believe Johnson had no knowledge of this activity? Well,

I say bull. This is how it all started. Caught on tape.

The man got caught with his finger, or something, in the pie.

Now we're here to prove that the good senator is not involved in any way, shape,

or form. How could the senator not be involved?

All evidence compiled by the CIA points to Melissa Wheaton, not Senator Johnson.

His mistress is convicted of espionage, selling classified documents,

chemical weapon formulas to those crazy Iraqis. He's being used by this woman.

Today, after Melissa Wheaton's conviction,

we caught up with the senator's estranged wife,

and Haley Rogers Johnson had this to say.

Look, I love my husband, but it's hard, you know, to forgive.

Will this kill the senator's chances for re-election?

Good night, Nicky. Bye-bye.

So long. We did good.

There's a lot we can sink our teeth into on this one.

The press, politics, the soul for a sow.

Hello, New Orleans.

Hello, Smith. Right.

I'm Mr. Smith, but that's not my real name.

I'm Mrs. Smith, but that's not my real name either.

You see, we're spies.

But let's face it, this name thing, couldn't it get a little confusing?

People might think we're married.

That's okay. As long as you don't.

Well, whoever framed your daughter Melissa did one hell of a job.

Money transferred from Iraqi government accounts into Melissa's personal accounts.

Phone calls to Iraq from her apartment, and the list goes on.

Lives ever last one of them.

Before they sent it, say, you got to prove that she didn't do it.

Did she tell you she didn't do it?

Well, no, we don't speak.

Been two years since June...

Ooh, there you go. Ooh, look at these cute little critters.

Great place you have here, Mr. Wheaton.

Walter, please. And you should see it when it's open, darling. It jumps.

Why don't you and Melissa speak?

Oh, she went wild on me. It started back in high school. I put up with it for years.

Started messing around with that Elway Johnson after the final straw.

Then why are you helping her now?

Because she's my daughter. Melissa may have done a lot wrong in her life,

but I know she would never betray her country.

She's not some sorry lowlife spy.

No offense.

Well, Walter, these are incredible. Thank you.

Well, you're missing out on the best part, darling. That's right.

The proper way to eat a crawdaddy is to bite

off a head and then suck out the middle.

Now, what is in the stuffing?

Entrance.

Excuse me?

Considered a delicacy here in the South.

Okay, well, I'm stuffed.

I hate you all. It feels good to laugh.

That's the first time I've laughed since this mess with Melissa hit the fan.

Walter, we're going to find who framed Melissa,

and then we're going to bring him down.

With the false identities that the factory set up for us, as spin-dactives,

along with our trusted assistant Rox here,

we'll be able to sniff around and see what's going on inside the senator's office.

You're telling me I can get re-elected in the midst of all this collusion?

Yeah, it just seems like such a long shot.

Gentlemen, gentlemen, long shots are our forte.

We got Ann Richards elected when the Republicans exposed her

past alcohol and marijuana use the first time she ran.

I didn't realize you worked for Governor Richards.

Behind the scenes, low profile. A good spin doctor is invisible.

Carolyn, has anyone ever told you that...

You're a very beautiful woman.

Oh, yes, sir.

And I never trust their motives.

Well, look here. Y'all, this is my secretary, Beth,

who is both a lovely to look at and the best cook this side of Mississippi.

And I type, too. Y'all help yourselves to some of my homemade cinnamon rolls.

Just don't eat too many, or you'll end up with these.

Excuse me, I got a little agita from the spicy food down here.

I was wondering if you got some Atlanta something.

Oh, well, bless your heart. Come with me.

So, Senator, how is it that Melissa Wheaton

could steal classified defense documents?

There's a medicine cabinet in the break room,

right around the corner there. Thank you.

Well, as you know, I'm on the defense committee,

so I have access to all the documents. Well,

this stole them right out of that seat there.

The fingerprints were all over this office.

We used to come up here to, uh... You know.

Senator kept the combination in his wallet.

Like a damn fool.

I got a memory like a goat, and she stole them when, uh, well, when duty called.

Damn, you are a handsome woman.

You know, Senator, it's talk like that that got you in this mess in the first place.

Let's watch it, okay?

I'll go check on Rox.

