Character Relationship Map: The Report

Characters

• Dianne Feinstein (played by Annette Bening) — protagonist

  A senator and chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee who selects Daniel Jones to lead the CIA interrogation review. She approves the completed report, rejects CIA efforts to alter it, accuses the...

• Senator Mark Udall (played by Scott Shepherd) — minor
• Bruce Jessen (played by T. Ryder Smith) — minor

  An intelligence psychologist contracted with James Mitchell in 2002 to teach the CIA enhanced interrogation techniques. Together they begin their work on Abu Zubaydah after the FBI’s rapport-building...

• John Brennan (played by Ted Levine) — supporting

  The newly sworn-in CIA director who meets with Daniel Jones and committee representatives to seek changes to the report. After the CIA is confronted over its unlawful search of Senate computers and th...

• Abu Zubaydah (played by Zuhdi Boueri) — cameo

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• John Brennan → Bruce Jessen (Professional Agency Program Connection) — The plot places both within the CIA's institutional response to the interrogation program, though at different periods.

  Jessen was contracted to instruct the CIA in enhanced interrogation techniques, and Brennan later becomes director of the CIA during the report disput...

• Dianne Feinstein → Senator Mark Udall (Professional Committee Colleague) — They work within the Senate Intelligence Committee while challenging the CIA's official account.

  Udall is identified as a senator on the Intelligence Committee, and Feinstein chairs that committee during the report controversy.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Dianne Feinstein → Abu Zubaydah (Narrative Oversight Connection) — Abu Zubaydah's treatment provides a central case examined by Feinstein's investigation.

  The investigation examines CIA records concerning enhanced interrogation, including evidence that the CIA falsely characterized Abu Zubaydah to obtain...

• Dianne Feinstein → Bruce Jessen (Narrative Program Overseer And Subject) — Their roles connect congressional oversight with the operational origins of the interrogation program.

  Feinstein selects the Senate investigation into CIA enhanced interrogation, while Jessen is identified as one of the psychologists contracted to instr...

• Bruce Jessen → Abu Zubaydah (Conflict Interrogation Subject) — Jessen is directly connected to the interrogation and torture program applied to Abu Zubaydah.

  The plot states that Jessen and James Mitchell began their work on Abu Zubaydah and used enhanced interrogation techniques on him.

• Senator Mark Udall → John Brennan (Conflict Public Challenger) — Udall publicly challenges the CIA's institutional account during congressional proceedings.

  During a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Udall asks why the committee reports and the Panetta Review contradict the CIA's official position.

• Dianne Feinstein → John Brennan (Conflict Political Adversary) — Their institutional conflict centers on whether the CIA torture report should be altered.

  Brennan arranges meetings to pressure the committee to change elements of the report, while Feinstein ends the discussions and keeps the report unchan...

Story Analysis

A congressional investigation confronts institutional secrecy, disputed intelligence claims, and retaliation before forcing a public record of the CIA interrogation program.

Plot Progression

1. The Hidden Interrogation Record — A Senate investigation begins inside a secure Virginia facility. The review uncovers the origins of enhanced interrogation and evidence that the CIA's justification for using it was false.
2. Evidence Beneath The Files — Medical objections and the concealed Panetta Review deepen the investigation. The records contradict public claims that torture produced essential intelligence.
3. The Report Under Pressure — The completed report reaches the Intelligence Committee and the CIA. Brennan's meetings attempt to alter its findings, but the evidence withstands the pressure.
4. Institutional Retaliation — Udall exposes the conflict between the CIA's position and its internal review. The CIA searches Senate computers, prompting Feinstein to accuse the agency of violating separation of powers.
5. A Public Record At Last — Redaction threats and an approaching change in Senate control endanger publication. The summary is finally released, supported by Senate speeches, while the investigator leaves his staff position.