Inauguration: Over There - S4-E15
Continuity mistake: Bartlett is in the executive office in the residence watching four TVs at once. He hears a line in the black and white movie, a second later he rewinds it to hear the line again - he rewinds way too much and for too long, but once he stops the tape, it plays the line he wanted to hear again right away. He went too far back (for visual effect) than what in reality it would have taken.
Continuity mistake: Toby, Sam, and Amy are sitting at a table talking - Amy's eyeglasses are on the table in front of her - when Toby asks Charlie what's on the TV, the shot shows her glasses have rotated 180 degrees and her arms have noticeably changed position.
Continuity mistake: In the Sunday Morning segment, at a White House meeting, a grey-haired woman is sitting at the table with her hand on her bottle of water - the next shot shows her hand several inches away, with no time for the change.
Continuity mistake: Toby and Leo are in Leo's office talking about the friendly fire incident - Leo's glasses are sitting on his desk in front of him. He then picks them up and moves them to the far left. A couple of shots later, he picks them up from the right and puts them on.
Evidence of Things Not Seen - S4-E20
Continuity mistake: Will Bailey is wearing a military uniform for the only time in the show (as it is revealed he is a reservist Lieutenant in the USAF). On his uniform shirt there are three medal ribbons-bars. Those ribbon-bars (worn in the correct order from left to right) are as follows: 1. The Air Force Organisational Excellence Award Ribbon 2. The National Defence Service Medal Ribbon 3. The Air Force Training Ribbon. After the shooting incident outside the Press Briefing Room (where gunshots hit one of the windows), Lt. Will Bailey can be seen wearing his three ribbon-bars (incorrect) in the reverse order. Then following on in the two subsequent scenes Will's medal ribbons-bars are back in the correct order. (00:08:05 - 00:16:15)
Evidence of Things Not Seen - S4-E20
Continuity mistake: In the closing minute, when C.J. Is trying to stand the egg on its end, the camera pans to the clock for DC, and it reads 12:00. But as she sits at the table, her watch reads 7:15. Then, in the next camera shot, zooming in onto the egg, you can see that C.J.'s watch reads 7:25.
Continuity mistake: Newly hired Assistant White House Counsel Joe Quincy is looking over his new "office". He's told it is the office traditionally given to newly hired lawyers, and is known as the "Steampipe Trunk Distribution Venue". In prior episodes, Ainsley Hayes, the previous Assistant White House Counsel, was also given this office, but this space is significantly altered in size from the earlier appearances. Essentially, the length of the space has been cut in half and the intervening wall with door is gone. Yet the room is not newly remodeled. It's a basement space with old pipes and walls, etc. The makers simply shrank the set without explanation. (00:06:30)
Continuity mistake: When Josh, Joe, and Donna are in Josh's office talking about the NASA report, Josh's pen is in his left side of the shirt pocket. When the camera cuts to them walking out of his office the pen is on the right side.
Continuity mistake: When Donna and Amy are talking about 'getting' Josh, there's a cut from Amy rearranging the beer bottles on the table to a close-up of Donna standing a distance behind her. When this happens, a beer bottle is suddenly in Amy's hand with her holding it to her mouth. (00:36:30)
Continuity mistake: When the plan to kill the Qumari defense minister is being contemplated, several times in the last episodes of Season 3, and at least once in season 4, he 's referred to the Sultan's brother. In season 5, he is referred to as both his cousin and his brother.
7A WF 83429 - S5-E1
Continuity mistake: Will, Josh, Donna and Toby are in Josh's office talking about Toby's twins; Josh leaves the office with his arms by his side, but when the shot switches to show him coming through the doorway, he is clutching his books to his chest. There was no time for the change.
7A WF 83429 - S5-E1
Continuity mistake: When Margaret walks into Leo's office and he sleeps, the screen says it's the sixteenth hour of Zoey's kidnapping. Leo asks Margaret what time it is and she says it's almost 5:00. At the beginning of the episode when Abby and the president talk at the residence, the president says it's 6:30, and the screen says it's the eighth hour of the kidnapping, then if we move another eight hours until we get to the sixteenth hour of the kidnapping, it would be 2:30, not 5:00.
Continuity mistake: Josh is in his office with Donna and Pierce and as Pierce says "you're the 101st senator", he's holding some papers that are stapled, and one is hanging apart from the rest. Josh says, "I'm impressed", and the shot now shows the papers are all together in Pierce's hands.
Abu el Banat - S5-E9
Continuity mistake: When the president is in the oval office with the first lady and they are called by Charlie to receive their daughter Liz, the office does not have a Christmas tree, however, in the next scene when he leaves his grandson to go with Leo and C.J. to the office, the Christmas tree is already set up.
Continuity mistake: Leo and his daughter could not go to the theater because the former president had passed away. Later, when his daughter tells Leo that her mother is getting married, he says that he is only sorry he couldn't spend more time with his daughter, who thought they would have a good time the other night at the theater, but that they had a problem with the Middle East. It doesn't make sense, they didn't go to the theater because the former president passed away, not because of problems with the Middle East.
Continuity mistake: When Toby and Josh meet with Judge Ashland, a teacup and teapot appear in front of the judge without either him or anyone else putting them there. (00:20:20)
NSF Thurmont - S6-E1
Continuity mistake: When C.J. and Toby discuss and have a snack in Toby's office while the president waits for Chairman Farad's call, at some point C.J. talks while holding the pack of peanut butter crackers in one hand, and one that she is about to eat in the other. Less than a second and a half later, the camera is back on her, but she is now seen holding a bottle of water that was on the table only seconds before. (00:24:25)
NSF Thurmont - S6-E1
Continuity mistake: Leo enters the situation room and is told the "planes are on the deck". He watches a video feed as a plane is launched from the USS Lincoln. The S3-B Viking is seen approaching one camera (single vertical tail fin, wing-mounted engines), then from another angle, we see an F-14 Tomcat lifting off (dual tails and fuselage-mounted engines) and moving away from camera. This is supposed to be live video, and it isn't possible two different jets are launching from the same carrier at the same exact moment, so it can only be a bad choice of stock footage by the show's makers. (00:38:55)
NSF Thurmont - S6-E1
Continuity mistake: When Donna is writing on a pad to Josh when awaiting surgery, she first writes "Nice hat!!!" A few seconds later we see the pad again, and the exclamation marks have disappeared. Shortly after, they are back.
NSF Thurmont - S6-E1
Continuity mistake: When Kate is in Leo's office with the red folder on her lap, the position of her hands changes depending on the camera angle. Viewed from in front both hands are gripping either end of the folder, from behind her hands are clasped together and rested on top of the folder.
Answer: It's in reference to the many televangelists and revival ministers usually associated with the right-wing that have been convicted of tax fraud (Jim Bakker and Tamy Faye being a more famous set). Occasionally, the more unscrupulous ministers have bilked millions from believers all in the name of God.
Nikki