Way of Money

This is an umbrella page for the timeline happening mostly in Chapter 20 up to Chapter 26, following the events of the exposure of a connection between Raymond Tusk, Xander Feng and the White House, including Garrett Walker, who eventually faces impeachment because of the exposure.

Due to most events accompanied by a timestamp, this part of the House of Cards series could be most accurately described.

As of now, only Chapter 20 is fully analyzed and published. Other episodes are to follow.

July 2014

July 14, 2014

• Release of Vote for America by Friends of a better America attack ad.

  

  House of Cards Attack Ad - Friends for a Better America

  Vote for America by "Friends of a better America" attack ad.

• (morning) Democratic Party estimates the cost of the attack ad to $25M, coming from super PACs but can't officially track the money until the quarter filings come in, discussed in a briefing with the party leaders, POTUS and VP.
• Walter Doyle informs Frank, that Daniel Lanagin isn't playing by the rules, namely that he declared $18M in donations on June 30, 2014, none of which has gone to the Democratic Party.
• Frank mentions Raymond Tusk and his grime on him and the President. Doyle, however, dismisses Tusk's involvement in the finance reports of Lanagin's to which Frank replies that "Tusk doesn't ever make political contributions - it's how he remains flexible".
• Doug Stamper is given the order to fly to Kansas City and visit the Adaho Gaming Casino of Lanagin's.

  

  Doug at Adaho Gaming Casino

• (~19:30, CTZ) Doug arrives at the casino.
• (21:35, CTZ) Doug meets Tammy, the waitress.
• (21:35, CTZ) Lanagin becomes aware of Doug's presence.
• Frank and Garrett have a long and relaxed conversation in the White House.
• Tammy brings Doug to her apartment, having a night with him.

July 15, 2014

• (morning) Doug calls Frank, forwarding information revealed by Tammy, namely that there are 3 to 4 flights yearly, carrying about a dozen of Chinese, which have a whole floor in the casino reserved for them, throwing millions on the tables. Frank is skeptical, as "Chinese, especially rich Chinese love to gamble", to which Doug replies: "Yes, in Vegas, not in Missouri."
• (12:17, ETZ) Doug texts Frank with more information regarding the travels of the Chinese to Lanagin's casino, while Frank is in a meeting with Linda, barely listening to her.
  • Doug: "Planes owned by our Chinese friend's company."
  • Frank: "How many trips?"
  • Doug: "38 to KC since 2005."
  • Frank: "I want confirmation in person."
  • Frank: "Harder for him to lie to your face."
  • Doug: "Already bought my ticket."
• (11:18, CTZ on Doug's phone; 12:32, CST on an infotable in background - probably a blooper) Doug buys a ticket to Beijing, connecting in Chicago, flight 1326/187. The plane is expected to land 19:10, CST.

  

  Doug buying a ticket to Beijing, to visit Xander Feng.

• Frank calls Tusk, without knowing that he is accompanied by Lanagin, demanding an answer whether he fondles money to the Republicans. Tusk present himself as clueless, to which Frank states that it's going about "$20M in GOP super PACs". Tusk reminds Underwood, that he never makes political contributions and Frank states that he knows that the money is coming from a casino in Missouri and he knows it's coming from Feng. During the conversation, Frank realizes that Tusk's true intention of the money flow manipulation was to gain control over Congress in form of a Republican majority, even when Lanagin's casino money was flowing into the Democratic Party, to which he reminds Tusk that "anyone with a computer will be able to see what is going on" but Tusk dismiss him, as "the reports will be out in September, to weeks before the mid-terms". Frank, however, doesn't give in, saying "You cannot bully your place back to the table, just as you cannot buy the keys to Congress." Tusk ignores him, saying "Best of luck keeping your majority in the House... I know how much it means to you." Tusk then ends the call.
  • Later, Frank has a monologue: "When the money is coming your way, you don't ask questions. But now it's clear - Lanagin's never been anything but a front. Do I tell the president? No, he'll wonder why I didn't know, which makes me look uninformed - or he'll blame the messenger for involving him, which makes me look careless. No, it's a trap. I must keep that to myself."
• (blooper - web search shows August 5, 2014 16:16, ET, although that isn't possible) Ayla Sayyad is seen in the Wall Street Telegraph, buying stocks over a Chinese broker with her colleague.
  • "He wants to know who are you buying on behalf of."
  • Ayla: "It's a hedge fund named Mercury Capital; it's unlisted."
  • "They need a name."
  • Ayla: "Tell them I have to protect the identities."
  • "The broker need more. He wants a full investor list."
  • Ayla: "Say, that the principal investor has strong ties to White House."
  • "And they want to know if you represent Clayton West.."
  • Ayla: "Clayton West?"
  • [Ayla opens up web search, searches for "clayton west", yielding 15,700,000 results]

    

    Web search for "clayton west".

