Death of a President

Broadcast in 2008, the film unfolds as a TV documentary-style exploration that blends talking-head interviews, news coverage clips, and video surveillance footage to reconstruct the events surrounding the assassination of President George W. Bush in Chicago on October 19, 2007. The narrative follows the immediate aftermath as authorities, media outlets, and political leaders scramble to interpret the attack and its implications. The central figure who rises as the prime suspect is Jamal Abu Zikri (Malik Bader), an IT professional of Syrian origin, whose alleged ties are quickly woven into a broader security narrative.

As the investigation unfolds, Vice President Dick Cheney, acting as president, leans into the possibility of an al-Qaeda connection to justify a sweeping domestic security push. He advocates for the passage of PATRIOT Act III, aiming to broaden the investigative powers of the FBI, police, and other agencies over both citizens and foreign residents, all while contemplating aggressive policy steps that even hint at actions against Syria. In this tense climate, the film tracks how political agendas can intersect with criminal cases, shaping what information surfaces and what remains hidden from public view.

In the courtroom, the story pivots to the families and the legal process. Zahra [Hend Ayoub] listens as the verdict lands on Jamal Abu Zikri: he is convicted of the president’s murder and sentenced to death based on forensics that the film presents as questionable. The case takes a striking turn with a forthcoming report that, supported by interviews with Marianne Claybon (Chavez Ravine), points toward Al Claybon, a Gulf War veteran who lived in Rock Island, Illinois, and is the father of David Claybon, a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq, as the likely killer. The assassin, who purportedly blames Bush for his son’s death, ends his own life after the assassination. A suicide note addressed to his other son, Casey Claybon (Neko Parham), an Iraq War veteran in Chicago, further complicates the mystery and fuels new suspicions about who was truly responsible. The film emphasizes how narratives can shift as new information surfaces, even within the same investigation.

Ten months after the shooting, Zikri remains on death row as government officials delay his legal appeal, highlighting the tension between legal due process and political pressure. In the Rock Island home of the late Al Claybon, Casey uncovers material that suggests his father’s involvement in planning the attack, including a startling top-secret presidential itinerary that outlines Bush’s precise Chicago whereabouts on the day of the crime. This discovery raises the question of how such highly sensitive information could have fallen into the hands of someone connected to the incident, keeping the audience focused on the fragility of information security in high-stakes political moments. The documentary keeps returning to the theme that power and surveillance are deeply intertwined, influencing both the pursuit of truth and the choices of those in government.

As the closing titles roll, the film asserts that Cheney’s USA PATRIOT Act III was signed into permanent law, declaring that it “granted investigators unprecedented powers of detention and surveillance, and further expanded the powers of the executive branch.” The implication lingers: while the hunt for the truth about a single tragic act continues, the legal framework surrounding national security has already expanded, shaping how future cases might be handled and how much room remains for doubt in the pursuit of justice.

Last Updated: November 22, 2025 at 15:57