She's got spunk, doesn't she? In droves.

I have a lag spunk.

Call me Beth.

You watch that snake. Excuse me?

Elway Johnson will charm the pants off of you and then toss you away. I know.

I've been there.

Your friend went to the break room around the corner to the left.

Thank you.

Afternoon, ladies.

We'll call a press conference.

Senator asked for forgiveness.

Sounds like a plan.

You know that prostitute that was about to be stoned by the crowd?

I didn't touch her, no.

Christ stopped the stoning by saying, he who is without sin casts the first stone.

John 7, 8.

Amen.

So you ask the people, and then your beloved wife, Haley Rogers Johnson,

to forgive you, and then beg her to take you back.

That'll never happen.

I mean, Mrs. Johnson is very upset with the senator.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

Oh, bitch.

Remind me to kill you later. What are you doing

here? Videotaping personnel files. Come with me.

You tape best files.

This is a voice stress analyzer.

It measures the levels of stress to see if someone is lying.

See, watch.

Mrs. Smith is a warm-hearted, sweet, lovely person.

You see, that's a lie. That's very cute.

But you gotta trust me, because I'm here to help you.

Elway Johnson sat up on that witness stand and said he was shocked at what I did,

that I used him, used him. All I ever did was fall in love with that man.

I did not sell anything to anyone from Iraq.

She's telling the truth.

Listen.

Do you think the senator set you up?

I don't know. Why would he do that?

Money.

Maybe. The amount of money in your account wasn't overwhelming

considering the nature of these documents.

We have a Framed, you must have pocketed the rest.

And all that evidence that they found in my apartment, I've never seen any of it.

Truth again.

When was the last time you spoke to your daddy?

Two years ago.

I have continued to disappoint my daddy my entire life.

Do you know what that's like?

My daddy was proud of me no matter what I did.

I got lucky.

Truth.

Must be nice.

Hey. Hey.

First it rains, then it's hot and humid.

God, I love New Orleans.

So what's going on?

Oh, my dear God.

What?

Uh, nothing. Um, work, work, work.

Oh, look at this.

What? I've been running credit card records

for everybody out of the senator's office.

I mean, you want to know somebody, find out where they spend their money.

Looks like the senator's been spending every

Thursday night at the Chateau Milan from 207.

So maybe that's where he and Melissa shacked up.

Could be.

Look at this.

We got three phone calls to Iraq from the hotel right before Melissa was arrested.

Why would he be so careless?

More importantly, why has the senator been there

every Thursday since Melissa was arrested?

Well, it's Thursday. Let's find out.

Aren't you a little overly concerned about Melissa and her father reuniting?

Aren't you a little overly concerned with how I'm doing my job?

I knew you grew up down here.

I know you did.

James?

It's the senator's wife.

Well, hello there.

Ignoring the truth, these crawdaddies ain't half bad.

So what do you think this little liaison we just

witnessed has to do with Melissa Wheaton?

Ah, woman scorn, vengeance, what's good for the

goose, basic human crap, blah, blah, blah.

Yeah, but in the same place,

in the same hotel room where her husband had the affair. I mean,

that is plain sick. Hot sauce?

No, you go ahead.

Good.

I mean, maybe the senator got sick of Melissa

and wanted to get rid of her once and for all.

You better go easy on that stuff, Brock.

Maybe it was Beth.

Beth? Betty Crocker of the South, Beth?

She's not as pleasant as she seems.

You should have heard her spewing venom about the senator.

Seems he had this torrid affair years ago. He dumped her, and she's still busy.

Well, she does have access to his safe where the documents were kept.

Don't you think she'd go after the center, though, and not his mistress?

See, I'm real confused.

Yeah.

Oh, my.

Oh, sir. It's hot. I'm sorry. Wait.

Hot.

Hot. Hot. I told you.

Man, that is so pretty.

What is it about jazz, heat, New Orleans?

Don't you feel an amazing amount of passion down here?

Passion.

Yeah.

Passion.

Haven't really thought much about passion lately. You ever want to with your rocks?

So you want me to reunite with Elway publicly at a press conference?

Right.

I'm not sure you realize how much that man truly hates me.

Honey, there have been 17 mistresses that I know of.

