Dick Cheney's Hunting Accident

"Just before sunset Saturday, 78-year-old Austin [millionaire civil attorney] Harry Whittington pulled off 'a double': bringing down two quail with two successive blasts from his shotgun," Larry Elder and Sarah Coppola, wrote in the February 13, 2006, Austin American Statesman. "One of Whittington's hunting companions, Vice President Dick Cheney, wasn't as accurate."

"A few minutes later, Cheney accidentally shot Whittington, according to Pamela Willeford, the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland, who was hunting with the pair on the 50,000-acre Armstrong Ranch in South Texas ... [spraying] Whittington with birdshot across his face, shoulder and chest," Elder and Coppola wrote.

Whittington suffered a mild heart attack on Tuesday, February 14, 2006, "after a shotgun pellet in his chest traveled to his heart," according to doctors at Christus Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi-Memorial. "Whittington was immediately moved back to an intensive care unit and will be watched for a week to make sure more pellets do not move to other vital organs. He was reported in stable condition." 

The news first appeared on the website of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times after ranch owner and lobbyist, Anne Armstrong, reported the incident on February 12, 2005.

From the White House Briefings

 * "White House briefing: Reporters go after McClellan," The Raw Story, February 13, 2006. Transcript.
 * "Scotty McClellan on Cheney Shooting," Crooks and Liars, February 13, 2006. WMP and QT links on page. Also see "Must-See TV" McClellan "freeze frame" postd at FireDogLake.
 * Mark Silva, "No lights, no cameras, but plenty of action at the White House," The Swamp/Chicago Tribune, February 13, 2006.
 * Greg Mitchell, "Reporters Press McClellan on Delay in Reporting Cheney Shooting Incident," Editor & Publisher, February 13, 2006.
 * "McClellan: I Ain't Taking The Blame For This One," National Journal, February 13, 2006.
 * John Aravosis, "McClellan knew Whittington had heart attack and was in intensive care BEFORE his press briefing, but said nothing," AMERICAblog, February 14, 2006.
 * Dana Milbank, "Orange Morning Gives Way to a Darker Afternoon," Washington Post, February 15, 2006.
 * "McClellan Ducks Questions on Role of Alcohol," Think Progress, February 16, 2006.

Cheney on Fox News February 15, 2006

 * "Cheney to Appear on Fox News Today, As Papers Raise Questions About His Fault in Shooting," Editor & Publisher and Associated Press, February 15, 2006.
 * Jane Roh, "Cheney: 'I'm the Guy Who Pulled the Trigger'," Fox News, February 15, 2006.
 * John Aravosis, "Uh, Cheney just lied to Britt Hume on FOX," AMERICAblog, February 15, 2006. See related Jack Cafferty, "Cheney runs to FOX News for safety: 'F' word network," Crooks and Liars, February 15, 2006. WMP and QT links, as well as transcript link on page. Cafferty: "I would guess it didn't exactly represent a profile in courage for the vice president to wander over there to the F-word network for a sit down with Brit Hume. I mean, that's a little like Bonnie interviewing Clyde, ain't it?"
 * Amanda Terkel, "Fox News: Whittington ‘Doing Just Fine,’ But ‘How Is VP Cheney Feeling?’" Think Progress, February 15, 2006: "FOX News anchor Neil Cavuto and his guest, former Cheney staffer Ron Christie, criticized the media for focusing too much on Whittington’s condition and not enough on how Cheney is feeling." Video link and transcript on page.
 * Nedra Pickler and Lynn Brezosky, "Cheney: 'You Can't Blame Anybody Else'," Associated Press (Philadelphia Journal Register), February 15, 2006.
 * Joe Strupp and Greg Mitchell, "Cheney on TV: Takes Blame for Shooting But 'Unapologetic' About Aftermath, Admits Drinking One Beer at Lunch," Editor & Publisher, February 15, 2006. See Transcript posted by Washington Post and QT video link posted by Think Progress.
 * Paul J. Gough, "Fox News wins battle for Cheney interview," Reuters (Washington Post), February 16, 2006.

