Bill Buchanan

Bill Buchanan was a CTU intelligence agent. He was initially sent to CTU Los Angeles by Division Command to oversee the exchange of Jack Bauer for Behrooz Araz in Day 4.

During Day 5 and Day 6, he served as Special Agent in Charge of CTU Los Angeles.

Education

 * Bachelor of Arts, English - Brown University

Work Experience

 * Special Agent in Charge, CTU Los Angeles
 * Regional Director, Division Los Angeles
 * Associate Special Agent in Charge, Division Los Angeles Office
 * Senior Agent, Division Seattle Office
 * Intelligence Analyst, Division Seattle Office
 * Agent, CTU New York

Bill Buchanan worked with Michelle Dessler in Homeland Security restructuring, CTU Seattle, and Division. Bill and Michelle worked well together, but were unable to connect outside of work because she still had feelings for ex-husband Tony Almeida.

Lynn McGill recognized Bill on sight, but did not mention if they had met in person.

Day 4
During Day 4, Bill was sent to CTU Los Angeles from Division Command to oversee the exchange of Jack Bauer for Behrooz Araz.

Bill initially encountered some resistance from Tony Almeida due to his past relationship with Tony's ex-wife, Michelle Dessler, but all three were able to overcome the awkward situation and work together effectively.

When Jack brought in terrorist collaborator Joe Prado for interrogation, he and Bill decided Prado would most likely not break under standard questioning. However, Amnesty Global attorney David Weiss arrived soon after Prado to defend his rights. Bill appealed to the Justice Department, but was unable to find a judge to sign off on torturing Prado. Jack and Bill took their case directly to Acting President Charles Logan, who told them he would consider it.

In the meantime, Jack continued to push for torturing Prado. Bill balked, saying that they'd all be fired if he authorized illegal torture. Jack suggested that Bill allow him to resign and release Prado without charges, so that both Jack and Prado would be free private citizens. Jack's interrogation wouldn't need authorization, and Prado wouldn't be entitled to a lawyer. Bill agreed, although later both Mike Novick and Audrey Raines harshly criticized the decision.

On the phone with Novick, Bill explained that restraint was a luxury the country couldn't afford, and suggested that Novick convince Logan to authorize the torture post hoc and "cheat the timeline in the official record." Bill also expressed his concern about Logan's leadership abilities. Later, when Mike called back to inform Bill that Logan wanted Jack arrested immediately, Bill became angry and called Jack to warn him that Secret Service was on their way.

Later, Jack and Tony teamed up behind the backs of both Michelle and Bill to raid the Chinese Consulate. After the botched mission, Bill was furious at having been left out of the loop. However, once he cooled down, he faked Jack's hourlies and otherwise helped to obfuscate the investigation led by Cheng Zhi.

After Mandy captured Tony and attempted to use him as leverage to force Michelle to clear a path, Michelle confessed to Bill that she had agreed to the deal. Bill immediately called Jack to organize a counter plan. When Michelle felt guilty about her initial decision to help Mandy, Bill comforted her. He sent her home after it seemed that Tony had been killed.

Bill defended Jack's actions to Dale Spalding when the Secret Service agent came to hand Jack over to the Chinese. He also had to break the news to Audrey that Jack had been killed in an escape attempt.

After Michelle left with Tony at the end of the day, Bill took over the position of Special Agent in Charge of CTU Los Angeles.

Day 5
At the beginning of Day 5, Bill Buchanan was the Special Agent in Charge of CTU Los Angeles. After Jack Bauer became involved with the hostage crisis at Ontario Airport, District Command sent Lynn McGill to supervise Bill and the rest of LACTU. Bill was defensive and impatient with Lynn, apologizing for his attitude after the crisis was resolved. When Jack went undercover with the terrorists at the Sunrise Hills Shopping Mall, Bill and Lynn both supported allowing the terrorists to strike the mall to preserve Jack's cover.

Later, Bill refuted Lynn's accurate suspicions that Audrey Raines and Chloe O'Brian were working together behind Lynn's back to help Jack. Once he discovered that the women were doing just that, Bill helped them cover their tracks. Lynn responded by having Bill relieved of command and taken to holding (an action for which he later apologized). Bill was reinstated soon after, when Lynn was himself removed under Article 112.

Shortly before 10:00pm, Bill touched analyst Shari Rothenberg on the shoulder in a congratulatory manner for performing well. Although he was not aware of it, she was offended by his action and Chloe became concerned that Shari might file a meritless sexual harassment claim against him.

