International Incident Ch. 07

July 18, 2025

"We interrupt this broadcast for a Special Report from ABS News."

The loud trumpet sound associated with the alert was disturbing, but perhaps not as disturbing as the report that followed.

"Good evening. I'm John Harrington of ABS News. The White House is denying the authenticity of a surveillance tape that has been sent to the New York Times, the Washington Post, ABS News and other major American media outlets. The surveillance tape appears to have been taken from the Lincoln Bedroom in the White House, and appears to show President Mark Robinson in what can only be described as an intensely intimate encounter with First Lady Kylie Maree Connolly-Robinson and Emma O'Donovan, the Editor-in-Chief of Fleet Magazine. Ms. O'Donovan visited the White House over the Fourth of July holiday, the visit occurring shortly after the publication of Ms. O'Donovan's exclusive interview with the First Lady, during which the First Lady described in graphic detail her 2018 encounter with the President, then a New York State Assemblyman--an encounter that resulted in the birth of their son Edward.

"The surveillance tape is far too intense to be shown on the broadcast airwaves, though it has already made its way to social media. If the tape is fabricated, there will be tremendous speculation as to just who is behind such a political dirty trick. If the tape is not fabricated, this will constitute the biggest sex scandal to hit the White House in a generation.

"To repeat, the White House is officially denying the authenticity of a surveillance tape that appears to show an intensity intimate three-way encounter involving President Mark Robinson, First Lady Kylie Maree Connolly-Robinson and Emma O'Donovan of Fleet Magazine. We hope to have more on this story tomorrow night on the ABS Nightly News. Until then, this is John Harrington of ABS News. We now return you to our regularly scheduled program, already in progress."

--

July 19, 2025

The next morning, Mark's old newspaper nemesis, the New York Gazette, featured on its cover a still image from the surveillance tape, showing a nude Kylie and Emma on their knees in front of Mark as he groaned in erotic delight. "GUESS THIS MOMENT COULDN'T WAIT!" screamed the headline, above the subheading: "Prez was ready for the 3:00 A.M. booty call."

The article by veteran Gazette reporter Carol Marchand spared no detail:

"The White House was rocked yesterday by the leak of a stunning surveillance tape apparently showing a freaky July 4th tryst between President Mark Robinson, First Lady Kylie Maree Connolly-Robinson and Emma O'Donovan of Fleet Magazine, whose provocative recent interview with Connolly-Robinson shocked Washington.

"The lengthy video, the authenticity of which has been challenged by the White House, appears to show Robinson and the two divas from Down Under performing an assortment of sex acts. Robinson appears to pay special attention to O'Donovan during the encounter, pleasing her derriere with both his tongue and his penis at various points.

"A segment of the tape appears to show Robinson being anally penetrated with a strap-on device by O'Donovan, as the First Lady cheers; later, both Sydney natives recline on the bed next to each other as Robinson appears to furiously fondle himself until he ejaculates, with semen splashing onto the faces and breasts of both blonde bombshells."

---

July 22, 2025

The press quickly labelled the apparent scandal "Three-gate," and Mark found himself besieged by calls to resign--calls that the President and his advisors desperately tried to ignore, even as numerous technical experts around the world determined that the tape was indeed authentic. Kylie quietly flew to Paddington to stay with Joanna and Edward, refusing to speak to the Australian press, which camped outside of her mother's home every day hoping for a glimpse of the First Lady. Emma, meanwhile, had announced that she would take an indefinite leave of absence from Fleet Magazine; she, too, had grown weary of reporters stalking her to ask about the tape, especially after one reporter from the Associated Press yelled as she exited a coffee shop: "Ms. O'Donovan, the American people want to know: did you peg the President?"

July 28, 2025

The loud, ominous trumpet came through the airwaves again.

"This is an ABS Special Report. Reporting from Washington, John Harrington."

The veteran anchor seemed grim, ashen, troubled.

"Good evening. In just a few moments, we will hear from President Mark Robinson, in his first public statement since the leak earlier this month of a surveillance tape showing him in an intensely intimate encounter with First Lady Kylie Maree Connolly-Robinson and Emma O'Donovan of Fleet Magazine. There is tremendous speculation about what he will say. There have been calls from across the political aisle for President Robinson to resign; the editorial pages of the New York Times and the Washington Post have also called upon the President to step down. As you know, this controversy has captured the attention of the world, and not only because the First Lady and Ms. O'Donovan are both natives of Australia."

John paused.

"We have just received an alert that the President is about to speak. Let's go now to the Oval Office..."

The image of a devastated-looking Mark now filled the screen.

"Good evening," Mark began. "The last few days have been profoundly difficult ones for this nation, and profoundly embarrassing ones for my family. The release of surveillance footage taken from the Lincoln Bedroom on the Fourth of July has resulted in a rather painful moment for me, my family, and this country.

"Let me be clear, and let me settle this particular issue now. The activities captured on the surveillance footage on July 4 did, in fact, happen. The First Lady, Emma O'Donovan and I participated in what we believed to be private intimate activity. We never could have imagined that the world would see the activities we engaged in that evening.

