88 (2022) Movie Script

1
[military band music]
[Harold on speaker]
I was seven years old
when I started
my first business,
selling ice cream
out of my father's truck.
He taught me about self...
...about identity.
I was the first person
in my family to go to college.
My great-grandfather
was a slave.
My grandfather and father
worked at this factory
behind me
for a barely livable wage.
Under the weight of Jim Crow,
Dad refused to be a victim.
I remember...
...the night my dad died...
...at peace,
because he knew
he put that fight in me.
So, who am I?
I am the architect
of my destiny,
and I wanna give every American
an opportunity
to be all they can be
to make a stronger hold.
A stronger America.
A year ago,
folks said this campaign
didn't stand a chance,
but they forgot one thing.
This is America.
Everybody has got a chance.
You hate my cooking that much.
I got in late.
I didn't wanna wake you.
Now that is the third time
this week.
You know you can't push yourself
too hard.
-It's part of your recovery.
-What's wrong?
-Uh-uh. You know what's wrong.
-What's wrong?
[chuckles softly] Boy,
don't play with me.
You've never made love
to a sweaty homeless man before.
-Mm.
-Oh, see, you have.
-I know you dirty. Was it good?
-[laughs]
-Come on.
-You're a mess, okay?
Get yourself ready
for breakfast, please,
so you can eat real food.
[soft tense music]
-[button clicks]
-[line ringing]
[Ira]
Hello. You have reached
the great and powerful
Ira Goldstein.
Disregard the man
behind the curtain.
-Leave a message.
-[phone beeps]
Hey, it's me.
I need you to check
something out for me.
I am sending it
to your email now.
Thanks, bud.
Oh, and change
that awful voice greeting.
[scoffs] Peace.
[Ola]
The video game
is way beyond you.
-Way beyond me? And so--
-Yes.
-You won't understand.
-Our son is very smart.
-Apparently, I'm not ready.
So, please, uh...
-Yeah.
...w-- which shall we
move on to?
What's the, the,
the elementary subject
that you're going
to bestow upon me?
Well, let's talk
about football, huh?
-I don't know about that.
Football?
-Mom, I got practice--
Oh, no. He's got, he's got
the strength. He's got it.
-You got the hands for football.
-Yeah.
You're too smart
for all this toast. Come on.
-That's my man.
-You are shameful.
[laughs]
-Damn it.
-Hmm?
Mortgage applications.
The numbers don't add up.
Mm.
Mm.
-I hate you.
-Dad, we still gonna get
my costume after school?
Ah! I gotta work, champ.
Tomorrow?
-You said that yesterday.
-I know. Um--
Yeah, we need to talk
about that. [clears throat]
About what?
That whole Wakanda theme.
Maria, it is just
a birthday party.
Really?
Wonder Woman fought the Hun.
Captain America, the Nazis.
Iron man, basically Al-Qaeda.
But the Negroes?
Nah, we ain't fighting
British colonizers,
American slavers,
Portuguese, French, nope.
-We're fighting ourselves.
-It's just a movie.
Wakanda can cure
a spinal injury in a day
but can't help Africans
right next to them.
Cure malaria, yellow fever,
typhoid, sickle cell, HIV.
And where were y'all
during slavery and colonialism?
Oh, we hiding. We don't wanna
change our way of life.
[scoffs] And when you do
reveal yourselves,
you give your tech to the UN,
not Africa.
Or God forbid, you make
your own Vibranium bad currency
and wipe away African debt.
But Killmonger is the bad guy
because he's specifically
fighting for Black folks,
and to a child, he's a hero
because he's talking Kumbaya?
It made a billion dollars.
For who?
[sighs]
You wanna do
Star Wars this year instead?
-[phone vibrates]
-You can meet Lando.
-Shit.
-Dad, no cursing.
-That's 50 cents.
-Ah, come on.
Extortion. [clears throat]
But I got you a dollar, mm,
so I got credit.
All right, champ.
-Have a good day.
-Mm-hmm. Hmm.
[sighs]
-Ha. Come on now.
-Oh, see?
-Snap. [laughs]
-That's why I don't need
to do Wakanda.
-"Wakanda forever."
-Yeah, like he said,
"Wakanda forever."
-Sit down
and eat your breakfast.
-[Femi] That's my boy.
[chuckles] Goodbye. We love you.
-Love you too.
-Bye.
[soft tense music]
[woman on radio]
I mean, I just wanna know
where he got
almost 40 million
in campaign financing
before declaring
he was even running.
[man on radio]
You're not implying
that the super PAC,
the board chairmanship
of which he resigned
the day before he announced,
might be coordinating
with the campaign, are you?
[woman chuckles]
This is crazy.
Where's the regulation?
We got dark money flooding in
from everywhere,
-and--
-[man] So, if he wins
the nomination,
you won't watch
his acceptance speech?
[woman]
Ugh. I just threw up
in my mouth, America.
Everyone's for sale.
I'm telling you,
it's the end of days.
Over.
[military band music]
[background chatter]
-Should we go--
-Excuse me.
These were for yesterday
-Oh, my goodness. I am so sorry.
-No worries.
-Good morning.
Thank you so much.
-No problem.
[mouthing] Thank you.
Yes, I know it's a lot of money.
No, no, there are no limits.
You're not donating
directly to the campaign.
[stutters] Hold on.
Our manager just walked in.
How about I transfer you?
All right.
Mr. Bergson, worried about IRS.
Got him for 75,000.
You're the manager.
Mr. Bergson, how are you?
I hear you're having
some concerns
regarding your very
generous contribution.
[Ali]
You were there?
You were at the game?
How did-- That's awesome.
Uh, yeah. Got you down for 150.
Forwarding over the forms
for the wire transfer right now.
It's the Johnson Amendment.
You're a church,
so we can't take your money.
[chuckles] Yes, it's a lot.
[pen clicking]
[background chatter continues]
Boy, you got the whole
shooting match here, huh?
Don't mind me.
I'm just making my rounds.
I envy you, you know.
Enthusiasm.
Says the man who's never worked
a losing campaign in 30 years.
You wanna know the secret?
Never choose from here.
Maybe that's the problem, Fred.
May I?
Sure.
Good morning-- Thank you.
You're a lifesaver.
Cancel my 10:15 call, okay?
Maybe reschedule it to 2:00.
Hey, Aggie.
Have you looked in a mirror?
I need to talk to you.
-We have a team meeting.
-I need to talk to you.
[sighs]
I've been analyzing
contributions to our super PAC
and created an algorithm
to track where we should
focus our fundraising.
And it's working. You've blown
through our projections.
I'd love to take credit,
but not this time.
Uh, we've had
a massive spike in donations
from Independence.NYC
and Future Moving Frontiers,
the nonprofit social welfare
groups we've been working with.
I wanted to know why their input
to our super PAC
had quadrupled
over the last six months.
So, I checked out
their donation reports.
-[scoffs]
-What?
I had the time. Check it.
I started to see patterns
in the individual donations.
-Patterns?
-Addends.
Uh, combinations of numbers.
Uh, see these highlighted ones?
They're all addends
of the same number.
What number?
Eighty-eight.
That's why you dragged me here?
[sighs] Look, uh,
I know you said
to these nonprofits
to get around the FEC.
-It's the game. I get it.
-[sighs]
These, these are contributions
into Independence.NYC
and Future Moving Frontiers
over the last six months.
Now, take this donation
and add the digits
taking the cents
as a two-digit number.
Seven, nine, five, sixty-seven.
Seven and nine is sixteen.
-Eighty-eight.
-And look, hundreds of donations
a day for, for months.
Each adding up to 88,
just different permutations.
[sighs]
Whoever's doing this,
they're masking their donations
through the nonprofits,
packaging them
and then sending them to us
as larger sums.
We, we don't care
about the original source,
and the nonprofits
don't have to report to the FEC
due to their 501(c)(4) status.
-Are you taking
the team meeting?
-Yeah, I'll be right there.
I swiped your keys
this morning, by the way.
Yeah, I know.
Hi, how are you?
-Could these numbers
be coincidence?
-[exhales]
75% of the funds in our accounts
are packages
from Independence.NYC
and Future Moving Frontiers.
Packages containing
these coded donations.
Let me call the guys over there.
Just give them a heads-up.
Hey, I gave you a chance
when no one else would.
Please don't make me
look like an asshole.
[stutters]
[soft triumphant music]
Good morning, everyone.
This is it, folks.
Almost a year of work.
But a month from now,
the train leaves the station
in Iowa.
[applause]
[softly] New guys.
I see we have some new faces.
This is Fred Fowlkes, my new
deputy executive director.
He's run too many campaigns
to mention,
and he is a fantastic resource.