A more pressing threat to Bill's position as CTU director emerged after 10:00pm, when the Department of Homeland Security was ordered by Vice President Hal Gardner to absorb the duties and functions of CTU. Bill intended to challenge the Vice President's order by demonstrating his successes in Day 5, with the total support of his staff.

Homeland Security bureaucrat Miles Papazian drafted a document that blamed Bill for allowing CTU to be compromised, rationalizing that it would be easier to take over CTU if Bill were out of the way. Miles attempted to coerce Audrey Raines, as the Department of Defense liaison, into signing the document, but she initially refused. She later signed the document in order to secure Chloe O'Brian's position (and thus a helper for Jack), and Bill left CTU thinking Audrey had betrayed him.

At midnight, Bill met with Jack and Wayne Palmer and was apprised that President Charles Logan was part of the conspiracy surrounding David Palmer's assassination. Bill took Wayne back to his home to hide him during the current crisis. Upon being caught helping Audrey, Chloe snuck out of CTU and went into hiding at Bill's place, as well. However, Miles tracked Chloe's access of the CTU server to Bill's home and sent a team to arrest her.

Karen Hayes called Bill to inform him of Chloe's imminent arrest, and to let him know that she intended to bring him into CTU as a suspect, but only so that she could hear his story without letting on to Miles that she might not be absolutely loyal to the Logan Administration. Bill explained that he was working with Jack Bauer and Wayne Palmer against President Logan, and he and Karen worked together from that point on. Bill was also on hand both times when CTU tried to contact the Attorney General to notify him about the situation.

With Logan under arrest and Hal Gardner set to be sworn in as President, Bill assumed that Day 5 would be his last day at CTU. Karen assured him, however, that she would put in a good word for him. He asked her out to breakfast, and she turned him down due to a mandatory briefing at Division, but asked for a raincheck. Seeing Chloe about to leave, Bill gave her a photo found in Edgar Stiles' personal possessions.

Before Day 6
Between Day 5 and Day 6, Karen Hayes helped get Bill Buchanan's job back as CTU's Special Agent in Charge. Realizing they had a great friendship, Bill and Karen began to spend more time together and they eventually started to become romantically involved. They then decided to commit to wedding vows. 14 monhts prior to Day 6, CTU Seattle detained Abu Fayed and 19 other known terrorists. Seeing their wasn't enough evidence to put Fayed behind bars, Bill signed for his release.

Day 6
With a series of terrorist attacks occuring on US soil, CTU was making very little progress on the situation, until Abu Fayed contacted them. Fayed was willing to give up the culprit of the attacks, Hamri Al-Assad, for a steep price. He wanted $25 million and he also wanted Jack Bauer, who was being held captive by the Chinese. Realizing Jack was the country's only hope, President Wayne Palmer signed for his release, with Bill and Curtis Manning picking him up from Cheng Zhi.

When Bill told Jack about the situation, all Jack could think of were Audrey Raines and Kim Bauer. When Bill told Jack they didn't know about his release, Jack agreed to be used as a sacrifice. Bill and Curtis drop Jack off at the location Fayed left, and Buchanan updates his wife Karen Hayes, who is working in DC as one of President Palmer's advisors.

When one of Fayed's men discover someone has satellite coverage of Jack's location, Buchanan and Nadia Yassir become furious and suggest that they don't have live feed on the location. It is then learned that Morris O'Brian and Chloe O'Brian used a non-government satellite to watch Jack. Buchanan demanded for them to re-positioning it and he said he would have their jobs if they could afford it. Fayed then gives CTU the location of Assad.

Buchanan and CTU are surprised when they get a call from Jack, who tells them he escaped after learning that Fayed was behind the attacks, and Assad was only in America to stop him and make peace with the West. When Bill learned this, he contacted President Palmer, who refused to call of the strike on Assad's location. Jack was forced to warn Assad, and Chloe discovered satellite footage of Jack escaping with Assad. When Bill discovered this, he told her to keep it between them.

When President Palmer and CTU realize that Jack was right, they decide it is best to work with Jack and Assad, but they are unable to get in contact with them. Fayed then calls President Palmer and demands for the release of prisoners. President Palmer arranges for the release, but CTU realizes that one of the prisoners is an engineer that Fayed needs to trigger his suitcase nukes. Buchanan called the president and demanded for him to stop the release, but the engineer was able to escape with help from a dirty guard.