"I believe, and I continue to believe, that the President--who holds the highest position of public service in this country--nevertheless has the right to have a private life. Personally, I am disturbed that the surveillance footage was released, and I consider it to be a severe invasion of my privacy, as well as the privacy of the First Lady and Ms. O'Donovan.

"Nevertheless, it has been made clear to me that this controversy represents an extreme distraction from the effort to achieve my administration's policy goals. These goals are far more important than my own political survival.

Mark paused.

"Therefore, I will resign the Presidency effective at noon Eastern tomorrow. Vice President Cahill will be sworn in as President at that hour in this office.

"I am confident that upon assuming this position, Vice President Cahill will effectively steer this administration towards the achievement of our policy goals--ensuring that all Americans have comprehensive and affordable health care as a right, reducing the plague of gun violence and above all, combating the existential threat posed by climate change.

"This is a painful decision to announce, as you might imagine. In many respects, I feel that I have let down those who voted for me last November, as well as those who did not vote for me but who wished me well in the name of wishing the country well. However, the national interest must come first.

"It is my sincere hope, indeed my sincere prayer, that my resignation will quickly put this controversy behind us. Before I was a President, I was a father, and very soon, my wife and I will have to turn our attention to protecting our son from the consequences of our own actions. That will not be an easy task, but it is a task that will need to be accomplished so that our son is not harmed, emotionally or psychologically, by this controversy.

"My political career may have come to an end, but our great country and its institutions will continue. May God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America."

---

August 4, 2025

"Good evening, and welcome to a very special edition of The Breakdown. I'm your host, Mindy Loeb, and my guest this evening is the former President of the United States, Mark Robinson, along with his wife, former First Lady Kylie Maree Connolly-Robinson. How are both of you doing this evening?"

"I'm doing well," said Mark.

"I'm doing well. Very relieved," said Kylie.

"Thank you. It has been one week since the announcement of your resignation from the White House. I must ask, do you have any regrets about making that decision?"

"None whatsoever," said Mark. "I continue to believe that it was the right thing to do for this country. The controversy surrounding the tape was simply too much of a distraction. We have so many things to accomplish as a nation, and none of those goals could be accomplished so long as this matter continued to dominate the political discourse."

"It has also been one month since the incident that directly led to your resignation, the incident that the press branded 'Three-gate,' the, uh, physical encounter that also involved Emma O'Donovan, who we learned today will soon return as the Editor-in-Chief of Fleet Magazine after taking a brief leave of absence. I'd like to ask if you...well, if you bear any resentment towards Ms. O'Donovan for, in effect, being the catalyst of this political scandal."

"We don't have any resentment towards Emma, none at all," said Kylie. "However, I do have to say--and Mark is too much of a gentleman to say it the way I'm going to--that we are, pardon my language, pissed off by the fact that the surveillance tape was leaked. If I ever found out who leaked that tape..." Kylie could barely compose herself, and Mark rubbed her shoulder to calm her down.

"Speaking of the tape, I'd like to ask about the cultural and political implications of this resignation. Today Miami Herald columnist Malik Williams wrote, 'The fact is that a white President who was caught on tape having sex with two blondes would be viewed as the epitome of masculinity, unlike Robinson, who's now being viewed as the epitome of mendacity.' I'd like to get your response to that column."

"So I can't deal in hypotheticals," said Mark. "I can't speculate as to that. All I know is that this controversy had to end. The American people deserve strong, focused, effective leadership--the sort of leadership I believe President Cahill can now provide this country."

Mindy paused. "Well, that brings up what may be a touchy subject. There is, as you probably know by now, some Beltway speculation that the tape, the surveillance footage, was leaked by

White House officials who are loyal to former Vice President, and now current President, Jonathan Cahill. The belief is that these officials wanted Cahill in the Oval Office because they support the Helping the Homeland Act, the legislation introduced in Congress earlier this year that would radically expand the use of facial recognition technology and other surveillance schemes by the federal government. These officials apparently feared that you would veto the bill, and they believe President Cahill would be more likely to sign it into law. What's your take on that?"

"Wouldn't surprise me," Kylie muttered, her words barely captured by the studio microphones.

"Well..." Mark paused. "Uh, certainly President Cahill and I had our policy differences, differences we discussed prior to my decision to select him as my running mate. I know he was quite vocal on national-security issues when he was a Congressman. However, I can't buy the idea that there was some kind of setup involved to get me to resign and have him replace me as President. John's not the kind of person to do that sort of thing."

Kylie flashed a skeptical look so quickly Mindy didn't even notice it.

"So what's next for the two of you? Zoe Wasserman of the New York Times had a story over the weekend about an effort by some of your former Senate staffers to encourage you to run for governor of New York next year. Is that on your mind?"

"No," Mark replied. "Right now, the only thing on my mind is being the best husband I can be to my wife and the best father I can be to my son. If I can be successful in both of those efforts, I'll be a happy man."

"Former President Mark Robinson and former First Lady Kylie Maree Connolly-Robinson, thank you again for joining us this evening."

"Thank you," Mark quietly replied.

"Thank you, Mindy," Kylie added.

"We'll be back right after this commercial break."