Sahar is our
committee research director.
She's also my wife.
So, if you see her on a mad rant
at me, it's all love.
Femi Jackson,
our financial director.
I'm sure the other veterans
will make you feel welcome,
so you can hit
the ground running.
I spent, um, two decades
in advertising.
So, I've created a space
that will inspire,
and our staff
reflects our diverse ethos.
We even have an atheist.
She's the one
with the ad agency,
-and I'm the atheist, right?
-[chuckles]
[laughter]
We are one USA.
We have raised more money faster
than any other Democratic
super PAC this election cycle,
and we won't slow down
until Harold Roundtree
is in the White House.
[cheering and applauding]
Guys...
...you make an impact
with every donor
that you commit to our cause.
We're more than suits and ties.
We're part of a movement.
[narrator] Citizens United
versus the Federal
Election Commission.
When it comes
to campaign finance,
this Supreme Court ruling's
the big kahuna.
This is Grandpa.
Let's just say
he came into a bit of money
and wants to donate,
anonymously of course,
to Grandson Louie's campaign.
This guy is from the
Federal Election Committee.
FEC.
He takes old Grandpa's details
and keeps him
to the donation limits,
so, you know,
rich people
can't just buy elections.
But Louie needs
old Grandpa's money,
and without it
hitting the front pages.
This is a nonprofit.
They have an awesome
force field called 501(c)(4).
The Citizens United ruling
allowed nonprofits
to campaign for candidates
as a form of free speech
as long as it wasn't
their main gig.
But Louie needs
a dedicated campaign machine
if he's gonna win.
Meet super PAC,
aka Political Action Committee,
campaigning
for the highest bidder
with powers field by money,
and the nonprofits
can launder it like detergent.
-It's Grandpa's lucky day.
-[laughing evilly]
And with that force field,
it's like he never existed.
-Hmm?
-Now the nonprofits,
not Grandpa,
gives the money to super PAC
without Grandpa's identity.
And just like that,
the candidate with the biggest,
baddest super PAC wins.
[evil laugh]
Creative.
My son sent it to me
on Instagram.
-You're on Instagram?
-[chuckles]
Citizens United
really screwed things up, huh?
Super PACs are just a tool.
It depends on how you use them.
The One USA
for Roundtree super PAC
changed the game
for your campaign.
Well, they've been incredible,
and I thank them
for their efforts.
You know they work closely
with Independence.NYC
and Future Moving Frontiers,
-both registered
social welfare groups, right?
-Okay.
Independence.NYC
and Future Moving Frontiers
allegedly donate over two-thirds
of the money they raise...
...to the One USA
for Roundtree super PAC,
who in turn run ads
supporting your campaign.
I can't really comment
on an organization
I'm not involved with.
[Ron]
Yeah, but you were chairman
of this super PAC
until you announced
you were running,
and they became
your biggest supporters.
One USA continues
to do great work
in low-income communities
across the country.
Low-income communities
in Iowa, New Hampshire
-and South Carolina?
-[chuckles]
That's where they focused
expenditure the last six months.
Primarily on ads
for your campaign.
Is it just a coincidence
that these are early
primary destinations?
I believe it was Einstein
that said
"Coincidence is God's way
of remaining anonymous."
-They won't let up on him, huh?
-Hmm.
[Ron]
You know, social welfare groups
can keep identities
of donors secret
from voters and the FEC.
That means that anyone
can influence the process
with complete impunity.
-Donor spreadsheets.
-Look at the state of my desk.
-It is going for 100 grand
a square inch. PDF?
-[chuckles]
[Harold]
I have always been
against money in politics.
Campaign finance reform
is high on my agenda.
So, I hear you haven't
been sleeping lately.
Maria, she worries.
[background chatter]
"Stop Asian hate?"
Never figured you
for an activist.
Not activism. It's life.
Wasn't that whole thing
years ago?
Wasn't slavery years ago?
Okay, you know
it's not the same.
Besides, y'all are like
the model immigrants.
-Careful.
-Yo, that's a compliment.
[scoffs] Yeah, often followed
by ridicule, gaslighting,
and minimizing of abuse,
but please continue.
-Wow. Okay.
-[scoffs] Hey, I just don't want
my grandmother
getting punched in the face
when she goes
to the grocery store.
Of course,
but I, I don't get it.
Like, didn't y'all
get reparations?
I'm Korean, Femi, not Japanese.
Okay, okay,
but you all came here by choice.
Slaves didn't.
The anti-Asian hate bill,
it passed on its first attempt.
We've been driving past
the anti-lynching bill
for a hundred fucking years,
and it's been rejected,
what, 200 times.
You want us to apologize
'cause we took care of business.
No, man, but...
I'm just tired
of everybody whining, okay?
You, you know your people can be
some of the most racist.
-Not, not you.
-I know.
I'm one of the good ones.
[sighs] Y'all out here,
following us around stores,
whitening your skin.
-Taking us off of movie posters,
and everything's all cool...
-[sighs]
...till you get bit in the ass,
and then you wanna call Tyrone
to come protest with y'all.
-Oh, my God, I sound like...
-[both] Maria.
[laughs]
Racists are just like assholes.
Everybody's got them,
every race, every culture,
but the good news is
there's more people like
you and me in this world.
I don't see a Black man
in front of me. I see a brother.
Still count your days?
Four thousand fifty-five.
-So on.
-[chuckles]
You know this guy
we're stumping for?
Roundtree?
He gave this speech
at some factory
in his hometown last year.
My kind of language, you know?
Accountability.
Made me feel like I could
will myself
out of the pit I was in.
Inspiration comes
from the weirdest places.
What was yours?
-Kermit.
-The frog?
It's a long story,
but involves a hooker,
a dozen lines a blow,
of Adder vodka,
and the Muppet Show.
-[laughs]
-O-- Okay.
-[phone vibrates]
-The wife.
-Ah.
-Hey.
[soft tense music]
W-- What?
-[indistinct shouting]
-[man on laptop] Do not resist.
Get on the ground!
Get on the ground!
Do not resist me!
Do not resist me!
[indistinct shouting]
[gunshots]
[people screaming]
-[horn honking]
-[laptop button clicks]
[School Principal on phone]
Mr. Jackson?
I'm here.
Just got through it.
Ola was showing that
to students
during the morning math class.
[scoffs] Kids, huh? Uh, YouTube.
What can you do?
He told a female classmate
that cops kill Black boys.
He said they're gonna
get her brother next.
-She's been in tears
all morning.
-I'm sure he was just trying--
Your son had Black Lives Matter
written all over his desk.
We don't allow cell phones
in the classroom,
and the fourth grade's no place
for political activism.
I'm sure someone
in your position
would understand.
-My position?
-It's election year.
You're neck-deep in a campaign.
And as Principal,
I can't have this kind of thing
at my school.
It doesn't look good
for either of us.
Ola's one of our brightest.
I'm sure
we have an understanding.
We do.
[sighs]
[videogame music on TV]
[Femi sighs]
You know, your mom and I
aren't mad about what happened.
[game stops]
But we do need to talk.
[sighs] I don't get
what the big deal is.
Everybody already saw the video.
The Principal said
you really upset
one of the girls in class.
I showed it to Tamika because
the boy looked like her brother.
I was just trying to help.
I didn't want
her brother to get hurt.
She just started crying,
and she wouldn't stop.
[stutters]
-I didn't mean to.
-It's okay, man. It's okay.
Remember...
...there are good and bad cops
just like there are
good and bad people.
Uncle Harry is a cop.
Is he a bad guy?
He keeps us safe
from the bad guys.
Come on.
[sighs] Stand up.
[tense music]
What do you do
if an officer stops you?
What did I teach you?
My name is Ola Jackson.
I'm nine years old.
I am unarmed,
and I have nothing to harm you.
Awesome.
And you keep your hands up
until you're told
to put them down, okay?
Uh-uh. What did I just say?
Okay, you can put them down.
Remember, if an officer
gives you a command,
you be polite,
you do what they say.
Even if he is a asshole?
Especially if he's an asshole.
We both owe 50 cents.
[whispers] I won't tell
if you don't.
[melancholic music]
Come here.
[sighs]
How is he?
How do you think?
Preaching Black Lives Matter
to a nine-year-old.
I swear you're a trip.
Where are my cigarettes?
-I threw them out.
-[sighs]
Look, if he's gonna learn
about the reality of the world,
he might as well learn it
from me.
Wow.
I am trying
to win an election here.
Our donors are sensitive.
-[scoffs]
-We're not focusing
on the race thing
-because it makes--
-Makes it harder
to ask for money.
What the hell is wrong with you?
