Cheney's Late Disclosure of Hunting Incident Fuels Criticism

Bloomberg
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Washington (US):
Vice President Dick Cheney's delay in disclosing his accidental shooting of a hunting companion during a weekend outing has turned an unfortunate mishap into a continuing controversy for the administration.
The incident took a more serious turn yesterday when a doctor in Corpus Christi, Texas, announced that the man wounded by Cheney, 78-year-old lawyer Harry Whittington, suffered a ``minor'' heart attack after a shotgun pellet migrated to his heart. The doctor, David Blanchard, said he was optimistic Whittington would fully recover.
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See Also:
Shooting victim in intensive care after heart attack
What's Behind Whittington's "Minor Heart Attack"?
Cheney misfires, then ducks, making himself comic target
Television comedians target Cheney hunting accident
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The announcement appeared to catch the White House officials and Cheney's staff by surprise. The vice president abruptly left a lunch with Senate Republicans after an aide slipped Cheney a note a half-hour before the doctor's 1 p.m. news conference.
For the second consecutive day, White House spokesman Scott McClellan faced a barrage of questions about why the Feb. 11 incident wasn't revealed until the next day, and then by the ranch owner calling the local newspaper. In past accidents involving President George W. Bush, such as when the president had a bicycle crash in Scotland last year, the White House press office issued a statement soon afterward.
feb 15, 2006