Dick Cheney Hunting Accident

From Bill Moyers comes this peek inside the political subtext of the hunting incident:

The Vice President was hunting on a 50-thousand acre ranch owned by a lobbyist friend who is the heiress to a family fortune of land, cattle, banking and oil (ah, yes, the quickest and surest way to the American dream remains to choose your parents well.)

...At the heart of this story is a metaphor of power. The Vice President turned his host, the lobbyist who is also the ranch owner, into his de facto news manager. She would disclose the shooting only when Cheney was ready and only on his terms...

...Watching these people work is a study of the inner circle at the top of American politics. The journalist Sidney Blumenthal, writing on Salon.com, reminds us of the relationship between the Armstrong dynasty and the Bush family and its retainers. Armstrong's father invested in Rove's political consulting firm that managed George W. Bush's election as governor of Texas and as president. Her mother, Anne Armstrong, is a longtime Republican activist and donor. Ronald Reagan appointed her to the Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board after her tenure as Ambassador to the United Kingdom under President Ford, whose chief of staff was a young Dick Cheney. Anne Armstrong served on the board of directors of Halliburton that hired Cheney to run the company. Her daughter, Katherine Armstrong, host of the hunting party, was once a lobbyist for the powerful Houston law firm founded by the family of James A. Baker III, who was chief of staff to Reagan, Secretary of State under the first George Bush, and the man designated by the Bush family to make sure the younger Bush was named President in 2000 despite having lost the popular vote. According to Blumenthal, one of her more recent lobbying jobs was with a large construction firm with contracts in Iraq.

It is a Dick Cheney world out there - a world where politicians and lobbyists hunt together, dine together, drink together, play together, pray together and prey together, all the while carving up the world according to their own interests...

Was vice president Dick Cheney completely blotto as Capitol Hill Blue said yesterday? Or, was CHB making things up?

They respond here:

It wasn't a story we went looking for. A friend who works in the Bush administration tipped us on the report late last week and I started making phone calls. By late Tuesday, I had all I needed to go with the story: three sources that said a Secret Service Agent filed a report claiming Cheney had consumed several drinks and "appeared inebriated" while hunting on the Armstrong Ranch on February 11...

Despite what the naysayers claim, we get it first and get it right. We reported on Bush's temper tantrums a full year before it appeared in Newsweek. We revealed Bush's executive order allowing the National Security Agency to spy on Americans on June 7, 2004 -- 18 months before the New York Times printed the story. Last week we revealed President Bush ordered Vice President Cheney to go public about his hunting "accident." Time got around to it a few days later. I have no doubt that more information about Cheney's drinking will surface down the line and confirm what we reported Wednesday...

From Capitol Hill Blue comes this highly questionable post:

Secret Service agents guarding Vice President Dick Cheney when he shot Texas lawyer Harry Whittington on a hunting outing two weeks ago say Cheney was "clearly inebriated" at the time of the shooting and a written report outlining details of the incident has been destroyed, sources tell Capitol Hill Blue.

Agents observed several members of the hunting party, including the Vice President, consuming alcohol before and during the hunting expedition and Cheney exhibited "visible signs" of impairment, including slurred speech and erratic actions.
According to those who have talked with agents and others present at the outing, Cheney appeared drunk when he gunned down his friend and the day-and-a-half delay in allowing Texas law enforcement officials on the ranch where the shooting occurred gave all members of the hunting party time to sober up...

An "unofficial", aka, joke variety of the official incident report is here.

For future reference, here is the full official incident report:

Reports Concerning Events That Occurred On 02/11/2006

The following is the official incident report as filed by Chief Deputy Gilberto San Miguel Jr.
At approximately 1830 hrs on Saturday February 11, 2006, Kenedy County Sheriff Ramon Salinas
contacted me, Chief Deputy Gilberto San Miguel Jr. The phone call was in reference to a hunting
accident that occurred on the Armstrong Ranch. I was told by Sheriff Salinas to report to the main
house on the Armstrong Ranch on Sunday February 12, at 0800 hrs and I would receive more
information when I got there.

On Sunday, February 12, 2006, at approximately 0805 hrs, I Chief Deputy Gilberto San Miguel Jr.,
arrived at the bump gate to the Armstrong Ranch. This ranch is located approximately twenty-one
miles south of Sarita, Texas in Kenedy County. There at the bump gate, Secret Service, and Border
Patrol personnel met me. I identified myself and told everyone I was to report to the main house. I
was instructed to park my vehicle so it could be inspected before I could proceed to the main
house. While my vehicle was getting inspected, a Secret Service agent approached me and he
advised me he would be riding with me to the main house. As I was approaching the main house, I
was instructed to park my vehicle by the cattle guard. There I walked across the cattle guard and
was turned over to another agent who identified himself to me as Michael A. Lee, Special Agent in
charge with the Secret Service.