  • "He's waiting."
  • Ayla: "One second."
  • [Ayla searches for "raymond tusk xander feng", yielding 427 results, mostly in Mandarin]

    

    Web search for "raymond tusk xander feng".

  • Ayla: "What does it say?"
  • "It's about a refinery in China... for rare earth elements."
  • Ayla: "Tell him yes. Tell him the principal investor is Raymond Tusk."

July 16, 2014

Doug and Feng discussing the matter of Doug's visit.

Doug in his room at Feng's.

• (07:15, ETZ) Doug texts Frank about Xander Feng.
  • Doug: "Made contact. XF is stalling."
  • Frank: "You DO NOT leave until you have an answer."
  • Doug: "FYI our friends from STL and KC know I'm here."
  • Frank: "Bring Indian friend to DC. I want a face-to-face with him."
  • Doug: "Calling KC now."
  • Frank: "ASAP"
• (afternoon/evening) Ayla questions Seth Grayson, regarding Xander Feng. Seth presents him clueless. Ayla goes further, telling Seth that Conor told her about the backchanneling with the Chinese, namely Xander Feng. She continues, saying Feng is a business partner with Tusk, and that they are working together on a refinery in China. Ayla mentions the rare earth subsides and the possible connection to Tusk and eventually Feng. Seth dismisses her, asking if she has a specific question for him or just speculations. She replies she would like to ask the VP himself about the matter. Seth denies the request, asking again if she has a specific question for him, not an interview request. She offers him a specific question, "Does the VP knows Raymond Tusk?", to which he replies with "Not to my knowledge." Alya doesn't trust his answer and suspects that he is hiding something. Seth dismisses her, saying "I'm not hiding anything, I'm just a guy with low blood sugar."
• (night) The Underwoods and the Walkers have a dinner together, Freddy cooks ribs for them.

July 17, 2014

• (morning, UTC+8) Doug meets with Feng again. He learns that allies of Feng want the Port Jefferson Bridge back, and Feng doesn't want to turn allies into enemies, because of his corruption charges, which require execution by Chinese law. Doug accepts the deal but requires to stop the money flow first. Feng denies, insisting that the bridge must come first, as the VP has lied to him before and he needs a proof of his commitment.
• (late evening) Frank meets with Daniel Lanagin, at Underwood's home. Frank creates the assumption of Lanagin telling Tusk where he is. Lanagin firmly denies knowing who Tusk is. Frank pulls Feng and his confession into play but Lanagin still denies the allegations. Frank then presents his evidence on the connection, namely the "flight records of one of Feng's planes to Kansas City on multiple occasions". Lanagin ignores Frank and says he came here because he thought Frank has something to offer, and that he would like to skip to that part. Frank puts a lot of pathos into his dialogue, saying that no matter what Lanagin has done, it can be forgotten but he needs to stop flowing money into wrong hands. Lanagin dismisses the rhetoric of Frank's and again says that he still waits for an offer. Frank now tries with logos, arguing that he understands that Lanagin's primary concern is profit - which Lanagin doesn't deny. However, Frank tries to offer Lanagin "something far more valuable than money - a direct line to the White House". Lanagin is more than skeptical, saying "That sounds vague for me." Frank then tries to convince Lanagin with the argument of his influence over BIA and federal gambling legislation but Lanagin counters as "these sort of influence my contributions already bought". Frank goes further and presents that those influences are far more valuable with his "direct involvement and the President's ear". Then, Lanagin's monologue follows.
  • "You know what I like about money? I can stack it on a table, like this one. I can measure it with a yardstick. I can see it, smell it, buy things with it. Houses, cars, clothes. Things that are real. You're gonna have to show up with more than beads."
• (continued) Lanagin then puts an ultimatum on Frank: "Unless you can offer more money than Tusk, and I don't think that you can, there's little left for us to talk about." Frank ignores the ultimatum and continues with pathos, "I am just like you, Dan. I know what it means to start from nothing, to have to fight..." - Lanagin cuts him off: "You know nothing about what it means to be me. Your version of nothing was light-years ahead of where I started." Frank remains speechless and without further arguments, tries to save the conversation, which then eventually escalates with Lanagin insulting Frank.
• (late evening, after Frank-Lanagin talk) Doug meanwhile returns to DC and is seen at Underwood's basement, just before Claire and Frank went for a run. Frank asks why he hadn't called before he got on the plane, to which Doug replies: "I was afraid our communication might be monitored." Frank tells Doug that Lanagin isn't an option and asks if Feng is. Doug answers that "Feng is an option, but could be tricky".