I supported you taking that job,
because, A, you needed
to get back to normal,
and, B, maybe you would help
that campaign
focus on the real issues.
[stutters]
That why you called my sponsor?
To make me focus?
-[sighs]
-You know, I'm working
to put somebody in office
who's actually going to make
a difference for everyone.
-Mm.
-That's got nothing to do
with teaching my son...
-Our son.
-...there's some boogeyman
out to get him.
I'm scared!
Okay?
I am scared...
...that one day our son
could walk out that door
and never make it back home.
He needs to know
what's out there.
You know, when you think
like a victim, you are a victim.
Oh, yeah. Easy for you to say.
Oh, right, 'cause,
'cause you're an American
descendent of slaves,
and I'm some
half-bougie-ass African.
[in a southern accent]
Yes, sir, boss. No, sir, boss.
I guess I don't drunk
the Kool-Aid master.
Don't ever tell me
how to take care of my family.
Femi.
[somber music]
Femi!
[door opens, closes]
[sighs]
[background chatter]
Thank you.
[door beeps]
Sorry.
Traffic was nuts.
[groans] Oh, shit.
Let's make it dinner for us.
-Knock yourself out.
-Mm-hmm.
Unload.
[sighs]
Ola got into trouble
at school today
showing a video
of a cop shooting.
Oh, shit. Which one?
-Houston.
-[sighs in disapproval]
I had to give him
the talk again.
Cop talk.
Just fucked up, man.
Why is it fucked up?
Just because it's safer
to be a white mass shooter
than it is to be
an unarmed Black dude?
Yo, they're taking
these Abercrombie niggers
to Burger King and shit.
So, you and Maria got into it?
And she's worse than you
with that whole
social justice thing.
You know, since the whole
Kaepernick fiasco,
I still gotta hide
in the bathroom to watch
Monday night football.
-What the fuck?
-Bro, she's out here
talking about, uh,
"We ain't supporting
those plantation owners, hmm...
-[chuckles]
-...until Kaep gets a job."
Amount of times I've offered
to get down on my knees
in solidarity
with my light-skinned brother
right there
on the living room floor.
-She can go for that.
-No, man.
You two would have been
a match made in heaven.
Oh, don't sell yourself short,
buddy. Speaking of which...
...looked into that shit
that you gave me,
and this is fucking weird, man.
These numbers, 88,
that iconography.
-Iconography?
-Mm, 88.
[soft tense music]
Dude, the eighth letter
of the alphabet is H, right?
Eighty-eight, two Hs,
Heil Hitler.
It's a neo-Nazi code.
[laughs]
I'm dead serious. My grandfather
used to tell me about this shit.
He said back home in Poland,
all the skinheads used to tattoo
-that number
all over themselves.
-Yeah,
your granddad's
paranoid as fuck, Ira.
They massacred
his whole village.
Sorry.
[knocks on table]
I wanna see the rest
of the donation reports.
I should never have sent them.
But you did.
And now I'm interested,
so I wanna see the files.
-Agatha doesn't wanna know.
-Agatha, who is that?
-That your boss lady?
-Yeah. She gave me the job, man.
And I'm just starting
to balance out.
-Four hundred forty-three days.
-Congratulations, man.
-Thank you.
-Now, I'm really proud of you,
but that doesn't turn you
into a zombie.
-I wanna see the files.
-No.
How about "Fuck that,
I wanna see the files"?
You're an investment blogger,
not a FBI agent.
I spent 15 years running
one of the most successful
investment firms on Wall Street,
so you will put some respect
on my newsletter.
'Cause you spent 15. Okay.
It is also not the first time
that I've had to dig
into someone's financials
under the table.
You know what I mean?
Come on, man.
What the fuck is wrong with you?
You're scared
I'm gonna find something.
Would you grow
some fucking balls?
I have a wife and kid.
Balls are a luxury.
[tapping on table]
Dude.
Dude. [sighs]
-Okay. Fuck. I'll send them.
-Thank you.
[cell phone chimes]
-Mm.
-Mm.
It's the office.
Bye, man.
-You leaving?
-Yeah.
No, motherfucker.
Give me your half of the check
for the Burger Deluxe
I'm about to order.
The Burger Deluxe
you're getting ready to order?
Fuck you, bitch.
I got last time.
All right.
Send me those files.
You think the argument that
Citizens United is free speech
really only benefits
those with enough money
to buy candidates?
It's a concern, sure.
As CEO of City District Bank,
you oversaw its collapse
in the 2008 meltdown,
but within a year,
you'd bounce back.
We could have taken a bailout.
We didn't.
We took responsibility.
You then got 15 million
in private sector investment
for the Roundtree Institute
in '09.
Regular Americans
don't have friends
with millions lying around.
They didn't get
a scholarship to MIT,
the Wharton Business School.
How do you inspire someone
who doesn't have your privilege?
Well, privileged to some,
affirmative action to others.
Is Citizens United problematic?
Yes.
But is it the problem?
People need equal opportunity,
so there's no silver spoon,
no perceived privilege.
Makes you feel guilty?
Responsible
for making things better.
And I will
if the American people
give me the chance.
[tense music]
[woman on TV]
Who is Harold Roundtree?
No plans to end
campaign finance corruption?
Check.
As first Allied CEO,
lobbied in 1999
to repeal Glass-Steagall.
Removing checks on how banks
use your money? Check.
Millionaire with accounts
and tax havens overseas?
Check.
Doesn't support defunding
private prisons? Check.
Doesn't support breakup
of big banks? Check.
[Harold on tape]
Hey. Some folks are just lazy.
The, the people
don't wanna get off their ass,
they're the ones that whine
about rich people.
-[laughter on tape]
-Well, did they record this
on a potato?
[woman on TV]
Harold Roundtree isn't backed
by the establishment.
He is the establishment.
Get money out of politics.
Vote Hank McGonville.
It was a joke
at a private event.
Where'd they get the audio?
Rotary Club archives.
They have been out last night
on YouTube and Vimeo.
Nine hundred thousand views
in eleven hours.
It's viral.
-We need that ad you've been
working on ready today.
-[sighs]
We have to hit back.
FEC, what's the word?
Aggie, we're not gonna
get investigated. Chill.
-Besides, Roundtree's on record
saying he'd support...
-[phone vibrates]
...the FEC's request
to look into super PACs.
[Aggie] How does him
supporting investigations
make me feel better?
[Sahar]
They're not gonna investigate,
but he still looks like
the candidate
against money in politics.
-Win-win.
-Sahar is right.
Our donors still buy him
as having a conscience,
which means that he's electable.
Super PACs on the right
are raising three times
what we are.
The Republicans
control both houses.
-So they cover their own asses.
-No.
They never supported
the FEC investigations before.
They're not about to now.
Ugh. This is cream.
I said black.
-I'm sorry. I'll just, uh...
-Just forget it.
What about the IRS?
-[phone vibrates]
-Republicans have them mired
hip deep in corruption scandals.
We're not even
on their radar right now.
You're meeting
with Alkem's CEO Sam Trask.
They just confirmed.
Listen, we spoke to his aide.
Slam dunk.
All you gotta do is close it.
I, I'll be right back.
[background chatter]
So, there's this cool new thing
called voicemail.
You don't want what I got
on the record.
-On the record?
-Oh, this is a very nice office.
-Don't get me started.
-Oh, it's very zen.
It doesn't feel like
a cult at all.
[Femi clears throat, groans]
-Mm?
-No, thank you.
So, talk to me.
I've spent the last ten days
going through the donation logs
of Independence.NYC
and Future Moving Frontiers,
and I managed
to link the donations
to accounts
that originated in Europe.
They're new start-ups.
They've only been around
for a couple of years.
Some of them
only a matter of months.
-So they're shells.
-Right, but for whom?
So, I peel back,
and I peel back,
and I peel back,
and I'm talking generations...
...of name changes
and decentralizations
of companies and funds,
and all of them, all of it...
...goes back
to business interests associated
with one organization.
Who?
The Crooked Cross.
[tense music]
It's an extremist organization
started in 1947 in Germany.
These are the original
Nazi sympathizers.
Now, not much about them online,
but a friend of mine...
...from the league was able
to point me to this book.
Written by a German national
named Hans Muller.
He came over here in the '60s
with a bunch of his pals.
-"Rassenkrieg."
-Yeah.
They were part of the knights
of the Aryan realms
or of an offshoot
of the Crooked Cross,
and were sent over here
to aid in the American race war
in response
to the civil rights movement.
After a few years in the US,
Muller defects,
and he writes this book.
That's the only copy
I was able to find.
So, what's their deal?
Establish a master race.
Ever heard of John Ehrlichman?
