Posted on 02/15/2006 1:52:05 PM PST by West Coast Conservative
In an exclusive interview with Fox News' Brit Hume this afternoon, Vice President Dick Cheney took full responsibility for shooting his hunting companion, who has until now been pictured as the guilty party. The interview will not air in full until 6 p.m., but according to Hume, in summarizing the contents, the vice president remained "totally unapologetic" about the long lag in reporting the shooting to the public -- and also said that he had consumed one beer at lunch that day.
Speaking on camera and disclosing some of the unaired footage, Hume said Cheney was "utterly unapologetic" about the reporting lag but "a shaken man" in his interview. In comments on the cable channel just minutes after ending a 25-minute interview with Cheney, Hume described the encounter as revealing, but with little contrition on Cheney's part.
"He didn’t blame anyone else, he blamed himself [for the shooting]," Hume told Fox's Shepard Smith during a brief conversation. "But he didn't take blame for the way it was handled…the White House press corps be damned."
Hume indicated that Cheney called last Saturday's accidental shooting "one of the worst days of my life," but that the vice president was certain that he handled it correctly by waiting nearly a day to make it public. He also revealed that Cheney disclosed having a beer with lunch that day, but stressed that it was several hours before the shooting occurred.
Ranch owner Katharine Armstrong has said no one hunting that day had any beer. The Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday that it had been told that the hunters that day "broke for a lunch of antelope, jicama salad and camp bread, washed down with Dr. Pepper." Armstrong later modified her remarks, saying there may have been beer in coolers but she didn't think anyone who was hunting that day had any.
"Ultimately I'm the guy who pulled the trigger, that fired the round that hit Harry," Cheney said in his Hume interview. "I'm the guy who pulled the trigger and shot my friend, and that's something I'll never forget....
"The image of him falling is something I will never be able to get out my mind," Cheney said, somberly. "It was one of the worst days of my life."
After days of White House and other administraton offiicials, and Katharine Armstrong, faulting the victim, Cheney said, "It was not Harry's fault. You cannot blame anybody else."
Whittington was in stable condition on Wednesday, hospital officials said earlier on Wednesday. But the 78-year-old was moved back into the intensive care unit because of concerns for his privacy.
Cheney said he agreed that ranch owner Armstrong should make the story public, because she was an eyewitness, because she grew up on the ranch and because she is "an acknowledged expert in all of this" as a past head of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. He also agreed with her decision to choose the local newspaper as the way to get the news out.
"I thought that made good sense because you can get as accurate a story as possible from somebody who knew and understood hunting and then it would immediately go up to the wires and be posted on the Web site, which is the way it went out and I thought that was the right call," Cheney said.
"What do you think now?" Hume asked.
"I still do," Cheney responded. "The accuracy was enormously important. I had no press person with me."
NBC News called the vice president’s office for comment four times Tuesday and Wednesday, it disclosed today, and asked whether the vice president or anyone in the hunting party had consumed any alcohol on Saturday prior to the accident. In an e-mail statement Wednesday to NBC News, the vice president’s press secretary referred NBC News to the Kenedy County Sheriff’s Department report on the incident, which said it did not believe alcohol use was a factor in the shooting.
At a news conference Wednesday outside Whittington’s hospital in Corpus Christi, reporters asked hospital officials whether Whittington’s blood-alcohol level had been tested. The officials responded with a "no comment."
" a door wide enough for Gregory to get his friggin' head through the door!"
Or his diaper which had to have been full of crap.
Or Bill, Hillary and the rest of the White House staff in the aftermath of Vince Foster's so-called suicide.
She is loaded for bear.
Terry was horrible claiming they did not notify any law enforcement for 21 hours.
Looks like they have the rapid response running right now.
I don't agree.
The American people have a right to know when their elected leaders are involved in a shooting incident, not telling the press amounted to not telling the citizens.
I find this unexcusable; Cheney's people should have handled this whole thing better.
The VP has a staff that's handsomely paid to handle these kinds of situations...they blew it.
I've just finished reading "Rebel In Chief," a book about Bush by Fred Barnes. Bush does not like the press, or the DC social whirl and the DC mentality. He thinks it's phony, pretentious, and unreal. Clinton did not like the press either, even though they helped save his ass.
It'll go right over the heads of the White House press corp. It'll never dawn on 'em that this was a costly but very Classy Move. Cheney could have snapped his fingers and had an army of handlers and media experts down there inside of 2 hours to begin "damage control" .
He didn't.
It was not his home. He was a guest. It was not his "place".
I'd hunt with him, anytime. Oh, I'd wear a thick coat (or 3) and a welding hat just to be safe ..... but, I'd still go bird huntin' with him. ;)
The complaint from this fruitcake is that Cheney was "unapologetic" for the hysterical, outrageous behavior of the girly-men of the White House Press Korps and the MSM. What a maroon.
"....not telling the press"
excuse me? The press was told.
To all Jackass MSM/dems and especially David "Pussyboy" Gregory, this is how a real LEADER takes responsibility, not whine, bitch, moan, or blame it on "THAT" someone else.
The
v-
V-P knew what would have happened if the
msm was notified on Sat evening. All news-idiots would have been at the ranch by 02:00am. They would have been demanding interviews with all involved, including ranch owner, and all members of the hunt. Dick Cheney took one to save his friends all the bulls**t.
He is one of the good guys.
Said that Terri should read the papers before he makes comments on the FACTS regarding the case.
Said that law enforcement was notified right after the incident and that Cheney himself asked the local law enforcement to move up the interview to 8 instead of 10 O'Clock
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