I know that there are.

Since we've been married.

Thank you, Ken. I've covered for him. I've looked the other way. I mean,

I'm no saint myself, but whatever I've done, I've been driven to do.

Once I even left my own House,

when I heard him in my bed with another woman and I didn't say a word. Not one word.

Bastard.

But now I have been publicly humiliated in front of the nation,

in front of people who once loved and trusted me.

They took that away from me.

And I don't give a damn if Elway Johnson gets re-elected,

or for that matter, what he does at all.

I just want my life back.

Men, may I ask you a personal question?

You can always ask.

Well, the press has indicated that you and the senator both grew up poor.

That's true.

But it seems to me the two of you live pretty

high on the hog for a senator's salary.

I mean, the house, the cars, the servants.

Yes.

What are you implying?

I'm asking you if you think your husband is capable of selling

government documents and setting his mistress up for the fall.

Yes.

Elway would do anything for money.

So much like Jackie O. Melissa, I need you to think.

Now, was there anybody, James, Beth,

anyone in the senator's office that you came in contact with? No.

Who could have gotten into your apartment, had access to your bank account,

your social security number, that kind of thing?

I can't remember.

No.

It had to be him.

Elway.

He's the only one.

Why would he? Oh, God.

Oh, God, I can't. I can't stand it.

I can't think straight.

I'm gonna be sentenced to life in prison in seven days.

We're not gonna let that happen.

And I'm going crazy in here.

Look at me.

Look at me.

I'm not gonna let that happen, okay?

Okay.

I realized something today.

I did it to get back at Daddy.

The affairs and going wild.

I did it to get back at him for not being there after Mama died.

Always busy, always away.

How old were you when your Mama died?

Almost four.

I still remember her, though.

We used to make brownies together.

I got to lick the spoon.

I'm sure that your daddy wants Well, it's best for you.

Yeah, but I needed him. Now, I know that he's just so mad.

But you know what?

So am I. Melissa's gonna be sentenced in six days. She's not doing well.

Not at all.

How do you know that?

I went to visit her today. She's really down.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Why didn't you tell us you went to see her? We're a team.

We should have known that.

Right, Rox? Hey, I'm staying out of this one.

Look, I just think it's important for Walter to speak to his only daughter.

That's all. It's important to our case.

Hey, it's important to you, not the case. Admit it.

Okay, fine.

I admit it.

It's important to me that they reunite, all right? They're family.

Family should be together.

Don't you believe... What?

I'm wasting my breath. I'm going for a walk.

I do believe somebody's got some issues.

He's wrong and he knows it.

You gonna follow him again?

Of course.

Daniel Reeves.

Okay, so let me get this straight.

You want me to participate in your effort to learn

more about the personal life of your partner,

which is clearly a violation of factory rules, right?

Well, yeah.

Okay, Colonel Daniel Reeves.

Aha! New Orleans native died in 1965.

I knew it! It's his dad, I was right.

He spent the only part of his childhood in New Orleans.

That's why his accent's so good.

So that means his father died when he was like...

I got so sad when he was like four.

When his father was 93 years old? Eh.

What is it? From our Iraqi operatives, I don't know.

Wait, a call was made from New Orleans today.

More chemical formulas have been promised $500,000 to be paid.

I think they'll be stolen at the press conference tomorrow.

And Melissa's in jail, so it ain't her.

Rox, honey, it's time to catch a rat.

Yeah.

Can you crack the safe and then I'll assemble the camera? Good.

Evening, Senator. We was just finishing up. Excuse us.

Fine, no problem.

Lovely picture of your wife.

Sir.

What I'm asking, dear people, is for forgiveness.

Christ forgave sinners of all sins.

I was wrong.

So where'd you go last night while we were working?

Out.

You got anything, Rox?

Nope, not yet.

Besides, what are you complaining about? I stayed up all night writing this speech.

Forgive me, just a moment.

Let us all not forget the Bible, John 7.

Yeah, well, it's a little too Jimmy Swaggart if you ask me.

Hey, why don't you guys kiss and make up, okay?

Shut up. Oh, baby, come to mama. Come on, baby, come on.

It's James.

We got a rat.

I think we know who the real criminal is.