He was a close adviser
and confidant of Richard Nixon.
So, among other things,
apparently, he admitted
that that administration
associated heroin with Blacks
and then heavily
criminalized it,
so that they could go
into Black communities,
destroy their homes,
arrest their leaders,
even though they knew
it was all based on lies.
This book was written in 1969.
Okay, but it is almost
a verbatim blueprint
for the war on drugs
and the system
of mass incarceration,
-which was an initiative
started by Nixon in 19...
-[both] '71.
It goes deeper than that.
Homeboy Hans here
predicts the next 40 years
of American
criminal justice reform.
What the fuck did you find?
I, I sent him the files
before we spoke.
-We need to get ahead of this.
-Get ahead of it?
-You don't even know
what this is yet.
-Who are you again?
[mumbles inaudibly]
Let me get this straight.
No one vetted the donors, right?
No one checked them out.
We didn't check our sources...
...of the main money
that's fueling
the entire campaign.
We didn't check it.
We've been getting reports
from them for months.
I don't get it.
You knew.
-[clears throat]
-[Fred] Jesus.
They thought
something was a little off.
[Fred exhales]
They didn't make
a big deal of it,
so I made a decision.
A little off?
How, Aggie?
Uh, One Luck Oil on line one.
-Tell him to call back.
-Really?
[Fred]
How a little off?
Aggie?
Multiple donations
from the same account.
[Fred exhales nervously]
So what if people
wanna donate a hundred times
from the same account?
It's to a nonprofit.
It's not our problem.
You said these coded donations
account for 75% of our funds.
-Fuck.
-We still have Trask
on the hook.
So we dead the accounts,
we give the money back,
and then we focus
on Trask's investment
to cover the shortfall
-moving forward.
That ought to work, right?
-Okay, that works.
-[Fred] Financially,
that will work?
-That works.
Aggie?
[scoffs] Aggie, you,
you heard what's in the book.
It's a conspiracy rag
from the '60s no one read.
It's bad money!
We're sitting
on a time bomb now.
-[exhales]
-Look, if it makes
anybody feel any better
and helps us sort of gain
forward momentum,
I'm not gonna run
my mouth about this.
Thanks, Ira.
That makes me feel a lot better.
-You're welcome.
-Hey.
[sighs]
If we're gonna figure this out
in the time we have,
we need him.
Do you think Roundtree knows?
-No.
-[exhales]
[Aggie]
No way.
-Call Woods.
-Who's that?
-Roundtree's campaign manager.
-[Fred sighs]
Where do we start?
Follow the money.
[tense music]
You gotta pull everything
on Roundtree.
-Mortgages, his loans.
-That's right.
[Ira]
His investment portfolio,
everything.
Wait, you think this goes
beyond campaign funds?
[Ira]
I don't know,
but I know that it involves
the most insidious ideological
disease in the history
of mankind.
So, no, I don't put
anything past him.
It goes way beyond
campaign funds.
It goes to the soul
of the fucking country.
You think that's sappy?
You think that's bullshit?
It goes to the soul
of the country.
Do it.
You not only betrayed me,
but you betrayed everybody
that works in this office.
And you stand a good
fucking chance of betraying
everybody that lives
in this goddamn country.
I will support you,
and I will not stop
supporting you...
...but you gotta promise me
that you won't betray me again.
I'm gonna ask you a question
and I'm gonna ask you
to be honest with me.
Can you fucking do that?
Does your wife know?
-Aggie?
-[sobs] She doesn't.
Now...
...we're running
an intelligence operation.
Okay? On top of everything else.
[people chattering]
[keyboard clacking]
Okay, Mr. Gutierrez,
your loan application
is still showing up as declined.
Um, [nervous chuckle]
you said you'd talk to someone.
-All my paperwork's
in order, right?
-Yes, yes.
And I sent everything
to my supervisor.
It's been six months.
Your...
Your felony conviction
makes it difficult.
-The bank policy is that--
-I made a mistake.
All I'm asking for is ten grand.
[nervous chuckle]
You are the ninth bank
that I have been to.
Some places won't even see me.
Uh, uh...
All of my carvings handmade.
The kids in the neighborhood,
they loved them. Right?
I just need to scale up.
You have my proposal.
I figure in a year I'll be able
to double production, and--
-It's not my call.
-You're not listening.
[softly] You're not listening.
I am trying to start over.
You have power.
You can help me.
[soft suspenseful music]
Yeah, I'm still holding.
Uh, it's okay.
Walter Runkle, please.
-Ira Goldstein.
-[Femi] That's right, yeah.
-It's Femi Jackson from...
-Thank you.
...One USA for Roundtree.
Email is F.Jackson
@thenumberone-usapac.org.
Okay. Thanks.
Tried to source
investment reports
from the Roundtree Institute.
His story is he got investment
from the private sector.
I figured I'd find out who from.
-No go?
-Roadblocks everywhere.
-You?
-I'm on hold at admissions
at his college.
-The scholarship he got?
-Oh, yeah.
[sighs]
Hey.
You're doing
the right thing, man.
Yeah. Walter.
Hey, it's Ira.
No, I know.
[background chatter]
Hey. Who's the new guy?
A friend of mine.
Helping me out.
-Cleared it with Aggie?
-Of course.
-Hey, Ali.
-Hey, what's up?
I need your help.
How can I be of service?
I need info on someone.
Private info.
-Who's someone?
-Uh-uh. Yes or no?
What kind of info?
Financial.
-I'm assuming
without their knowledge.
-Mm-hmm.
Who?
Roundtree.
Okay, so that will be a no.
Uh, look, hey, someone's trying
to blackmail him, okay?
I can't get into details, but...
...it's sexual.
We gotta head this off, man,
or the, the whole campaign's
gonna implode.
-[stutters] I don't know, man--
-Hey, hey.
You're working here
because you know damn well
he's gonna make
the best president we ever had.
Think how grateful
he'll be to you
if you help put out this fire.
You personally.
[Ali clears throat]
-[indistinct conversation]
-You know?
[clears throat] Mm?
Yeah, okay.
[footsteps receding]
-How bad is it?
-You let me worry
about the details.
I just need as much
financial info as possible.
-The cross section, obviously.
-How far back we talking?
-Early '80s.
-You're gonna have to be
more specific.
Uh, school transcripts,
uh, investments,
loans, bonuses,
mortgage payments.
I'm gonna want numbers,
source accounts and credits.
Uh, selection. Large sums.
W-- What kind of blackmail
is this?
Like I said, let me worry
about the details, okay?
-I'm gonna need
a list to work off.
-Done.
[sighs] Give me
a couple of weeks.
Forty-eight hours.
[chuckles] Uh...
Give me
his Social Security number.
It will, uh, speed things up.
-[knocks]
-[gasps] Jesus.
[sighs]
How are you?
[scoffs]
I take the information
you gave me as accurate.
About the money.
Who else knows?
The guy who brought it to me,
his associate, and Fred.
He wasn't happy.
The other two guys,
you trust them?
Will they talk?
[scoffs]
We're gonna have to hope not.
So bury this.
We never knew.
But we did know, Tom.
I told you something was up
with the 501(c)(4)s. You said--
I know what I said. I thought
you had it under control.
I did.
The new guy I got in started
looking at the donor logs,
said he saw patterns
in the numbers.
-Aggie.
-I took the rap at the office.
I insulated you and Harold,
so if this all turns
-to shit--
-Hey. Aggie, Aggie.
They don't have to disclose.
They're donors, right?
-Independence and Future?
-Yes.
-No.
-So we're fine.
That's why we looked
the other way
in the first place.
When we didn't know
it was fucking Nazi money?
-Yeah, sure.
-It doesn't matter
where the money comes from
if no one ever looks.
[soft suspenseful music]
What are you suggesting?
-Slow down the super PAC--
-No, no, no.
Aggie, One USA is the reason
we have made it this far.
-I don't know if I can--
-Don't. Don't.
Don't fuck me on this, Aggie.
We will not survive
the primaries without One USA.
Hey, hey. You still got
your billionaire lead?
Huh? The Alkem guy.
-Trask.
-What's he in for?
Uh, 15 mill now.
Another 10 if Roundtree
gets the nomination.
Well, isn't that peachy?
That's the news you lead with.
You're gonna be fine.
You're gonna find new donors.
For now,
you just don't rock the boat.
And, hey,
Harold doesn't forget
his friends.
-Fred, he's--
-I'll talk to Fred. He's a pro.
More importantly, he believes
in our candidate just like you.
Huh?
Oh, wait.
I need Harold's Social Security.
If they're in his life,
we need to know how much.
No more surprises.
Give me 15 minutes.
