Martha Logan

As the wife of President Charles Logan, Martha Logan was the First Lady of the United States on Day 5.

Background

 * Confined to Meadowcreek Mental Health Institute

Personal

 * Husband (divorced): Charles Logan
 * Romantically involved with Aaron Pierce

Education

 * Bachelor of Arts, Art History - Stanford University

Work experience

 * First Lady of the United States
 * Santa Barbara Museum Board of Trustees
 * Southern California Shelters Fundraiser
 * Representative, Shine Walden Gallery

Before Nightfall
Martha grew up in Weston, Massachusetts. She first met Charles Logan while he was serving in the California state legislature, and quickly became the indecisive politician's most trusted advisor and friend.

Before Day 5, Martha had a history of mental illness. She was committed for some time to a mental institution in Vermont, and regularly took medication for depression and anxiety.

Nightfall
Martha attended a fundraiser supporting David Palmer's bid for the Presidency. It was considered by Palmer as going "above the call of duty," especially because she crossed party lines to do so.

Day 5


During Day 5, President Charles Logan was preparing to sign a Anti-terrorism treaty with Russian President Yuri Suvarov. The president asked Walt Cummings, his Chief of Staff, to bring Martha to the press conference. After getting to her room, Walt Cummings broke the news to Martha that former President David Palmer was assassinated in Los Angeles.

Martha claimed that David Palmer called her the night before and wanted to discuss a matter of National Security with her. She planned on interrupting Charles' press conference about Palmer's death to tell him her conspiracy theories. After Mike Novick told her that millions of people were watching the conference and she would just make matters worse, Martha agreed to wait to tell Charles.



Charles told Martha he would look into her theory, and she was certain that he didn't believe her. After Charles played an audio recording that proved David didn't want to discuss a matter of National Security, she became certain that someone in the administration doctored it. Charles tries to convince her she is delusional and needs to get back on her medication. When a hostage crisis errupts at the Ontario Airport, Martha is convinced it was related to Palmer's assassination. When Martha learns the president has all the phone conversations turned into transcripts, she has Evelyn Martin cover for her, while she tries to get access to the transcript. After threatening Mr. Burke, Martha is able to get access to one of the communications room. While digging through files, Agent Aaron Pierce arrives and tells her she has to come with him. Martha hides the transcript in her blouse and after Evelyn apologizes to her, she insists it isn't necessary as she got what she came for.

After the treaty was signed and the hostage situation was resolved, Martha went to speak to her husband about the transcript. However, she was knocked out unconscious and someone stole the transcript from her blouse. President Logan doesn't believe her and he tells her he is going to have her committed. After Martha sneaks out of the retreat, Aaron finds her and she tells him about her theory. Just as the car is about to leave for the sanitarium, Logan stops it. He apologizes to Martha and tells her she was right, as Walt Cummings was exposed as a mole.



Martha initially is furious with her husband for not believing her, but she puts these issues aside. When Walt Cummings commits suicide, Martha debates policy with Charles and Mike. Mike is convinced they should cover up Walt's involvement with the terrorists in order to protect the administration from receiving bad publicity. Martha is convinced that the administration will earn more respect if they reveal the truth.

Charles agrees to go along with Martha's plan if she is able to break the news about Walt's treason to Suzanne Cummings, Walt's wife. After Suzanne arrived, Martha went to speak to her. After realizing Suzanne didn't deserve to go through all of this, she decided to go along with Mike's plan to cover the scandal up. Martha told Suzanne that Walt committed suicide, due to the emotional events of the day.

Eventually Martha learned that terrorists gained control of 20 canisters of Sentox VX nerve gas. She learned that a man named Vladimir Bierko threatened to release the gas if the president doesn't give up the Suvarov's motorcade route. When Martha learns that Logan is given into Bierko's demands, she becomes furious. She claims that what he is doing is murder and he should stand up to the terrorists.



Martha decided to play her husband's hand by entering the Suvarov's limousine. When Aaron decided to run up in the front of the limo, Martha expressed her belief it wasn't necessary, while Aaron insisted on going for the ride. When President Logan learned about Martha entering the motorcade, he called her and demanded for her to create an excuse in order to get out of the limousine. Martha refused and decided to stay with Yuri and Anya.

Martha asked Aaron if any changes have been made to the motorcade route, and he told her no. She began to wonder why Charles didn't call it back and/or make any changes. President Suvarov soon took notice to Martha's unusual behavior, while Anya tried to make small talk. Towards the end of the route, Pierce was contacted by CTU Los Angeles and he ordered for the limousine to be turned around. When the Russian separtists learned the Secret Service knew about the attack, they started to attack the motorcade.

