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James Richard "Jim" Bennett is the former President of the United States. He appears in the film, Clear and Present Danger as well as the novel of the same name. Following the events of the novel, he is later succeeded as President by Robert Fowler.
Biography[]
James Bennett is the former Governor of Ohio. He later became the Vice President under President George W. Bush and succeeded him following his assassination.
In 1994, his close friend Peter Hardin and his family were murdered by members of the Colombian drug cartel. When Bennett learns that Hardin was connected to the cartel and skimmed $650 million, he informed his National Security Advisor, James Cutter, that the cartels represent a "clear and present danger to the United States". He instructs Cutter to use force against the cartel and later sends acting Deputy Director of Intelligence Jack Ryan to Colombia to investigate Hardin's cartel connection.
Bennett attempts to claim the money Hardin's stole from the cartel by sending FBI Director Emil Jacobs to meet Ryan in Colombia and negotiate with the Colombian Attorney General for the money. When the cartel leader, Ernesto Escobedo, learns of this he sends his intelligence officer, Félix Cortez, try to retrieve the funds. Cortez plans an ambush, manipulating it to implicate Escobedo. Ryan manages to escape the ambush but the remainder of the entourage, including Jacobs, are killed as a result.
Following the deaths of Escobedo and Cortez, Bennett is confronted by Ryan who tells him he intends to inform the Congressional Oversight Committee about the conspiracy despite the damage it could do to his career. Bennett tries to silence Ryan but his attempt fails as Ryan follows through and testifies before Congress.
In the novel, the President is unnamed and was running against Robert Fowler in the 1988 Presidential Election. Due to his failure in the War on Drugs, Fowler rallies the American public against him. This provides National Security Advisor James Cutter with an opportunity to help him initiate covert operations within Colombia with intent to disrupt the illegal drug trade there. Meanwhile, the U.S. Coast Guard intercepts the yacht of Peter Hardin and finds two Hispanic men onboard cleaning the vessel after murdering Hardin and his family. It is later learned that Hardin was involved in a money laundering for a Colombian drug cartel. This prompts the FBI to sieze the laundered money from several banks across the United States and Europe which amounts to $650 million.
The seizure of the cartel money by the FBI infuriates drug cartel leader Ernesto Escobedo, who had ordered the hit on Hardin. Meanwhile, Escobedo's intelligence officer Felix Cortez finds out about FBI director Emil Jacobs' official visit to the Attorney General of Colombia. As a result, Escobedo orders the assassination of Jacobs without informing Cortez. Enraged at Jacobs' death, the President authorizes Operation Reciprocity, declaring war on Escobedo's drug organization.
The President later orders James Cutter to shutdown all covert operations against the cartel to avoid the political fallout. Cutter complies with the President's order after a secret meeting with Cortez who has blackmailed him to stop all covert operations and give up the location of the American troops in exchange for slowing down drug imports to the United States. Jack Ryan and John Clark manage to rescue the Americans and capture Cortez and Escobedo.
The President is later confronted by Ryan who chastises him for not informing him of the covert operations in Colombia. After Ryan briefs the Congressional Oversight Committee, the President intentionally loses the Presidential election to Robert Fowler in order to conceal Operation Reciprocity and to protect the honor of those involved.Trivia[]
- In the novel, Bennett is unnamed.