Related Articles & Commentary

 * letter from Cheney's doctors released by Bush-Cheney campaign, July 26, 2000.
 * Members of the "Hunting Party" posted by Atrios, February 12, 2006.
 * Kathryn Garcia and Jaime Powell, "Cheney accidentally shoots fellow hunter at nearby ranch," Corpus Christi Caller-Times, February 12, 2006. Subscription required.
 * "Cheney Accidentally Shoots Fellow Hunter," Associated Press (New York Times), February 12, 2006.
 * Lynn Brezosky and Nedra Pickler, "Cheney accidentally shoots and injures fellow quail hunter in Texas," Associated Press (CBC Canada), February 12, 2006.
 * Lynn Brezosky, "Man Accidentally Shot by Cheney Recovering," Associated Press (Chicago Tribune), February 12, 2006.
 * Greg Mitchell, "More Questions Raised About Delay in Reporting Cheney Misfire," Editor & Publisher, February 12, 2006.
 * Frank James, "Slow (White House) trigger on Cheney," The Swamp/Chicago Tribune, February 12, 2006.
 * John Gideon, "BREAKING: Cheney Shoots Man While Hunting, News Held for 24 Hours, Downplayed, Though Victim Spends Second Night in ICU," Brad Blog, February 12, 2006: The ranch's owner, Katherine Armstrong, "Hired Cheney at Halliburton, on Covert FISA Board Under Reagan, Bush Pioneer..." with updates. (Possible correction: another source states that it was Anne Armstrong, Katherine's mother, who hired Cheney.)
 * Mike Allen, "The Man Who Dick Cheney Shot. Who exactly is Harry Whittington, the Vice President's unlucky hunting partner?" TIME, February 13, 2006.
 * "Have You Heard The One About Dick Cheney Shooting A Man?" FishBowl DC, February 13, 2006.
 * David McLemore and Christy Hoppe, "Cheney hunting partner stable. Austin lawyer hospitalized after being sprayed with birdshot," Dallas Morning News, February 13, 2006.
 * Dana Bash, "Cheney accidentally shoots fellow hunter. Texas lawyer struck in face, chest with birdshot," CNN, February 13, 2006.
 * Alan C. Miller and James Gerstenzang, "Cheney Shoots Fellow Hunter. The vice president's companion, 78, is stable after he's peppered in the head with shotgun pellets. The accident was reported a day later," Los Angeles Times, February 13, 2006.
 * Dan Froomkin, "Shoots, Hides and Leaves," Washington Post, February 13, 2006.
 * Shailagh Murray and Peter Baker, "Cheney Shoots Fellow Hunter in Texas Accident. Companion in Intensive Care With Upper-Body Wounds," Washington Post, February 13, 2006.
 * Anne E. Kornblut, "Cheney Shoots Fellow Hunter in Mishap on a Texas Ranch," New York Times, February 13, 2006.
 * John Aravosis, "Cheney's Chappaquiddick," AMERICAblog, February 13, 2006.
 * Rachel Neumann, "He might have had better aim if he'd served in Vietnam," AlterNet, February 13, 2006.
 * Larry Elder and Sarah Coppola, "Austin lawyer recovering after being shot by Cheney in hunting mishap. Whittington still in intensive care at Corpus Christi hospital," Austin American-Statesman, February 13, 2006.
 * Joe Gandelman, "Vice President Dick Cheney's Accidental Shooting Won't Help His Image (Updated)," The Moderate Voice, February 13, 2006. Lengthy article with numerous media and commentary links.
 * Ron Brynaert, "Third hunter revealed in Cheney hunting party," The Raw Story, February 13, 2006.
 * Paul Burka, "Full of Holes - The gossip about Cheney's bad shot", Slate, February 14, 2006
 * Dan Froomkin, "Loose Cannon," Washington Post, February 14, 2006.
 * Judd Legum, "When Did The Sheriff Interview Cheney?" Think Progress, February 14, 2006.
 * "Cheney shooting delay under fire," BBC, February 14, 2006.


 * Lynn Brezosky and Nedra Pickler, "Hunter Shot by Cheney Has Heart Attack," Associated Press (Guardian (UK)), February 14, 2006.
 * Joe Strupp, "Ari Fleischer Joins Criticism Of Cheney's Response to Shooting" and "Fitzwater, Former WH Press Secretary, Blasts Handling of Cheney Shooting -- As Victim Suffers Heart Attack," Editor & Publisher, February 14, 2006.
 * Jeff Greenfield, "A political Rorschach test. News about Cheney's hunting accident: Cover-up or overblown?" CNN, February 14, 2006.
 * Molly Ivins, "Dick Cheney goes hunting. Accident or not, Cheney's responsible," Creators Syndicate (Working for Change), February 14, 2006.
 * "Beer comment scrubbed from NBC story," Thought Crimes, February 14, 2006.
 * Greg Mitchell, "Troubling Questions About Cheney's Boss," Editor & Publisher, February 14, 2006.
 * "Hunter shot by Cheney has minor heart attack. Doctors: Birdshot moved to Harry Whittington's heart," CNN, February 15, 2006.
 * Jim VandeHei and Peter Baker, "Cheney's Response A Concern In GOP. Public Statement On Shooting Urged," Washington Post, February 15, 2006.
 * David E. Sanger, "Handling of Mishap Creates Strain in the White House," New York Times, February 15, 2006.
 * Joe Strupp, "Journalists On Shooting Story List Unanswered Questions," Editor & Publisher, February 15, 2006.
 * David Ignatius, "An Arrogance of Power," Washington Post, February 15, 2006.
 * Nedra Pickler, "Update 23: President Satisfied With Cheney's Account," Associated Press (Forbes), February 16, 2006.
 * Matthew Davis, "Cheney's reputation taking flak," BBC, February 16, 2006.
 * "Cheney Takes Responsibility for the Hunting Accident. What Will the Political Ramifications Be?" ABC News, February 16, 2006.
 * Craig Gordon and Tom Brune, "Many of Cheney's answers raise more questions," Newsday, February 16, 2006.
 * "Harry Whittington's hospital statement. Man shot by Vice President Cheney says accidents happen," MSNBC, February 17, 2006.
 * Kenneth F. Bunting, Opinion: "A missed lesson in transparency," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, February 17, 2006.
 * John Pomfret, "Cheney Hunting Companion Is Released From Hospital," Washington Post, February 18, 2006.
 * Kenneth R. Bazinet, "I'm a very 'lucky' guy, says man hit by veep," New York Daily News, February 18, 2006.
 * Lynn Brezosky and Ben Neary, "Wounded hunter apologizes for troubles cast on Cheney," Associated Press (Seattle Post-Intelligencer), February 18, 2006.
 * Calvin Woodward and Nancy Benac, "VP Accident Tale Filled With Discrepancies," Associated Press (Washington Post) and (Forbes), February 18, 2006.
 * Tim Rutten, "Straight shooter? Not with public," Los Angeles Times, February 18, 2006.