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Spotlight · 2015 — Chapter 15 of 21 · 3'09" · C1

Garabedian Reveals the Sealed Documents, Explained: off the record

Off the record, Mitch Garabedian explains how he slipped the Church's sealed documents into a public filing, and why Rezendes still cannot simply walk into the courthouse to read them: "the Church does not want them to be found." The law left them public, but Boston did not.

What happens

Mitch Garabedian agrees to talk off the record and tells Rezendes how he caught the Church: he filed a motion, attached the sealed documents as exhibits, and exposed them through a public proceeding. The catch is that the documents are gone from the courthouse, because in Boston the Church removed them.

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off the recorda foggy memorygive a depositionfile a motion

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  11. ❝ MonologueThe priest is silenced10 linesPractice page ↗
  39. ❝ MonologueExhibits go public8 linesPractice page ↗
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Phrase of the scene

off the record

not for publication; said privately and not to be quoted

米奇准备讲三年前那通电话之前，先确认这段话能不能不供发表，记者答应之后他才开始说。

Off the record, the deal fell apart weeks ago.

Also in this scene

  • a foggy memory

    a vague, unreliable recollection; here implying convenient forgetfulness

  • give a deposition

    to testify under oath outside the courtroom, before trial

  • file a motion

    to submit a formal request to a court

Everything marked in this scene

26 notes across 66 lines

Phrase · B2know the half of itYou don't know the half of it. Trust me.
Phrase · B2off the record

not for publication; said privately and not to be quoted

Off the record? Off the record, yeah.
SoundOff the record

weak form

Off the record? Off the record, yeah.
Grammar · B2taking little boys up to the rectory bedroom

present participle phrase

taking little boys up to the rectory bedroom, okay?
Phrase · B2threaten to do somethingThe bishop threatens to reassign him to South America.
Phrase · B2be charged with somethingBenzevich reads that Geoghan's been charged with molesting hundreds of kids.
Soundcharged with

liaison

Benzevich reads that Geoghan's been charged with molesting hundreds of kids.
Phrase · B1feel guiltyAll right? So he feels guilty. He calls me.
Phrase · B2the testimony of someoneSo you have testimony of a priest
Phrase · C1give a deposition

to testify under oath outside the courtroom, before trial

Because when I called Benzevich in to give a deposition,
Grammar · B2when I called Benzevich in to give a deposition

time clause with when

Because when I called Benzevich in to give a deposition,
Phrase · B2have a foggy memory

a vague, unreliable recollection; here implying convenient forgetfulness

And suddenly Father Benzevich has a very foggy memory.
Phrase · B1forget about itI forget about it. Whatever.
Grammar · B2a priest who warned church officials about Geoghan

relative clause with who

Until about a year ago, I find an article about a priest who warned church officials about Geoghan.
Phrase · B2go to the pressBenzevich went to the press? Yeah.
Phrase · B2on the recordBut now I got Benzevich on record.
Phrase · C1file a motion

to submit a formal request to a court

Mitch explains to Rezendes how he filed a motion to depose Benzevich again, exposing the sealed files as exhibits.

So I file a motion to depose Benzevich a second time.
Slang · B2that smug son of a bitchAll right? And Wilson Rogers, that smug son of a bitch,
Phrase · B2make an argumentso I have to make an argument as to why I'm allowed to depose.
Grammar · C1an argument as to why I'm allowed to depose

clause with as to

so I have to make an argument as to why I'm allowed to depose.
Phrase · C1attach an exhibitBut this time, I'm allowed to attach exhibits.
Phrase · B2sue for somethingthe same documents that your paper is currently suing for.
Slang · B2You're shitting meYou're shitting me?
Phrase · B1pay attentionNow you're paying attention.
Soundpaying attention

liaison

Now you're paying attention.
Phrase · C1check the docketCheck the docket. You'll see.

Garabedian Reveals the Sealed Documents, explained

What's really going on

The scene turns a legal procedure into a horror story. On the surface it is Mitch walking Rezendes through the mechanics of a case — a deposition, a motion, a pile of exhibits — but each step reveals how completely the Church controls the game. The move is clever: by attaching the sealed documents to his own public motion, he made them legally visible, which is why Rezendes thinks he can just collect them. Then comes the turn: the documents are not there. "I know I did, but this is Boston," Mitch says, and the line does all the work, because it means the rules can be publicly satisfied and privately ignored. What was going to be the proof becomes a rumor of proof, and the enemy is not a lawyer but a city where one institution can quietly erase the record.

Theme

CorruptionThe Church quietly removes court documents, showing how it bends the rules without breaking them.
PowerEven a legal victory means little in a city where one institution controls what survives.

Listen for

  • Off the record — weak form
  • charged with — liaison
  • paying attention — liaison
You don't know the half of it. Trust me.

The teaser that opens the story: the surface of the case hides a much bigger scandal.

And suddenly Father Benzevich has a very foggy memory.

The witness clams up once a lawyer appears, a dodge dressed up as forgetfulness.

Look, I'm not crazy, I'm not paranoid.

He defends his accusation about the missing documents before the reporter can call it absurd.

And they prove everything. Everything.

The sealed files, once made public, would confirm the whole cover-up.

Questions about this scene

What does 'off the record' mean at the start?

It means the conversation cannot be published or quoted, so Mitch can explain the case privately before deciding what can be used.

How did Garabedian get the sealed documents?

He attached them as exhibits to his own motion, and since that motion was public, the documents entered a public filing.

Why can't Rezendes just pick up the documents at the courthouse?

Because the Church had them removed from the courthouse, so even a public filing does not mean the records are actually there.

Why does Garabedian say 'this is Boston'?

He means the Church holds enough local power that public rules can be satisfied on paper and ignored in practice.

Spotlight · 21 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 16get on the same pageReporters Confront Boston College
Chapter 1take a hard look atBaron Meets Robinson for a DrinkChapter 2file a motionMarty Baron's First News MeetingChapter 3have something on someoneLawyers Break Down the Geoghan CaseChapter 4think in centuriesRezendes Meets GarabedianChapter 5stand aloneMarty Baron Meets Cardinal LawChapter 6preyed uponPhil Saviano Tells His StoryChapter 7the beginning of it allReporters Interview Abuse SurvivorsChapter 8out of circulationPressuring Macleish on SettlementsChapter 9it takes a villageRezendes Meets the InformantChapter 10Good GermansSipe's Six Percent EstimateChapter 11off the estimateThe Team Counts 87 PriestsChapter 12cottage industryRobby Confronts MacleishChapter 13from the top downThe Team Goes After the SystemChapter 14sledding uphillSpringfield Hearing on Sealed RecordsWatching · Chapter 15off the recordGarabedian Reveals the Sealed DocumentsChapter 16get on the same pageReporters Confront Boston CollegeChapter 17broke ranksRobby Refuses to Rush the StoryChapter 18a few bad applesPete Pressures Robby Over DrinksChapter 19on a clockRobby Gets Six Weeks to PublishChapter 20lay something on someoneRobby Confronts His Old FriendChapter 21stumbling around in the darkThe Newsroom Finalizes the Story
Chapter 15 of 21 · about 18 min to go