Whittington Leaves Hospital, Speaks to Press

Staff / Truthdig Feb 18, 2006 "We all assume certain risks in what we do Accidents do and will happen," says the 78-year-old lawyer upon being released from the hospital. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Cheney-Drinking Questions Percolating (and fermenting)

Staff / Truthdig Feb 17, 2006 The traditional media and the blogosphere are abuzz with questions about the drinking Cheney did before hunting; whether his medications, combined with alcohol, may have played a role; and whether this explains why he didn't alert the media for so long about the accident (i.e., did he need the time to get the intoxicants out of his system?). Some of the best writing on the topic: Think Progress: McClellan Ducks Questions on Role of Alcohol AMERICAblog: What did Cheney drink and when did he drink it? Tucker Carlson: You CanӒt Drink A Beer If You Shoot. Period. Think Progress: Inconsistencies in statements of Cheney's "star witness" Raw Story: 'Beer quote' scrubbed from MSNBC story The Nation's John Nichols: Cheney has a lot more explaining to do Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

The Cheney Hunting Incident

Blair Golson / Truthdig Feb 17, 2006 When the vice president accidentally shot 78-year-old Texas lawyer Harry Whittington on a hunting trip after drinking a beer, and then delayed telling the world about it for 14 hours, he refocused the nation's attention on troubling questions of official secrecy (and Dick Cheney's aim). Truthdig has all the videos, articles and documents you need to answer the questions for yourself. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Bush ‘Satisfied’ With Cheney’s Response to Shooting

Staff / Truthdig Feb 17, 2006 The president says "I thought the vice president handled the issue just fine" but declines to discuss details of Cheney's late disclosure of the hunting accident. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Cheney: I’m Sorry for Shooting, Not Sorry for the Delay

Staff / Truthdig Feb 16, 2006 In a gesture admirable in its sentiment but inexcusable in its belatedness, the vice president tells Fox News that he alone is to blame for the accident He called it "one of the worst days of my life" (video or story) He does not, however, apologize for having a private citizen break the news to the world--almost 24 hours late. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Cheney Shotgun Victim Suffers Heart Attack

Staff / Truthdig Feb 15, 2006 Harry Whittington, the 78-year-old lawyer who was shot by Vice President Dick Cheney in a hunting accident, has a birdshot pellet in his heart and had "a minor heart attack" Tuesday morning He is back in intensive care | story The ER chief at the Texas hospital, asked if the birdshot could endanger Whittington's life, responded: "When birdshot is in your body, there's always the risk they can move We'll watch very closely for any migration" Continuing Coverage: Account of Doctors raises questions on heart injury Think Progress: Scott McClellan concealed the heart attack from the press A White House spokesman cracked jokes on the record about the incident (before Whittington suffered the heart attack) The Smoking Gun surfaces the Texas hunting accident report (hat tip: Huffington Post) The lowdown on what hunting rules Cheney broke Slow Leak: Time publishes an inside account of why Cheney didn't publicly disclose news of the accident for 24 hourscom/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/13/AR2006021301303html" title="Unloading on Cheney:">Unloading on Cheney: Comedians take aim at the vice president. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Cheney Shoots a Texas Liberal

Molly Ivins / Truthdig Feb 14, 2006 Welcome back to the paradoxical Bush/Cheney "responsibility society," where no one (starting with the administration) takes responsibility. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )