This NCIS recap comes from the new episode that aired on Tuesday night, titled Misconduct.
The central plot was Gibbs testifying in a trial against a man that had run a Ponzi scheme, stealing $30 million from Navy personnel.
The episode opened with two guys out on their bicycles getting some exercise. A hit-and-run driver killed one of them and that became the case McGee, Bishop, and Torres worked.
Amusingly, Bishop got the call about the “body,” annoying McGee that he wasn’t the one getting the call with Gibbs currently suspended. Bishop joked they must have had the wrong extension.
The episode then shifted to Gibbs meeting with Vance at the local diner, Gibbs upset the prosecutor dropped him as a witness. It turned out the prosecutor and Vance talked about it, with both of them feeling that opening Gibbs up to questioning on the stand was a bad idea.
It could lead to Gibbs having to comment on his suspension.
Gibbs tried to talk Vance into letting him on the stand, but it was to no avail, as Vance would not allow a suspended NCIS agent to face cross-examination. The conversation ended with Vance saying if Parker James (the suspect) walked that it was on Gibbs.
NCIS Misconduct recap
The trial of Parker James ended up directly connected to the case that the rest of the NCIS team investigated. The accountant for James, who was supposed to testify at that trial later in the day, was one of the cyclists.
The accountant survived, though, and it was his friend that died during the hit-and-run. Upon watching his friend get hit, he took off running and went into hiding.
Back at the trial, the prosecutor was getting worried when her witness didn’t show up to testify. It was then Bishop phoned that Gibbs about what was going on in their case.
Bishop and Torres were preparing to go into the accountant’s house to check on him, but they found his body (dead) on the garage floor.
When Gibbs saw Parker smiling in the courtroom, he knew right away the conman was behind it all.
Back at the lab, Palmer and Kasie were working on figuring out where the money went that Parker had scammed. The feds had assumed that he lost it gambling, but Kasie had a theory that Parker got casino chips, but took them home rather than actually using them.
The prosecutor approached Vance about allowing Gibbs to go on the stand since she didn’t have a witness, to which he warned her that the rumors about what Gibbs did wrong were not overblown.
She went to Gibbs and told him he would take the stand. Vance went to talk with Gibbs and tried to talk him out of it. It didn’t work.
Gibbs takes the stand and puts NCIS job at risk
Gibbs testified and gave the prosecutor an excellent case to work with, but it all took a turn when the defense attorney started asking questions.
Gibbs admitted to using excessive force against the suspect that had been murdering dogs. He said he felt no remorse for his actions, and it ended up tanking the case because of reasonable doubt.
With Vance and the judge watching on, everything Gibbs said went on the record. To say that his job at NCIS was now at risk would be an understatement. The court found Parker James not guilty, and he gloated to Gibbs on the way out the door.
Meanwhile, the NCIS team was still trying to figure out who had murdered the two cyclists. They solved the case. It turned out to be Parker’s ex-wife who did it. When they went to arrest her, she said she would cut a deal that would also put Parker behind bars.
The episode ended with a call coming in to Gibbs from NCIS, but he chose to not answer it. It left viewers with a big question at the end of this episode: Is Mark Harmon leaving NCIS?
Make sure to tune in to the new episode of NCIS next week, as a character last seen in Season 17 will come back for a visit.
NCIS pays tribute to Shannon Soucie
After the episode ended, a message aired that paid tribute to Shannon Soucie.
NCIS airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on CBS.