Which brings us closer to proving Melissa's innocence.

So what's a ho-no? We need concrete evidence.

What we have right now is James Thomas, the senator's assistant.

Caught him on tape stealing documents from the senator's office.

The same kind of classified chemical weapons formula

that your daughter supposedly sold to the Iraqis.

Right, our contact in Iraq told us that an exchange

is about to be made soon for $500,000.

Why don't you just follow and nab this James? That's our plan.

We planted a homing device on James.

I know you do, and I agree with you that it's a problem.

Installed it in identical eyeglasses, same prescription, everything,

and I made the switcheroo.

Rox is monitoring him now.

Rox?

Where's James now?

He's eating breakfast at Lou's Diner. In fact,

we planted homing devices on the senator and his entire staff just for good measure.

So when James sells the documents, we'll be there.

And if anyone else is involved, we'll have a 20 on them, too.

Beth's at Walmart, the senator's on his way to his office,

and James is walking to his car.

Here's the thing. We're not sure now that James is the only culprit.

We were thrown a little bit of a curve this morning. What's that?

It seems the senator might be involved in framing Melissa as well.

Rox and I verified a secret bank account. Under an alias, of course,

but it all traces right back to the senator.

Looks like he might be willing to jeopardize

his career for the right price after all.

How much?

Five million in the past year.

Greedy son of a bitch.

Deposits all made within one or two days of the deposits made in Melissa's account.

Yo, Smith.

James is at the Chateau Moulin.

Yeah, Rox.

Let's go.

I saw your daughter yesterday.

She wants to talk to you.

She does.

Well, I don't want to talk to her.

You know, life is way too short, Walter.

Nice pecs, huh?

Ooh, and look at those abs. Ooh, yummy.

Yummy.

Yeah, right. If you like that cute, young, hard body type face.

Boxer briefs.

Very sexy.

Girls, please, can we keep our minds on the job here?

Okay, okay, we'll focus, okay?

Yeah, right.

Men. Hate them.

Put it down. It's just me.

I can't sleep. My room's blazing.

Mine too.

Want a soda? I got some on ice.

Sure.

What's on your mind?

Nothing.

You know, just the case.

Case?

Case.

Yeah.

And I was a little worried about you.

Worried about me?

And I thought if you wanted to talk, you know.

I mean, this whole Walter and Melissa reconciling fixation.

I just thought there was something that you were

dealing with since we've been in New Orleans, and you're hurt.

And I was concerned, and I thought if you needed

someone to talk to, I could listen and help.

Well, you know what I think?

What?

I think that you followed me last night,

and what you're really doing here is just trying

to put together a few more pieces to your Mr. Smith puzzle.

I followed you?

Yeah, and you're getting a little sloppy.

Sloppy?

There was no way that you... Aha!

You, you are really starting to annoy me.

So what do you want to know?

Did I live in New Orleans? Yeah, I did.

From age four to eight.

What else?

What about Colonel Daniel Reeves?

You want to know about him? Sure you do.

He was my neighbor, and he died when he was 93 years old. Your neighbor, huh?

He didn't have any family left, and our family kind of adopted him.

He used to come over in the rain, tell me war stories.

Felt like I was there.

And then we'd walk to Cross Drugstore, and...

Get six hamburgers for a buck.

And eat every last one of them.

Then one day, the colonel didn't come.

And my mama said that he'd left, and...

He was never going to come back.

I didn't understand. I went running outside in the rain.

I ended up pounded on his front door, hurt and angry and crying.

Of course, years later, I realized that...

The colonel had died. And last night, I finally got to say goodbye.

Hey, you're not getting emotional on me, are you?

No, of course not.

I think it's great that you had such a wonderful childhood.

Thanks for the soda.

JT, can you tell me, are the Senator and his wife going to reconcile?

Y'all know everything in about 15 minutes. Now, if you'll excuse me.

Give me an exclusive of OP-12. See ya, Nick.

He still got a 20 on James?

In the building.

Well, it's a happy day in New Orleans. My dear, sweet Haley has taken me back,

and Carolyn, she gives you credit for convincing her.

Really? I made a pound cake to celebrate. Haley,

try a piece of my pound cake. Oh, no.