[door shuts]
[knocks]
Hey, you got a sec?
-Wow, look at you.
-[chuckles]
-When's the big day?
Come in, come in.
-Ooh, imminent.
Oh.
-[chuckles]
-Okay.
So what's up?
Have you been getting
my messages
about that loan application?
Jose Gutierrez.
[sighs]
I know you said
you would take a look at it.
You know, sign off on it.
If I could, I would,
but it needs
senior level approval.
You know we have policies.
Did you read his proposal?
[chuckles]
I mean, he is sculpting toys.
-And let me tell you--
-No felons.
Ex-felon.
What about
the private equity endowment?
That doesn't fall
under bank regulation, so we--
So we give that
to a convicted drug dealer?
Weed. I mean, it was,
it was for weed.
If he lived in the suburbs
-and had a better lawyer,
he could probably...
-[sighs]
You were never gonna approve
his application, were you?
Maria...
...this is not the one
to stick our necks out on.
[soft tense music]
[scoffs]
Have you ever heard
of Heyward Shepherd?
[sighs] What?
Slave revolt.
1800s.
Heyward Shepherd.
A Black night watchman
refused to surrender
to a raiding slave revolt,
so they killed him.
Years later,
the Sons of the Confederate
honored him with a plaque.
The faithful slave.
Rewarding him for standing
against his own people.
They call that
meritorious manumission.
You know, I've been at this bank
twice as long as you.
On the entire executive board,
there are two Negroes.
You and me.
But you... [scoffs]
...you are sitting in that chair
because you sure as hell
won't stick your neck out
for your people.
-Now, you wait just a minute.
-No.
Not today.
[sighs angrily]
[melancholic music]
Thank you for your time.
So, I've been going through
Roundtree Scholarship Fund.
Now, all the sums...
...same permutations.
I couldn't get any deeper
than the surface
without running
into alumni privacy issues,
but there it is, man.
-These are the amounts of each
of his scholarship payment?
-Mm-hmm.
-Eighty-eight.
-All of them.
All of them.
[sighs] He won
the Mornington Howell Award.
That was a huge
one-off scholarship.
Got him through college
in an Ivy League MBA.
-He applied for the scholarship?
-Nope.
He was handpicked
out of high school.
Can you trace
the source of the money?
Told you, man,
I need deeper data.
Yeah, I think
I just got that covered.
[sighs] I don't get it.
Why mark their donations
in plain view?
You ever heard of echoes?
All right. [groans]
Echoes [sighs]
are neo-Nazi code...
...for identifying Jews online.
So, Jewish last name
is encased in a set
of three parentheses.
The idea being
a Jewish last name
echoes down through the ages,
causing destruction. I know.
So this gets posted
on social media, right?
Twitter, Facebook,
Instagram, whatever.
They now know who to target.
And because search engines
don't recognize punctuation,
the poster is largely masked.
It's raw, it's immediate.
How do you know about this?
Happened to me. I got echoed.
A blog post I wrote
pissed them off, so...
You know, online harassment,
death threats, people sending
shit to the house.
Some asshole kept on sending me
pictures of Auschwitz
with America
photoshopped over the gate.
Whole thing only got compromised
'cause a group of celebs
decided to echo themselves,
and other people joined in
in solidarity,
and the fuckers just didn't know
who to target.
Wow.
This whole 88 thing,
it's just a slightly
more sophisticated way
of marking their territory.
Communicating in code.
-For those meant to see it.
-Yep.
[chuckles] I don't think
they were expecting
to run into Black Rain Man.
When you speak
of individual responsibility,
what do you mean?
Support individuals
with the focus on transition
and independence.
Sounds a lot like
the '90s TANF Welfare Reform.
[chuckles] Oh, no.
What I'm proposing
is to free people
from constant
government oversight.
I wanna give them the tools
to be self-sufficient,
so they don't have
to rely on us.
That's a hair's breadth
from trickle-down economics,
which we know never gets
to the people at the bottom.
We have to change the way
we look at social programs.
How so?
Human beings have
a, a natural inclination
towards autonomy if pushed.
To do that,
you need true equality.
-We're saying the same thing.
-No, I don't believe we are.
To get to your idea
of self-sufficiency,
we need
socially inclusive programs.
Your proposals
will undermine them.
I'm almost doubling
the expenditure
within a new window.
That means people get
twice as much support
for a shorter period of time,
so they can reenter
the workforce
and regain autonomy.
My plan is inclusive.
But I could show you data
that highlights
the massive discrepancies
and unemployment
in minority communities.
-Discrepancies that--
-Shouldn't we be focused
on equality of opportunity,
not equality of outcome?
There are
so many different factors
affecting a person's
likelihood of success.
Um, temperament, uh, gender,
ambition, drive, culture.
The system is broken.
I...
We need to fix it,
but only to make
an even playing field.
Let water find its own level.
Isn't that true equality?
[melancholic music]
Mm-hmm.
That's right.
No, no. No, no.
No, I need to speak
with the agent
who sold 152 Marion Court.
Uh, yes,
in, in 2009 to Harold Roundtree
for the Roundtree
Institute office.
Mm-hmm.
Yes, uh, commercial purchase.
I know it's been a while,
but he's still listed
at this firm, so I...
Uh, yep.
Hello?
Okay, just, uh...
...have him call me
when you get ahold of him.
[clicks tongue] Thank you.
[footsteps approaching]
[sighs]
I'm going home.
[sighs]
-And get back at it
in the morning.
-Hey, you don't have to,
uh, you've done plenty.
Uh, really. I appreciate it.
[sighs]
I know how hard
this is for you, man.
Him being your idol and all.
[scoffs] My idol?
Bro, you work out
to his speeches in the morning.
[chuckles]
-You ever gonna let that go?
-No, I am not gonna let that go.
-[chuckles]
-That's some crazy
Manson Family shit.
Yeah.
I get it, man.
You wanted him
to be the real deal.
[gentle music]
Black guy
all the way from the bottom
makes it all the way to the top.
And now what? He might not have
made it on his own? Shit.
I'll tell you what...
...when I fuck up...
...I don't represent
every Jew in America.
He's just one man.
He's not the whole Black race.
Shit.
When did you get so profound?
[chuckles]
Thanks for riding
with me on this.
This whole village, man.
The whole village.
-[door closes]
-[sighs]
[indistinct chatter on TV]
-[Femi groans softly]
-[turns off TV]
[tense music]
[sighs]
Ola, don't play with your food.
[doorbell rings]
[sighs] Okay.
Hey.
[Harry]
How you doing?
[soft tense music]
You on maternity leave?
[Maria]
No, just took the morning off.
[Harry]
Yeah.
Emma filled me in about Ola.
[Maria]
Yeah, I'm sure she made it sound
like he was having
a nervous breakdown.
[Harry chuckles]
Yeah, you know your sister.
[both chuckle]
[Maria]
Ola.
Look who came
to take you to school today.
Uh, he just started breakfast,
but he's got snacks with him.
Hey, buddy. You ready?
Chief said I need a new partner.
I told him I know just the guy.
[Maria]
Go ahead. Get your stuff.
You'll be late.
Have a good day.
I'll be right out.
All right, buddy?
Look, uh,
I know you haven't
always been cool with the...
But, uh, I really do appreciate
you trying to show him
we're not all bad.
I have a choice.
Harry.
Thank you.
He's my nephew.
Tell Femi I said what's up.
All right, buddy. Let's go.
No, no, no, partner,
You're riding up front with me.
Make sure you put
that seat belt on.
I do not want your mom
mad at me, all right?
You ready?
[dramatic music]
Thank you
for letting me see him.
In 30 years, you're the first.
Uh, why did you say yes?
You asked the right questions.
Take your shoes off.
And socks.
Phone.
Some advice.
Don't look in his eyes.
He has a gift.
This way.
-Wait here.
-[loud breathing]
[tense music]
[speaking in German]
[speaks in German]
[loud breathing]
[loud breathing continues]
[hoarsely]
The man that sold me
this house...
...said if you stare through
this window long enough...
...you'll feel like you're...
[inhales heavily] drifting.
The Monument Valley.
[inhales] He lied.
Interesting mementos.
It's good to remember
where you come from...
...so you never go back.
My name is Femi Jackson.
I work for One USA, uh,
Political Action Committee
who's campaigning
for Harold Roundtree.
I read your book Rassenkrieg.
I don't think you're crazy,
Mr. Muller.
Femi.
African?
My mother's Nigerian,
but I, I was born
here in the States.
[inhales]
How, how can I help you?
I have reason to believe
that Crooked Cross
has been financing
our candidate's campaign.
Covertly siphoning funds
into our super PAC.
Each donation coded
with the number 88.