After the Russians took out all of the surrounding agents, they launched a missile at the Suvarov's limousine. As a result of the attack, Agent Pierce was knocked out unconscious and the terrorists began to try to destroy what was left of the limo. Eventually Agent Pierce woke up and he opened the car door, killing the remaining terrorists. Martha and the Suvarovs were shakened up from the terrible events, as back-up arrived on the scene.

While waiting to be brought back to the presidential retreat, Martha confronted Aaron and told him that the president knew about the attack and didn't stop it. After arriving back at the retreat, Martha refuses to speak to her husband. When the president tries to go to her home to talk, Evelyn tells Logan that she specifically told her she didn't want to see him. Martha asked for Evelyn to summon Aaron for her.



Aaron arrived at her room and Martha thanked him for saving her life. Aaron told her it was his duty and the two had a tender moment together, but Mike walked in. Mike dismissed Aaron from the room and warned him to not let whatever happened happen again. Novick later confronts Martha and tells her that her husband was praying on his knees for her, and she began to have a new light for her husband.

Martha believed that Mike had some sort of agenda and discussed Vice President Hal Gardner's decision to have Martial law evoked in Los Angeles with him. Martha confronted her husband about it and expressed her belief that Hal was using Logan for his own personal agenda. Despite being against Gardner's proposal, Martha eventually assured her husband that she would stick by his decision.

When CTU had a new lead on Bierko, Martha tried to convince Charles not to invoke martial law, but Charles was convinced it was necessary in order to bring the terrorists out into the open. Martha also good-bye to her assistant, Evelyn, as Evelyn was leaving work for the day.



When Bierko was caught by CTU and the terrorist attacks ceased, Martha congratulated Charles. However, Charles then received a call and began acting secretive, requesting that she leave. Martha learned that Secretary of Defense James Heller was on his way to the retreat, but the President refuses to reveal to her the reason for the late call.

Martha went to Aaron Pierce to find out if he knew anything about Heller's visit. Though initially reluctant, Aaron eventually agreed to meet with Martha at the south stables. However, when she arrived at the meeting place, Aaron was nowhere to be found, and a phone call to his cell phone revealed that it had been dropped onto the ground nearby. Concerned, Martha began asking questions of the other Secret Service agents, demanding to know what had happened to Agent Pierce. She was met by Agent Justin Adams, who locked her in a room when she asked them to find Pierce.



Charles later confronted Martha and explained that Aaron was transfered back to Washington. He then revealed to her that he was complicit in the events of the day, horrifying her. He admitted to his crimes of being involved in David Palmer's assassination and selling Sentox nerve gas to terrorists, causing Martha to tell him that she hated him; however, she agreed to keep quiet for the sake of the country.

Martha later began demanding her medication but was denied it by the agents guarding her room. She contacted Mike Novick and asks him to get it for her. He asked her what was wrong but she refused to tell him. Mike was able to get her medication and brought it to her. Mike watched as she took several pills with a glass of wine. Some time after, she called Charles to try and understand his motives, but he was busy dealing with Christopher Henderson and didn't want to deal with her. He reminds her that she'd been on the verge of a mental breakdown for three years and that he doesn't have time to deal with her. Martha sobbed for him not to hang up, but he ignored her and disconnected, much to her dismay and frustration.

Charles tried to make amends with his wife an hour later, but Martha was in no mood for forgiveness. She expressed her disgust in him and their marriage, finally turning away from him and silently dismissing him.



While out having a smoke, Martha noticed a car pulling into the stables. Curious, she followed it and was shocked to find Agent Adams about to kill Aaron Pierce. She managed to distract him long enough for Aaron to kick Adams, disarming him. As the fight ensued, Martha grabbed Adams' gun and shot him just as Adams was about to deal the fatal blow. She appeared to be in shock at what she had done, and then rushed over to Aaron's side, crying and begging him to stay with her. She managed to move them into the safety of an empty stable, where she tenderly cleaned the blood off of his face. They decided to bring Mike into the loop, and she agreed not to let on that she knew anything.

She managed to track down Mike long enough to bring him to the stables. Mike was shocked upon seeing Aaron and finding out that Adams had tried to kill him. Martha admitted that she'd been planning on keeping quiet, but that what she had seen in the stables had convinced her that she could no longer do that. Mike agreed to drive Aaron off of the grounds to safety. After he left to get his keys, Martha asked Aaron if he would contact her to let her know that he was safe. Unfortunately, Aaron believed it would be safer if they stayed apart. She sadly said goodbye to him, and was touched when he took her by the arm and quietly thanked her. She watched the car pulled out of the stables with Aaron looking back at her through the window.

