Since Scandal burst on to the scene in
2012, it has had consistently high ratings and sparked considerable debate
about whether one should be Team Fitz or Team Jake and whether Olivia wears a white
hat or a black hat. Scandal has continuously been compared
to House of Cards—see my previous
post on the Netflix hit here—as
both detail the tawdry, behind-the-scenes goings on of Washington; and,
simultaneously, both shows get things a little wrong.
One of
the show’s largest plot points revolves around B-613, a covert, black-ops agency that does the dirty work of the United States government but is not
under the control of the president, or any other government authority.
Instead, it reports only to its commander, who chooses what
information he wants to give to the president.
B-613
might be based on Majestic
12, a secret group of scientists, military officers, and government
officials, allegedly formed by President Truman in 1947 to investigate UFO sightings. But, besides the fact that Majestic
12’s existence is questionable, if it was real, it was at least formed and overseen by the
president. Scandal takes a big departure from reality by constructing a group
that supersedes the powers of all three branches of government.
B-613
is most comparable to the real-life CIA, which states on its website that both Congress and
the executive break oversees its activities. Additionally, it notes that “only the president can direct
the CIA to undertake a covert action.”
As such, while Scandal is
great for love triangle and exciting plot-twist fodder, its legal basis is
lacking.