[inhales loudly]
In your book, you write about
indirect social engineering
inciting Rassenkrieg.
The race war
to establish a master race?
I need to know
if what's happening
with my candidate is connected.
[loud breathing continues]
[Maria]
How are you holding up?
You know, I got a shift
in an auto body.
Pay could be better, but...
...the owner takes a lot of guys
who just got out.
I got your rejection letter.
-So, I guess it's official now.
-I am so sorry.
I wanted to tell you in person.
Yeah, no, it's, it's cool.
I, I gotta just keep pushing.
[chuckles softly]
How's your daughter doing?
[chuckles]
Always smiling.
And she keeps me smiling.
[chuckles]
-Roundtree supporter, huh?
-Mm, mm, mm.
My husband's.
He works for the campaign.
Who are you going for?
Going for?
I can't vote.
-Probation. Scarlet Letter.
-[sighs]
[Jose hisses]
[as Tony Montana] "You know,
they need people like me,
so they can point
their fingers and say,
'There's the bad guy'."
[chuckles]
-Scarface?
-Yeah, very good. Very good.
-I know more movies.
-Yeah.
Hey, uh...
I appreciate what you did.
I know you fought for me.
That's $10,000.
The money you applied for.
So, I spoke to a friend of mine
at the old warehouses.
Uh, his number's on the back.
He has some space
that you can lease
to work on your carvings.
$200 a month.
No questions asked.
-It's not charity.
-Mm-hmm.
It's a loan.
Why? [nervous chuckle]
You are my father.
Don't let your daughter down.
[sobs, sighs in relief]
[tense music]
[muffled]
The most dangerous people often
start with noble intentions.
History has a nasty habit
of repetition.
I was born
in a small village in Germany.
My father was a carpenter
and supporter of the Nazi Party
from its inception.
It was five years
after World War II ended.
Hitler gone, Nazi is defeated.
[loud breathing]
In the aftermath,
sympathizers like my father
would conceal their true
allegiance to survive.
But slowly, the detritus
of the Aryan Brotherhood
would find new direction.
The Crooked Cross was formed...
...allying with and spawning
like-minded fanatics
across the world.
This concept
of white supremacy wasn't new.
The British empire employed it
with African colonization.
King Leopold II,
the Belgium in the Congo.
The Romans and Greeks
before them.
Hitler just repackaged an idea.
An idea.
The most resilient parasite.
[narrator]
Children when the Nazi Party
came into power,
they know no other system
than the one that poisoned
their minds.
They are soaked in it.
[Hans]
North American slavery
was an economic genius.
It built an empire.
Hitler's Holocaust
failed to emulate
what white British descendants
achieved in Australia
and the US.
Both nations built
on the bones of native dead.
Genocides validated
by the perception
of genetic superiority
to mask a quest
for economic power.
Policies mirrored
in apartheid South Africa.
Then the US
and Jim Crow
with the oppressed
were fighting back.
Lynchings and assassinations
tried to stem the flow,
but the stronghold was slipping.
After civil rights,
they realized the direct
approach was obsolete.
So, we were sent.
The knights of the Aryan realm.
White power.
But our American brothers
had already turned
to the plausible alternative.
Invisibility.
Finance and support individuals
without their knowledge.
Individuals that push our ideas
of their own volition.
Infiltrate all arms
of the government,
their ideas
thus becoming endemic,
engrained from parent to child,
all propelled by one truth.
How do agents turn
against the Puppet Master
they don't know is there?
Why did you defect?
I came here to put animals
back in their cage.
Instead, I saw beauty.
I saw strength.
I fell in love with my enemy.
The Black man has been sold
on the value
of the white system.
First muskets and gold
for Black bodies.
Now, money and inclusion
for your souls.
We wanted you to have leaders
because leaders
are flesh and blood.
[rasps] They can be corrupted,
destroyed
with ideas.
What we've always used
against you.
Ideas last an eternity.
You said you know
where your candidate's funds
came from
and where they're going?
[tense music]
[labored breathing]
Who's...
...moving the money?
[Maria sighs]
-Hey, Maria.
-Hey, Rick. How you doing?
I thought you and Bob
were going on vacation.
No, I had to work last minute,
so he took the kids,
and it has been so peaceful.
[grunts]
-You okay?
-[grunts]
Yeah, yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm fine.
-Oh. Oh. [groans]
-Maria!
[soft tense music]
Thank you.
I may need to come back again.
You've given an old man
with little time
some validation.
Thank you.
Please,
don't contact us again.
[siren blaring]
[indistinct radio chatter]
-[doctor] But the hard part is--
-Oh, thank God, you made it.
Oh, where were you? You should
have been here with her.
I was out of town. I, I caught
the first flight I could.
-Hey, man. We picked him up
early from school.
-Thanks.
-Where is she?
-They, um, they took her in
about an hour ago.
Had to deliver the baby.
They, uh...
Uh, there were, um,
complications.
Your daughter's
a few weeks premature.
Everything's stable,
but we'll have to monitor.
Your wife's sedated.
Well, she had some hemorrhaging.
Under control.
We're optimistic.
But right now, patience is key.
[healthcare machine beeping]
Femi, uh, we can take off
for the night.
Yeah. [clears throat]
Yeah. Come on, baby.
-Yeah.
-Come on.
-Hey.
-Hey.
How many has he had?
First one. Been here an hour.
-Hasn't touched it.
-Thank you.
Maria is gonna be
real disappointed
when she wakes up.
If you wanted
to go back to hell,
you wouldn't have called me.
She's a fighter, man.
She's gonna be okay.
Did you see her daughter yet?
I can't. Not now.
[melancholic music]
How can I bring another kid
into this world, man?
[sobs] I mean, protect her.
All right, man.
-[sniffles]
-All right.
I need you to do
something for me.
I need you to go
to my office and,
and check
the donation logs again.
You've got a lot
going on right now.
-Um...
-Look for similarities
in the mode
of transfer of funds.
Femi, we already know
where the money came from.
Now, you wanna see if it came
Western Union or PayPal?
All right.
Now?
Yeah.
Yep.
[phone vibrates]
Yeah.
[Ali]
I took a cross section
of his financial info
based on the list
of focus points you sent over.
It's a lot.
Ah.
Grouped them together
best I could.
Great.
Would that help?
Yeah. Thank you.
Hope your wife's okay.
Thanks, Ali.
[somber music]
[healthcare machine beeping]
[inhales, gasps]
Hey.
Hey.
[gasps]
She's fine.
She's fine. Don't move.
A girl?
-We had a girl?
-Yeah.
[sighs in relief]
Ola's with your sister.
Oh.
-How is he?
-He's the champ.
Hey, uh...
...about that whole thing
with-- with the video...
We want the same thing for him.
You're just
a stubborn so-and-so.
I know.
-Mm.
-You're right.
I should be comatose more often.
-Oh, Ola.
-Hey.
-His birthday's next week.
-We canceled it.
-[sighs]
-He said if Mom's sick,
he isn't doing it.
He said that?
And that's after
you ragged our Wakanda.
-Okay, about that, I was just--
-Maria...
[soft gentle music]
...I get it.
If I wasn't working
for One USA...
...would you vote for him?
Roundtree?
Who said I'd vote for him now?
I'll get the doctor.
And shower, please.
[Sam]
Really sorry I have to do this
virtually. It's been crazy.
-You're in Hong Kong?
-Yeah. Mind if I eat?
-Sure. What are you having?
-Sushi. Best place in the city.
Come on,
shouldn't it be dim sum?
Hey, I grew up on a farm
in Berkshire. What do I know?
So, I hear One USA has been
blowing through the roof.
We would be doing even better
with Sam Trask's money
behind us.
Isn't it your daughter's
birthday tomorrow?
-Tiffany?
-Yes, it is.
Ten years old. You know,
I thought I'd never have kids.
-Now, I wish I did it sooner.
-[chuckles softly]
So, hotshot advertising mogul
walks out of the biggest agency
in New York
to start her own firm,
then buys them 20 years later.
You have an appreciation
for autonomy.
Oh, much more
than an appreciation.
Then why are you doing this?
Fundraising for Roundtree?
Same reason you wanna put
25 million into One USA.
I believe in him.
[soft triumphant music]
[chuckles]
You're asking
what he offered me?
Hope.
-You wanna say something?
-[baby cooing]
-Really?
-I'm not hearing her,
I'll come by later.
Oh, okay.
-She has your nose.
-You think?
[groans, mumbles]
[groans softly]
Unbelievable.
You know... [sighs]
...I could kill
for a pack of pistachios.
I do this, you lift
a Monday night football ban?
-Hmm?
-Mm.