As we entered the main house, Mr. Lee introduced me to Vice President Cheney. Mr. Cheney
shook my hand and told me he was there to cooperate in any way with the interview. As I got
comfortable at a table inside the main house, I asked Mr. Cheney if he could explain to me what had
happened the day of the incident.

Mr. Cheney told me that on Saturday, February 11, 2006 at approximately 5:30 pm on the
Armstrong Ranch there was a three vehicle hunting party that consisted of himself, Bo Hubert, Pam
Willeford, Jerry Medellin, Katharine Armstrong, Sarita Armstrong Hixon, Harry Whittington, and
Oscar Medellin. Mr. Cheney told me the sun was setting to the west when the dogs had located a
covey. Around the same time, Oscar Medellin notified the hunters he had also located a covey.
After the group shot at the first covey he and Pam Willeford proceeded to the second covey
because Harry Whittington was looking for his downed birds. Mr. Cheney told me he and Pam
Willeford had walked approximately 100 yards from the first location and met up with Oscar Medellin
and the hunting guide Bo Hubert. There was a single bird that flew behind him and he followed the
bird by line of sight in a counter clockwise direction not realizing Harry Whittington had walked up
from behind and had positioned himself approximately 30 yards to the west of him. Mr. Cheney told
me the reason Harry Whittington sustained the injuries to his face and upper body was that Mr.
Whittington was standing on ground that was lower than the one he was standing on. Mr. Cheney
told me if Mr. Whittington was on the same ground level the injuries might have been lower on Mr.
Whittington's body.

The weapon Mr. Cheney was using at the time of the incident was an over under twenty- eight
gauge shotgun. It had a brand name of Perazzi Brescia and was made in Italy. The serial number
on the weapon read 115288.

At that time, I told Mr. Cheney I didn't need any more information at this time, but how could I reach
him. Mr. Cheney told me I could contact Mr. Lee. I then excused myself and proceeded out of the
main house.

While outside around the headquarters I was able to locate and get information from Gerardo
Medellin TX dl# XXXXXXXX, who helped me identify the other people in the hunting party, Michael
Andrew Hubert TX dl# XXXXXXXX, Pamela Pitzer Willeford TX dl# XXXXXXXX, and Katharine
Armstrong TX dl# XXXXXXXX. I was able to speak briefly with Katharine Armstrong who told me
pretty much the same story Mr. Cheney told me. (See her written statement for further details.)

On Monday February 13, 2006, at approximately 1000 hrs I Chief Deputy Gilberto San Miguel Jr.
and Lt. Juan J. Guzman went to Spohn Memorial Hospital located in Corpus Christi, Texas to speak
with Harry Whittington. We were escorted to Mr. Whittington's room and there I introduced Lt.
Guzman and myself to Mr. Whittington who was sitting in a chair. I told Mr. Whittington we needed to
speak with him on the incident that occurred Saturday February 11, 2006. I asked Mr. Whittington if
we could record our conversation and Mr. Whittington requested not to be recorded due to his
voice being raspy. It was then I requested a written affidavit be done and Mr. Whittington gladly
agreed to do one as soon as he returned back home to his office.

Mr. Whittington did speak of the incident and explained foremost there was no alcohol during the
hunt and everyone was wearing the proper hunting attire of blaze orange. The hunting group was
out to shoot a covey that the dogs had found, about the same time, a second covey was found by
the outrider. The first covey was flushed and he got a double. While looking for the downed birds,
he had returned back at one point to the hunting vehicles where Katharine and Sarita were to let
them go for the second covey. However, Katharine had told him to go and shoot the second covey.
So, at that time, he proceeded to join the hunters who had already moved from the first location. At
that time, a nurse came in the room and asked Lt. Guzman and I to kind of hurry up so Mr.
Whittington could rest. Mr. Whittington again reiterated that this incident was just an accident. He
was concerned this incident would bring a bad imagine to hunting in Texas. I then told Mr.
Whittington I would give him a call in a few days to get the written affidavit.

On Tuesday February 14, 2006 I spoke with Gerardo Medellin who dictated to me as I wrote his
affidavit. (See Affidavit for further details.) I was also taken to the area were the incident occurred.
The pasture name is the Comal Pasture and it is located at approximately four miles west of U.S.
Highway 77. The GPS readings for this incident was retrieved from my phone as N 26* 56.352' W
97* 50.420�? while on location, I was able to understand more how Mr. Cheney and Katharine
Armstrong described the area in their statement.

On Wednesday February 15, 2006 I was able to make contact with Katharine Armstrong, Sarita
Armstrong Hixon, Pamela Willeford, and Michael Hubert. I requested a written affidavit from each
one of them. I was able to get everyone's affidavit except for Mr. Hubert's affidavit. He told he would
be in the area sometime Friday February 17, 2006 and would get in contact with me.

The following is the official supplement report as filed by Sheriff Ramon Salinas III.