Well, Beth, honey. Rox?

James isn't here. I'll have it after this side show's over with.

Will do.

That woman's a living saint.

Can we just get on with this, please?

I'm a little bit nervous.

Should we wait for James to get back?

But James left about five minutes ago and went home with a stomach bug.

Oh, look, James left his glasses. You know I better

run catch him. He shouldn't be driving.

You know what? I'll do it. I'm faster.

Well, come on, honey.

Let's put this show on the road. Now, you'll

be good now, yeah? Oh, you look good now.

Rox. Yeah?

James left his glasses in the senator's office.

He left the building five minutes ago. See if you can spot him.

Okay, okay, he's headed for the parking garage across the street.

Over there.

They're making the exchange. Time for a little documentation.

We won't have to. We got everything on tape.

Let's get up.

We can't let Iraq have chemical formulas.

But our job... Forget our job.

We got responsibilities.

I got James.

Give it up, James!

with an exclusive from Hard Edition. Today,

Senator Elway Johnson's assistant was the target of a bomb.

James Thomas' car exploded and was blown to smithereens. Yeah.

Yeah.

And is recuperating at his home as the bombing is being investigated by the FBI.

I spoke exclusively earlier today with Senator Johnson's consultant and advisor,

J.T. Rollins. Here's what he had to say.

James Thomas is at his home.

He will cooperate fully with the police and the FBI as

soon as he is mentally and physically able to do so.

He knows who's responsible and he is willing to talk.

Well, Nicky Darbo finally got his exclusive.

That's Nicky Darbo.

Our edition.

James had a pretty nice house, huh? Mm-hmm.

All right, ready?

I'm ready.

You got a jack?

Go fish.

Yep.

Rat in the trap. Rat in the trap. Ready, Mr. Smith?

Oh my God, it's Betty Crocker after all.

And I bet there ain't no casserole in that dish.

Wait, wait, wait, Beth's leaving.

Look.

The back door.

Right in the house, right in the house. I'm on my way.

I was hoping it wasn't you.

It's over.

No, no, no, no, no, it's not over. It can't be. I mean, you said they loved me then.

I mean, don't you see, they'll all turn against Elway now, and they'll elect me.

That man took my life away.

I could have had it all. I mean, I won one, two. You know,

that election a long time ago. I won that one.

And he didn't deserve it.

I mean, see, God used me as his instrument to destroy him.

Because Elway doesn't care about the people I care.

The people need someone who cares,

not someone who's cheating on his rights or whores.

As long as we can get a little toy.

No!

It's not over.

It can't be over.

A bizarre twist today in the Senator Elway Johnson sex espionage scandal,

although the senator was never indicted.

So Haley Rogers Johnson basically went crazy.

Haley Rogers Johnson was arrested for the murder of James Thomas,

Senator Johnson's assistant who was killed in a car bombing.

So she seduced James to do her dirty work instead of Melissa,

which in turn would bring down the senator.

And when James got greedy and went back and sold to the Iraqis, she panicked.

She knew that was sending a red flag that it

wasn't Melissa because Melissa was in jail.

Melissa Wheaton was released today from the county jail, vindicated of all charges.

Connie Roberts, CBS News.

So Haley went back to Elway and killed James,

thinking that no one would know about her involvement in framing Melissa.

I remember that election that Haley won.

It was justice and the peace and the mechanics.

She and Elway were law school sweethearts. They both

wanted political careers, but then his took off.

And everyone forgot about hers.

What about that five mil in the senator's bank account?

Her account was a joint account with Haley. She set up the offshoot.

The senator didn't even know it existed.

Haley even passed our lie detector test.

Before she was released, but I was too late.

She's a smart girl. She'll be all right now.

Thanks a bunch for your help.

She's doing her job.

Oh.

Hey, Smith!

Well, look what I found. This is Billy Joe,

and he is from Texas. Man, they grow big.

Nice to meet you, Billy.

Daddy?

Baby?

Same feeling I got when Jackie O died.

Billy Joe, sweep me off my feet.

Yeah. I think I just felt it.

Yeah, me too.

Hugging each other all through the night Each time I see you,

I tell you I can Tell you I loved you when you were there You tell me how.