[sighs]
-Fine.
-[both chuckling]
[sighs]
She's still gonna need a name.
-I was thinking--
-Theresa.
Your mother's name.
-[door opens]
-[Ira] Hey!
-[gasps] Uncle Ira.
-[laughs]
-[Maria] Uh-oh.
Here comes trouble.
-Did I miss it?
Look, I got a new baby sister.
Oh, show me. Come on.
-[chuckles]
-[Ira softly] Hello.
-Oh, Mama.
-[chuckles]
-Thank you.
-You had to do it again.
All right, I love you.
Get some rest.
I will bring you
dinner tomorrow.
Yes, you, you're gonna get
your wish. He's moving in.
Hey, I looked into that,
uh, stuff you asked me to.
-Hmm.
-I can't believe I didn't think
of doing this first.
I mean, it took me a while
because all the files are
an absolute mess--
Ira, what did you get?
So, I looked into the modes
of transfer like you asked.
More than half of the donations
came from the same
routing numbers.
-Really?
-Yep.
All right. Um...
-Send me what you got.
-Yeah.
-I gotta get back.
-Go, go, go. Hey.
-[sighs]
-[groans] Congratulations.
Thanks.
[indistinct announcement
over speakers]
[tense music]
Your money is gonna
make a real difference
as we push into the primaries.
The public is really responding
to our message.
Your parents still alive?
Yeah. Yeah, they are.
I remember giving the eulogy
at my father's funeral.
Lived to 101.
Would you believe it?
I honestly thought
the guy was immortal.
It was the first time
I really faced mortality.
You know,
in the existential sense.
Did he make the world
a better place for us?
His children?
Am I? For mine?
I'm withdrawing
my contribution to One USA.
I'm backing
Senator McGonville's campaign
for the Democratic nomination.
-We had a deal.
-We had an understanding.
That understanding's changed.
Corporate tax cuts.
You want assurances? Harold--
He's dangerous. I can feel it.
Mr. Trask, he can win.
That's why I'm making sure
me and my friends
throw our weight
behind anyone that can stop him.
-McGonville won't beat
the Republicans.
-Maybe.
But smart money
always plays both sides.
You know that.
I'd hope to tell you this
in person.
This, it's not the best.
[phone chimes]
My daughter.
I need to take it.
Take care.
[intense music]
[Harold]
Don't give a man a fish.
Teach him how to fish.
Don't buy a man a house.
Give him the tools
to build a house.
When I tell you
I'm fighting for you,
you can believe me
and take that
all the way to the bank.
[Femi]
I started to see patterns
in the individual donations.
-[Aggie] Patterns?
-[Femi] Addends.
Combination of numbers.
All the money,
support, Crooked Cross...
[Hans]
Finance and support individuals
without their knowledge.
87.01, 25.63, 71.17.
[breathing loudly]
Who's...
...moving the money?
[suspenseful music]
[dial tone]
-Ira.
-[Ira] What the fuck?
It's 5:00 a.m., man.
You need to get over here.
Right now.
[birds chirping]
Where did you get
all this shit, man?
Those repeating numbers
you found?
The transfer numbers, yeah.
They're not just
for the super PAC donations.
After the collapse
of City District Bank in 2008,
he foregoes a bailout, and?
He sets up
the Roundtree Institute
all with private donors.
152...
...Marion Court.
Now...
...look at
the transaction number
on the investment deposits
in '09.
What the fuck?
The same numbers.
The same repeating numbers
for over half the donations
from the Crooked Cross
shell companies
that were donated
to Independence.NYC
and Future Moving Frontiers.
All with the 88 permutation.
What? So, the same firm
is responsible
for the transfer of money
that he used to buy the building
for the Roundtree Institute
in 2009.
Not only that.
Roundtree Scholarship,
his MBA tuition,
the insurance payment that
he got after the 2008 bailout
from a firm
with no transactions prior
and none since.
Wait. So, wait, what are they?
They're a money conduit firm.
They're...
Registered
as Living Space Estates.
Original filing date?
Living Space.
[suspenseful music]
Living Space?
German.
Lebensraum.
Holy shit.
World War II Nazi initiative
for the expansion
of land and resources necessary
for the survival
of the Aryan race.
They've got a branch
in the city.
Probably nothing more
than a PO box.
We gotta get Roundtree
out of this race, man.
[sighs]
Femi?
I don't think he has a clue
about any of this.
Then I feel like
we're missing something.
Femi, what more
do you want, man?
I'm gonna go over there.
Living Space Estates.
-Have you lost your mind?
-Rattle their cage.
Oh, my God, you're serious.
[stutters] They're
a real estate firm, Ira.
You tell Agatha everything.
Get her to set a meet
with Roundtree.
-Bye, guys.
-Thank you.
[background chatter]
Hey, what-- [sighs]
-You take that one?
I'll take this one.
-Where's Agatha?
Hey, slow down.
-Agatha. Where's she?
-Tell me wat's going on?
Slow down.
Okay.
So, when was the last time
you saw him?
This morning. This morning.
-Um, nothing since then?
-No.
No. Uh, I tried to stop him,
but he...
Did he, did he say
anything to you?
Uh, he said that he was going
to go rattle their cage.
-Let me ask you a question.
-Mm.
Do you think there's any cause
for us to be concerned
right now?
-What do you, what do you mean?
-What I mean is
that do you think
he's going to do
something foolish?
Ah, we gotta set a meeting
with Roundtree.
Okay? He, he has to know.
Okay.
[dramatic music]
Hi.
Can I help you, sir?
I'm looking for the
Living Space Estates office.
As you can see,
this building is unoccupied.
You sure?
I know I got the address right.
You must have made a mistake.
Something wrong?
You know what? I was expecting.
[scoffs]
Have a good day, sir.
I'm from the One USA
Political Action Committee.
I'm inquiring about donations
to our campaign.
[soft tense music]
-Your name?
-Femi Jackson.
F-E-M-I.
[sighs angrily]
I have a visitor here
by the name Femi Jackson.
He's from One USA.
Says he's here
regarding donations.
Yes, he's alone.
Please wait by the elevator.
Someone will be right down.
[elevator whirring]
[phone vibrates]
[button clicks]
-Hello.
-[man] Mr. Jackson?
-Who's this?
-You need to leave
that building right now.
-Excuse me?
-Living Space,
the Crooked Cross, Roundtree,
you're scratching the surface.
You must leave now.
If not for your safety,
then for your family's.
Meet me at the ballpark
on Fourth.
Look for the white hat.
[intense music]
[elevator dings]
[soft instrumental music]
[birds chirping]
[soft tense music]
I never did get the hang
of a good cup of coffee.
[sighs]
Who are you?
Everything you do online
leaves a footprint.
Threatened areas less traveled.
We notice.
You stumbled on something
far bigger than you think,
Mr. Jackson.
The people I work for
have been investigating
the Crooked Cross for decades.
I spoke with Hans Muller.
He said they're controlling
people's minds?
No, it's not mind control.
It's... it's more
a natural selection.
You back 100 horses,
50 of them show promise.
So, you nurture those 50.
Some of them go lame,
others fade.
About five of them
make all the right steps.
Jump when they're supposed to.
And out of those five,
there's one star.
One you throw everything behind
because he's a winner.
Roundtree's not the only one.
Have you seen The Matrix?
White supremacy
is all around us.
You can see it
when you turn on the television.
Hear it
when you listen to music.
You feel it
when you go into work,
watch sports, pay your taxes.
It's a construct designed
to blind mankind from the truth.
-Which is?
-That we're slaves.
Batteries powering machines
for profit.
Concept of race in terms
of color was a means to an end.
Men seeking to become gods.
But predators evolved to stay
on top of the food chain.
The new master race
will not be determined by color.
Just money.
Power.
But what about Rassenkrieg?
-The race war. Hans said--
-Hans is a relic.
He's an old-school recruiter
radicalizing minds
with fancy stories
and back alleys and basements.
He's analog or digital.
10% of Americans control
77% of the nation's wealth.
Half of the world's resources
are in the hands
of 1% of the global population.
1%.
Roundtree's policies
will widen that chasm.
Individual responsibility,
my ass.
More people in jail,
more war, more dead,
more people in crippling debt.
Who profits?
Every depression
needs a scapegoat.
Blacks, Muslims,
Mexicans, Asians,
more shootings, more bombings.
Afghanistan, Iraq I,
9/11, Iraq II, 7/7,
Paris, Brussels, Orlando.
Munich, a month ago.
Geneva, before that.
A dozen more attacks
on home soil,
and people will be begging
to have their freedoms
taken away just to keep us safe.
Who profits?
The 1%.
Your master race.
So it's over?