After Curtis and Jack run by a lead, that leads CTU to the address where Fayed was running his next plan, Assad is pardoned by President Palmer if he continues to help CTU with the case. When Curtis learns this, he is furious and attempts to kill Assad, as they had past history. When Curtis refuses to let Assad go, Jack is given no choice but to shoot Curtis in the neck, which ultimately kills him. After killing his close friend, Jack tells Bill that he can no longer run this operation. After a nuclear bomb went off in Los Angeles, Jack decides that he needs to stay and help CTU with the operation.

When Assad is brought into CTU, Buchanan is very uncomfortable working with him and he then questions him. Buchanan then begins to realize Assad is on his side and he learns about a Russian general, who has had contact with Jack's father, Phillip Bauer. When Jack learns about this, he decides to follow up on the lead himself, and Buchanan thanks Assad for all the help he has contributed. Assad then leaves with guards, as he is being transported to the country's capital.

With Jack following up on the lead, which takes him to Graem Bauer's house, Bill is focused on finding where Fayed can be. He is then angered when he learns that Homeland Security have flagged Nadia, because she is of Middle Eastern descent. Bill then calls his wife Karen and asks for her to talk to the president about this. Karen is convinced that Thomas Lennox is behind it and agrees to talk to President Palmer about it.q

Memorable Quotes

 * Mike Novick: The President gave direct orders. You should have restrained Bauer!
 * Bill Buchanan: With all due respect, restraint is a luxury we can't afford right now.


 * Audrey Raines: The President made it very clear that he didn't want Prado's rights violated.
 * Bill Buchanan: That's right, he did make it clear. And he was wrong.
 * Audrey Raines: We can't just break protocol because we think it's right at the time and expect to get away with it!
 * Bill Buchanan: Normally, I'd agree with you. But in this case, I'd rather ask for forgiveness than permission.
 * Audrey Raines: What kind of answer is that?
 * Bill Buchanan: The answer is, it worked. We got Marwan's location.  Audrey, with all due respect, this is not Washington, D.C.  Policy and politics do not always work on the front line, which is where we are today.
 * Audrey Raines: Yes, well, Charles Logan is a politician, and he is not going to give you forgiveness. I hope this does not come back to haunt you or Jack.
 * Bill Buchanan: If what we did gets us to Marwan, we'll live with it.


 * Bill Buchanan: It is absolutely unacceptable I was kept out of the loop on this.
 * Tony Almeida: That's the way Jack wanted to play it.
 * Bill Buchanan: You don't work for Jack, you work for me!


 * Bill Buchanan: Chloe, we're in an active code. We don't have time for your personality disorder, you understand me?


 * Spenser Wolff: Sir, I'd like to talk to a lawyer.
 * Bill Buchanan: Forget about a lawyer, we're in a middle of a terrorist crisis. There are lives on the line.  You're going to tell us what you've been doing here and you're going to tell us now!


 * Lynn McGill: I'm not about to start considering disobeying a direct order from the White House!
 * Bill Buchanan: That's because you don't have the experience to know any better.


 * Lynn McGill: Sit down, Mr. Buchanan.
 * Bill Buchanan: Would you stop with the "Mr. Buchanan?"


 * Tony Almeida: My wife was killed this morning right in front of my eyes, and nobody here has told me who did it or why.
 * Bill Buchanan: We're looking into it, Tony.
 * Tony Almeida: Come on, Bill. I used to work here.  I know that's what you say to people when you don't wanna tell 'em the truth.
 * Bill Buchanan: The truth is you're not an agent anymore. What you're asking me is classified.  Tony, it doesn't matter what I tell you, there's nothing you can do.
 * Tony Almeida: I know there's nothing I can do, look at me for God's sake! I just wanna know who did it.  I think for the sake of all the years I've given this place and all the sacrifices I've made, I think I deserve to know, don't you?
 * Bill Buchanan: All I can tell you is Michelle's murder was part of bigger plan to supply terrorists with Sentox nerve gas.
 * Tony Almeida: Who's behind it? Who's responsible, Bill?
 * Bill Buchanan: The highest we've been able to get up the chain of command is someone you might know from when he worked here. Christopher Henderson.
 * Tony Almeida: What? Why??
 * Bill Buchanan: We're working on it, Tony.
 * Tony Almeida: Don't let him get away with this, Bill. Don't you let him cut a deal.
 * Bill Buchanan: I won't.


 * Bill Buchanan: (to Miles Papazian) You have no idea what you're dealing with, you little ass kisser.


 * Bill Buchanan: We need to do better than what we're doing and we need to do it faster!


 * Bill Buchanan: (about Jack Bauer) I thought I was prepared but he's worse than I thought, much worse.