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BREAKING HIS SILENCE: Vice President Dick Cheney is interviewed by Fox News Brit Hume. He said advisors urged him to Âget the story out, but he decided to wait. ÂThat was my call, he said. (David Bohrer / White House) |
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WASHINGTON — Speaking publicly for the first time since he shot and wounded a hunting companion last weekend, Vice President Dick Cheney took responsibility Wednesday for the accident but defended his decision not to immediately disclose the episode.
Cheney's comments struck a more conciliatory tone than did earlier statements by the White House and some defenders of the vice president, who had said Texas lawyer Harry Whittington might have erred by stepping into Cheney's line of fire and failing to announce his presence.
"Well, ultimately, I am the guy who pulled the trigger, that fired the round that hit Harry," Cheney said in an interview with Fox News. "It's not Harry's fault.
"I fired, and there's Harry falling," Cheney said. "And it was, I'd have to say, one of the worst days of my life, at that moment."
Cheney's decision to appear on television, and to display an unusual level of contrition, came as White House officials hoped that Whittington's improving condition might quell an uproar over the administration's failure to disclose the news immediately after the Saturday afternoon accident.
The vice president, an avid hunter, shot Whittington in the face and torso during a quail hunt on a sprawling ranch near Corpus Christi, Texas. On Tuesday, Whittington, 78, suffered what hospital officials described as a mild heart attack after one of the birdshot pellets from Cheney's 28-gauge shotgun migrated toward his heart.
On Wednesday, doctors said Whittington's condition had stabilized.
Throughout the 27-minute interview, Cheney spoke quietly and in his familiar monotone, even as he described the wrenching moment in which he shot his friend, a prominent Texas Republican.
Cheney said he was standing about 30 yards from Whittington, who had gone seeking a downed quail in some brush. The vice president said he didn't see his hunting companion coming when he fired his shotgun.
While Whittington was dressed in hunter orange, "there was a little bit of a gully there, so he was down a little ways below land level," Cheney said. "All I could see was the upper part of his body — but I didn't see it at the time I shot, until after I fired. And the sun was directly behind him there, affected the vision too, I'm sure. But the image of him falling is something I'll never be able to get out of my mind."
Cheney described Whittington "laying there on his back, obviously bleeding. You could see where the shot had struck him."
Cheney recalled saying: "Harry, I didn't notice you were there."
Whittington was breathing, but he did not respond.
At that point, Cheney's medical team, which travels with him, tended to Whittington, who eventually was transported to Christus Spohn Memorial Hospital in Corpus Christi.
In submitting to questioning, the vice president chose Fox News as his venue, rather than what likely would have been a more confrontational news conference. The decision followed a typical pattern for Cheney, who has been interviewed in recent weeks by fellow conservatives Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham.
Speaking to Brit Hume, Cheney filled in details of Saturday's events and his decision-making that followed.
He said that on the day of the accident he drank a beer during a lunch break, though he insisted that at least an hour passed before he resumed hunting and that "nobody was drinking, nobody was under the influence."
Cheney said he did not talk to a White House official until Sunday morning, the day after the accident, when he spoke to White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. He said he did not discuss the matter with President Bush until Monday.
Cheney took full responsibility for the decision to withhold the news until Sunday, when Katharine Armstrong, whose family owns the ranch, consulted with Cheney on how to notify the public and then called a reporter for the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
Critics have questioned why the White House did not release the information more quickly, and have said the slow reaction reflected a general penchant for secrecy.
Cheney's comments struck a more conciliatory tone than did earlier statements by the White House and some defenders of the vice president, who had said Texas lawyer Harry Whittington might have erred by stepping into Cheney's line of fire and failing to announce his presence.
"Well, ultimately, I am the guy who pulled the trigger, that fired the round that hit Harry," Cheney said in an interview with Fox News. "It's not Harry's fault.
"I fired, and there's Harry falling," Cheney said. "And it was, I'd have to say, one of the worst days of my life, at that moment."
Cheney's decision to appear on television, and to display an unusual level of contrition, came as White House officials hoped that Whittington's improving condition might quell an uproar over the administration's failure to disclose the news immediately after the Saturday afternoon accident.
The vice president, an avid hunter, shot Whittington in the face and torso during a quail hunt on a sprawling ranch near Corpus Christi, Texas. On Tuesday, Whittington, 78, suffered what hospital officials described as a mild heart attack after one of the birdshot pellets from Cheney's 28-gauge shotgun migrated toward his heart.
On Wednesday, doctors said Whittington's condition had stabilized.
Throughout the 27-minute interview, Cheney spoke quietly and in his familiar monotone, even as he described the wrenching moment in which he shot his friend, a prominent Texas Republican.
Cheney said he was standing about 30 yards from Whittington, who had gone seeking a downed quail in some brush. The vice president said he didn't see his hunting companion coming when he fired his shotgun.
While Whittington was dressed in hunter orange, "there was a little bit of a gully there, so he was down a little ways below land level," Cheney said. "All I could see was the upper part of his body — but I didn't see it at the time I shot, until after I fired. And the sun was directly behind him there, affected the vision too, I'm sure. But the image of him falling is something I'll never be able to get out of my mind."
Cheney described Whittington "laying there on his back, obviously bleeding. You could see where the shot had struck him."
Cheney recalled saying: "Harry, I didn't notice you were there."
Whittington was breathing, but he did not respond.
At that point, Cheney's medical team, which travels with him, tended to Whittington, who eventually was transported to Christus Spohn Memorial Hospital in Corpus Christi.
In submitting to questioning, the vice president chose Fox News as his venue, rather than what likely would have been a more confrontational news conference. The decision followed a typical pattern for Cheney, who has been interviewed in recent weeks by fellow conservatives Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham.
Speaking to Brit Hume, Cheney filled in details of Saturday's events and his decision-making that followed.
He said that on the day of the accident he drank a beer during a lunch break, though he insisted that at least an hour passed before he resumed hunting and that "nobody was drinking, nobody was under the influence."
Cheney said he did not talk to a White House official until Sunday morning, the day after the accident, when he spoke to White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. He said he did not discuss the matter with President Bush until Monday.
Cheney took full responsibility for the decision to withhold the news until Sunday, when Katharine Armstrong, whose family owns the ranch, consulted with Cheney on how to notify the public and then called a reporter for the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
Critics have questioned why the White House did not release the information more quickly, and have said the slow reaction reflected a general penchant for secrecy.
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