Is that what you're saying?
It's not in human nature
to give away power.
It's taken.
White supremacy is the construct
protecting that power.
We are witnessing the last gasp
of a dying beast
kicking and screaming.
[Femi]
So, what do you want?
Stop turning over stones.
Let Roundtree win?
We must,
or they recede into the shadows
for the next 20 years,
find a new figurehead
we might not identify
until it's too late.
They must think they've won
so we can strike
with a single death blow.
How do I know
you're not one of them
trying to put me off?
-I can go to the press.
-With what?
I have documents,
files, evidence that they--
They sponsored
a poor Black child
from the South,
helped him with an education,
a business, a home,
and turned him
into the front-runner
for the presidency?
Hell, that might do
their public image
a world of good.
So what do you have?
Your wife just gave birth
to a baby girl.
Go home to your family.
Lock the doors
and batten down the hatches.
There's a storm coming,
Mr. Jackson.
Stay out of the way.
[dramatic music]
[pants]
-Ira.
-[Ira] Hey, what's the matter?
You don't answer your phone now?
Did, uh, did you get the meeting
set with Roundtree?
Yeah. Five o'clock today
at his villa in the Hills.
I'm here right now.
-Fuck. Thirty minutes.
-Uh, look, this is it,
all right?
He's flying to Iowa tomorrow.
This is your only chance
to get a face-to-face with him.
-What happened at the--
-I'll explain later.
I'm on my way.
Shit.
Where is he?
He'll be here.
[suspenseful music]
[indistinct mumbling]
[exhaling]
[car approaching]
[sighs in relief]
-[Ira] Dude, What the fuck?
-[panting] Is everybody here?
-Yeah, man,
we've been waiting for you.
-How do I look?
[Ira]
You actually look better
than you normally do.
So you're gonna tell me
what happened at the, uh--
-[Femi] You were right.
-[Ira] Oh, shit.
You got this.
What's the square root of nine?
Three?
[Harold]
Oh, my goodness.
Tom, we got ourselves
a baby genius.
Oh, you don't have
to tell me twice.
[chuckles]
Oh, you go tell your mom
that you are too smart for me.
Too smart. Oh, my goodness.
My own daughter.
They grow up fast.
This is Femi Jackson,
our financial director.
His colleague, Ira Goldstein.
-Nice to meet you.
-Mr. Roundtree.
I'm sorry I'm late.
Thank you for coming.
I know this is...
-...awkward.
-We can't be seen communicating
with a super PAC
campaigning for us.
It's, you know,
against the rules.
Oh, the rules. Hmm.
You're the one that discovered
the coded donations?
Yes, sir.
I have to ask...
-...did you--
-Know?
The only neo-Nazis
I ever came across
were the ones that threw a noose
on my fraternity front lawn.
-Freshman year.
-[chuckles]
We have to give that money back.
Agatha tells me it, uh, accounts
for a huge chunk
of our super PAC funding.
We have to, sir.
It doesn't matter
where the money came from.
[soft tense music]
What matters most
is what I do with it.
That's the point.
They're counting on you
being you
to affect their agenda.
What agenda?
White supremacists
supporting a Black man.
You know
how ridiculous that sounds.
Yes, but they're evolving.
To survive.
One USA's money is bad,
that much we know,
and your campaign is where it is
because of that money.
And if so Harold wins,
then what?
How does that help them?
-My hypothesis?
-[Fred] Yeah.
Attacks.
False flag attacks
during his administration.
Attacks?
Terrorist attacks?
Generate enough fear.
There's no telling what,
what legislation
people will support.
[stutters]
I can show you a, a paper trail
detailing how long
these people--
Put those... away.
I just spent an hour
with a guy from a group
who's been working
these people
for over two decades--
You talked to someone else
about this?
I thought you said
you were going to Living Space.
I did. I meant to.
-But he stopped me.
-He? Who's he?
Uh, the, the volunteer
from our office.
The kid that made our coffee?
The Crooked Cross...
...they selected you
a long time ago,
set an aligned interest
that they could exploit.
That's politics.
If your hypothetical
nigger-loving Nazis
want to decrease
military spending,
protect women's rights,
and label GMOs,
they will love me.
That doesn't mean
I have to love them.
[whispering]
It's an NDA stating
that you won't disclose
any information pertaining
to your investigations
into donors
and their contributions.
[soft tense music continues]
I'd like to say something
if I may, sir.
Remember when I told you
I never lost a campaign,
that I sleep good at night
because I never helped
anybody get into power
that didn't deserve it?
And if this man
had anything to do
with any of this stuff
that we're talking about here...
...then that would make me
the biggest jackass
in the history of politics.
You're gonna run your mouth
to the press?
Maybe try and sell this story
to Senator McGonville?
I hear he pays well
for stuff like this.
You're making a mistake.
Agatha won't sign it.
Agatha signed a half hour ago.
Fred?
Fred sees the big picture.
Mistakes were made.
We all know that.
One USA will find new donors.
[softly] Let's get out of here.
[Harold]
Mr. Jackson?
I know who I am.
Harold, come on.
Hey, slow down, man.
Femi, this isn't over.
[melancholic music]
It is for me.
What are you gonna do?
I'm gonna buy Maria
some pistachios.
[car door closes]
[Ron]
If you win, you won't be
the first Black president.
That change the way
you'll govern?
-Not at all.
-Why won't you say the words
white supremacy?
Because to say those words
gives them credence
they don't deserve.
That why you rarely talk
about race?
Well, I prefer action
over rhetoric.
But you've spoken frequently
on terrorism.
Isn't that rhetoric?
I should prioritize race
over global terrorism
because I'm Black?
See, that's the thing.
That word terrorism.
You know, right-wing
domestic terrorists
account for more annual deaths
in the US than any other
radicalized group.
Declassified FBI reports
confirm they've infiltrated
the armed forces
and law enforcement
on every conceivable level.
Technically, white supremacy
is the longest running
terrorist ideology in history.
Correct.
White mobs with tiki torches
and Nazi salutes
are disgruntled youth.
A white extremist church shooter
is, uh, troubled...
...but a Muslim suicide bomber?
We're dropping bombs,
we send in tanks
and the National Guard
for civil rights protests,
but yet a white rabble
can storm the capital
in an attempted coup
and walk away.
And you're not responsible?
[soft instrumental music]
The media is the most powerful
medium on Earth.
We forget...
...holy books are literature.
The first thing
an invading army does
is destroy art,
movies, TV,
radio, books,
and install their own
propaganda machine. [chuckles]
This dysfunctional society
you speak of...
...was one made
and perpetuated...
...by you.
Then Hollywood and...
...the mainstream news media
turn around...
...and lecture people.
And to a lot of voters,
it, it feels like...
Cognitive dissonance?
Birth Of A Nation
was a Hollywood movie.
Known abusers
have gotten standing ovations
at major award shows.
Then you're applauded...
...when a Black person
gets a leading role,
a nomination, a trophy.
When you're the same people
who excluded them
in the first place.
We're all a part
of the same hypocrisy.
Can I read you something?
"I am not nor have I ever been
in favor of making voters
or jurors of Negroes,
nor qualifying them to office,
nor to intermarry
with white people.
And I will say
in addition to this
that there is
physical difference
between the Black
and white races,
which I believe will forever
forbid the two races
living together
on terms of social
and political equality.
And in as much as
they cannot so live,
while they do remain together,
there must be a position
of superior and inferior
and I, as much as any other man,
am in favor of having
the superior position
being assigned
to the white race."
Former President
Abraham Lincoln.
Are you saying
Abraham Lincoln...
...was a white supremacist?
Lincoln said
he was a white supremacist.
But he won the war...
...and he kept us united.
I aim to do the same.
-[cheering on TV]
-[woman on TV] How do you
categorize his win here?
[man on TV]
Amazing. Absolutely amazing
achievement for his campaign.
[woman]
For all those just tuning in,
we can confirm
that Harold Roundtree
has won in Iowa.
-You think he can go
all the way?
-[man] Anything's possible now.
As we know, the Iowa caucus
is a good determinant
of where the nomination
will eventually go.
He's gonna take this momentum
into New Hampshire,
and I doubt anyone's gonna bet
against him come June.
Alexa,
play Easy Listening playlist.
[soft music playing]
I put in a word for you
at the bank.
You're overqualified,
but they'd love to have you.
-I didn't mean--
-I'll think about it.
-[indistinct chatter]
-[tense music]
-[birds chirping]
-[dog barking]
[soft instrumental music]
[dramatic music]
[Ola]
Hey, Dad?
Breakfast is ready.
I'll be in in a minute.
You go on inside.
[tense music]
[suspenseful drum music]