On February 11, 2006 at approximately 5:30 p.m., I, Ramon Salinas, III, and Sheriff of Kenedy
County received a telephone call at my home from Captain Charles Kirk in reference to a possible
hunting accident that had occurred on the Armstrong Ranch. Captain Kirk stated that he was on
his way to the Armstrong gate to get more information.

About 8 to 10 minutes later, I received another call from a United States Secret Service Agent; I
believe his name was Martinez. He said that the purpose of the call was to officially notify the
Kenedy County Sheriff's Office of a hunting accident that had just occurred on the Armstrong
Ranch and that it involved Vice-President Cheney.

After I hung up, Captain Kirk called me back and said that he'd made contact with a Border Patrol
agent at the Armstrong gate and that the Agent told him that he didn't know anything about the
accident. I then told Captain Kirk that it was fine and that I would contact someone on the Ranch.

After speaking with Captain Kirk I contacted Constable Ramiro Medellin Jr., former Sheriff of
Kenedy County and asked him if he had any information about the accident. Constable Medellin
stated that he would call me right back.

Constable Medellin returned my call and said, “This in fact is an accident.�? He stated that he had
spoken with some of the people in the hunting party who were eyewitnesses and that they all said it
was definitely a hunting accident. I also spoke with another eyewitness and he said the same thing,
that it was an accident.

After hearing the same information from eyewitnesses and Constable Medellin, it was at this time
that I decided to send my Chief Deputy first thing Sunday morning to interview the Vice-President
and other witnesses.

A few minutes later, I received another call from the Secret Service asking if I was going to send
someone to the Ranch. I told him that someone would be there first thing in the morning. The
Secret Service said they would be at the gate waiting.

At approximately 6:15 p.m. I contacted Chief Deputy San Miguel and advised him of the incident
and to be at the gate at approximately 8:00 a.m.

See Chief Deputy Gilberto San Miguel's report for further information.

From this:

Former Sen. Alan Simpson blasted the media's obsessive reporting on Dick Cheney's hunting accident on Sunday, saying reporters typically focus on nothing but "controversy, crap and confusion."

"How are we to trust [the press], after a whole week of absolute dribble, and babble, and people, you know, interviewing themselves," he told "Fox News Sunday."

..."There is a human element here that got lost in the perfect storm of people who don't like Cheney," he explained. "They don't like hunting. They don't like guns. They don't like people who kill birds and eat them. I mean, good grief."

The transcipt is here.

A copy of the NY Times columnist's 2/16 column can be found here.

The WaPo's "Hunting for Camaraderie With Shotguns and Friends" is chocka with nuggets, including this:

While Cheney pays any hunting fees or lodging expenses if charged, taxpayers invariably pick up much of the cost of Cheney's hunting hobby. As with his predecessors, the government pays for Secret Service agents, military aides and the rest of the entourage that travels with vice presidents wherever they go, as well as the expense of Air Force Two. But it is not clear how much that costs. The budget lists $1 million for the vice president's annual travel, including his official duties, but the figure is rounded to the nearest million, according to the Center for Public Integrity.

From this week's issue:

...After searching for his birds for a bit, Whittington returned to the vehicle where Katharine Armstrong was. She "told him to go and shoot the second covey," the report says. Whittington walked toward Cheney and Willeford but, as Armstrong later told reporters, didn't announce his presence. "Your first responsibility is to let the other guy know where you are," says Texas A&M professor Dale Rollins, a quail-hunting expert. But Cheney too had a responsibility to know where Whittington was. "It's critical, especially with more than two hunters, to stay in a straight line," says Rollins. Cheney turned toward the setting sun to fire at a bird from the covey Medellin had discovered--and that was the shot that felled Whittington. The ambulance that always accompanies Cheney took his friend to a small hospital 42 miles north, and he was then flown to a big Corpus Christi medical center...

Cheney was in for a fitful evening; he was "just crushed," another guest told the New York Times. The paper says the hunting party somberly ate roast beef for dinner and got periodic reports from two guests who had gone to the hospitals along with Whittington's wife Mercedes. The Secret Service notified local authorities, and a traveling aide to the Vice President gave a heads-up to the White House Situation Room. Bush adviser Karl Rove called Armstrong between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. to ask about Whittington--who, like Armstrong, is a friend of Rove's--and learned of Cheney's role in the accident...

At about 8 a.m. Sunday, a Cheney aide called strategist Mary Matalin, who regularly advises the Vice President. The aide read her a statement about the accident that Cheney had considered releasing before he decided to encourage Armstrong to go to the Caller-Times. But the statement "didn't say much of anything," Matalin says--not even that Cheney was the shooter. Matalin then spoke with a second aide and with Cheney's family and heard different versions of what had happened in the shooting. She decided no statement should be released amid the confusion. Matalin spoke with Cheney, and, she says, they agreed that "a fuller accounting, with an eyewitness," would be preferable...

The Time cover story is on the Dick Cheney hunting accident. The article is subscriber-only, but a snippet is here, with a bit more here.