Mike later approached Martha to tell her that Jack Bauer, a former CTU agent, was going to try and extract a confession from Charles. She was told that she needed to keep the President at the retreat long enough for Bauer to get on the helicopter that is transporting the President to the airfield. Martha reluctantly agreed to try, and was forced to seduce Charles into staying behind. She apologized for her harsh words and asked him to stay with her for a little while longer. The ruse worked, and Charles ordered the helicopter to wait. Determined but disgusted by what she was about to do, Martha let her husband make love to her in order to buy Jack more time. When they headed to the airfield together, she came up with an excuse to stay behind for another flight to the funeral, and sent Charles ahead on his own.



Later at the airfield, Mike informed Martha that Jack wasn't able to get a confession. Martha broke down crying at the sight of Palmer's casket being unloaded from the hearse, and her sorrow turned into rage as she openly accused Charles of his involvement, screaming that he was a murderer. Charles had her escorted into an empty hangar, where he then slapped her and began searching her for a wire. She struggled and sobbed that he was hurting her, but he ignored her and demanded that she explain why she helped them kidnap him. Martha said it was because he killed David Palmer, which set Charles off again. He admitted to his crimes before threatening to have her committed if she acted up again.

During a brief speech about David Palmer, Secret Service agents began moving toward the podium where Logan was speaking. Immediately after the speech concluded, they placed him under arrest. When Logan demanded an explanation, they produced a microtransmitter hidden in a pen in Logan's pocket which had been placed there by Jack Bauer when he'd searched Logan earlier in the hour. Martha had been complicit in the plan, baiting her husband to confess to his crimes, not knowing that he was being recorded.

As Charles was escorted off by agents, he turned to stare at Martha, who simply smiled at him, finally triumphant.

After Day 5
After the events of Day 5, Martha filed for divorce. When Logan was placed under house arrest without the public ever becoming aware of his involvement in Day 5's events, Martha became emotionally unstable. She checked herself into Meadowcreek, a mental-health facility, and at some point she began a romantic relationship with Aaron Pierce.

Day 6


At around 6:15pm, Martha was at home reading a book when Aaron Pierce arrived at the bungalow with fruit from Mel's. While they were unpacking the groceries, the phone rang, and Martha asked Aaron to answer it while she finished putting away the fruit. Aaron picked up and was shocked to learn it was Charles Logan on the phone. Logan asked to speak with Martha, but Martha hadn't taken his call in two years, and she again refused. When Martha learned the call involved her good friend Anya Suvarov, she quickly became concerned and took the phone from Aaron.

Charles attempted to explain to his ex-wife the purpose of his phone call, but Martha was convinced her ex-husband was trying to manipulate her and tossed the phone aside in frustration. Aaron picked it up and Charles told him that he was on his way to the bungalow in a CTU chopper. Aaron agreed to try to convince Martha to see Charles.

When Charles arrived at the bungalow, Martha locked herself in her bedroom. Aaron was able to persuade her to sit and listen to Charles. Charles asked Martha to make a call to Anya Suvarov, as she could convince President Yuri Suvarov to have Consul Anatoly Markov surrender to CTU Los Angeles. Martha agreed to speak with Anya.

While waiting for Anya's speech to finish, Martha got into an argument with Charles about his alleged redemption, and used her relationship with Aaron to attack him. When she was bringing a knife back into the kitchen, she turned around and stabbed Charles in the shoulder, hitting his artery. Realizing what she had done, she broke down sobbing as Agent Shavers restrained her while Aaron called for the paramedics. She was handcuffed (and possibly sedated, as her forearm was bandaged) and placed in custody.

When CTU was able to get in touch with Anya, Aaron asked Martha if she were capable enough to handle the critical conversation. Martha insisted she could handle it and coherently explained the situation to her friend over the phone. Anya was able to pass the message along to her husband, who allowed CTU to raid the Russian Consulate to rescue Jack.

Background information and notes

 * Martha Logan is based on Martha Mitchell, the wife of Richard Nixon's Attorney General, John Mitchell. Martha Mitchell contacted reporters with wild tales of corruption in the administration, many of which turned out to be true. The administration countered with stories of a drinking problem to keep her quiet. She was vindicated when the Watergate scandal broke, but her marriage did not survive it.
 * Though 24 has featured numerous presidents, Martha's introduction marks the first time a First Lady has been seen on the show. David Palmer was a divorcé and John Keeler was a widower.
 * Her cell phone number is 310-597-3781. Several phone numbers are seen in her phone's address book, including her mother (202-555-3321), the Oval Office (555-6955), Paul Coleman (410-555-1810), and Aaron Pierce (1-202-555-5982).