Impeachment: American Crime Story Recap: Operation Prom Night - Vulture

It’s five minutes to now-or-never o’clock, but Jackie Bennett, Starr’s pit bull, isn’t worried about Operation Prom Night.

Before the FBI picks up Monica, the Starr team formulates an explicit strategy to keep her from calling Frank Carter, the lawyer Vernon Jordan arranged, thereby tipping off the White House.

They need Monica’s cooperation, yes, but it’s worth a lot less if Bill Clinton doesn’t lie under oath.

It’s a credit to Sarah Paulson’s portrayal that it is so easy to imagine Linda running ten minutes late to a sting.

Mike is our Good Cop: We know you lied about your affair with the president, he tells her, but we’re not mad at you; we’re mad at the powerful men who made you lie.

Does it not feel like a gigantic flaw in the op that Monica can’t simply make the bugged phone calls to Betty & Co.

Starr sends in Jackie to take a second pass.

The Bad Cop reiterates that she shouldn’t call her lawyer because Frank Carter is a co-conspirator (what?).

If we know anything about Monica, it’s that she doesn’t accept the word no.

When Monica calls Marcia from a mall pay phone, Marcia convinces her not to warn Bill.

Monica calls her dad, Dr.

on a Friday, Mike tells Monica she can absolutely call her lawyer.

When Frank doesn’t answer, he even offers her a public defender.

Their first stop is Crate & Barrel, except there is no Crate & Barrel at Pentagon City.

Monica explains to Mike the mechanics of a wine decanter, and you’re telling me this 24-year-old knows to decant her wine and that decanting wine is a bougie affectation, but she doesn’t think to call her lawyer twice?

When she glimpses a news segment about Bill’s deposition, she puts the timeline together and sneaks away to call Betty, who doesn’t pick up.

Monica can still stop this somehow, she thinks, or at least control how big it gets.

“I’ll never have kids,” she tells Mike when they stop for TGI Fridays (also not in the mall).

If Monica calls Betty, and Betty calls Bill, his lawyers cancel the deposition.

Instead, Marcia asks to see Monica’s immunity deal in writing, and, honestly, the FBI would have been better off letting Monica call Frank Carter because Marcia is a tough advocate.

Eleven hours later, Monica has a profane, if underqualified lawyer, and the lawyer tells her to get up and leave.

Monica doesn’t warn Bill about what’s coming nor does she turn on him.

• Ken Starr’s team really did keep Monica at the Ritz for half a day, though Starr has been very clear that the rooms were pleasant and “commodious.”.