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Cheney: Texas Warden's Report and Sheriff's Press Release

By Jeralyn, Section Dick Cheney
Posted on Mon Feb 13, 2006 at 04:30:11 PM EST
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Smoking Gun has the Texas Warden's report. And a press release from the Kenedy County Sheriff saying there was no alchohol or misconduct involved and that Whittington's and Cheney's statements matched. The Sheriff's office is "fully satisfied" this was an accident.

Did Whittington fall on his sword for Cheney?

And the details about the 24 hour delay in reporting keep getting murkier. From Hardball tonight: Bush knew at 8pm Saturday, after being told by Andrew Card. McClellan not until 6 am Sunday. Bush didn't speak to Cheney until today. Cheney was present at Bush's press conference on Kofi Annan, but left the room before reporters could ask him questions. Former Wyoming senator and Cheney friend Alan Simpson was on doing his best to spin for his buddy. He made no sense. He also blamed Whittington.

Reddhedd at Firedoglake has more on the Texas statutes.

Paul Begala, another hunter with 30 years experience, weighs in at the TPM Cafe and says Cheney's story doesn't hold.

< Cheney's Hunting Party Companions | CNN: Cheney's License in Violation, Gets Warning >

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    Cheney: Texas Warden's Report and Sheriff's Press Release | 21 comments (21 topical)
    Re: Cheney: Texas Warden's Report and Sheriff's P (none / 0) (#1)
    by squeaky on Mon Feb 13, 2006 at 04:49:08 PM EST
    Why would the Secret Service turn away a sheriff who arrived at 8PM. The official answer was that he got his signals mixed up as the other sheriffs had scheduled to come the next morning. Sounds like classic tactic to avoid alcohol/ drug detection to me. If Cheney were sober I imagine he would want the sheriff to come asap so that there would be no hint of impropriety.

    Re: Cheney: Texas Warden's Report and Sheriff's P (none / 0) (#2)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Mon Feb 13, 2006 at 04:54:30 PM EST
    ...if Cheney felt his sobriety were an issue.

    Re: Cheney: Texas Warden's Report and Sheriff's P (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Feb 13, 2006 at 05:02:35 PM EST
    ...if Cheney felt his sobriety were an issue. If Cheney had no reason to believe his sobriety were an issue, why not get himself breathalyzed pronto and establish that it's not an issue? As it is, maybe he shot so wildly because he was drunk or because he's criminally careless. We just don't know. How many other hunting companions do you suppose Cheney has shot and got away with it? The cover-up very nearly succeeded this time, even with a victim in the ICU.

    Re: Cheney: Texas Warden's Report and Sheriff's P (none / 0) (#4)
    by squeaky on Mon Feb 13, 2006 at 05:03:37 PM EST
    You could be right SUO. Cheney may have wanted to avoid detection of something much less benign than mere drunkeness.

    Re: Cheney: Texas Warden's Report and Sheriff's P (none / 0) (#5)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Mon Feb 13, 2006 at 05:25:11 PM EST
    Jesur, I think you didn't get the point. Let's say your wife banged her shin yesterday, do you have the sheriff come to take a report to establish that you didn't hurt her? Of course you don't, it wouldn't even occur to you because you don't beat your wife. Somehow I doubt after the incident that Cheney purposely thought, "hey, Squeaky and Jesur over at TL might insinuate that I was drinking, so I'd better call the sherrif to establish that that's not an issue." Jesur, Squeaky, gotta say, I'm starting to enjoy this one. Wild-a$$ speculation is a heck of a lot of fun! Now I understand why you all like to do it so much. ;-)

    Re: Cheney: Texas Warden's Report and Sheriff's P (none / 0) (#6)
    by squeaky on Mon Feb 13, 2006 at 05:33:54 PM EST
    SUO-DUI Cheney, the mean drunk. His drinking history if held to your analogy with the bruised shin would make him a wife beater, Yes he would want to clear it up ASAP, unless, as you suggest, that there was something worse going on. Do you really think that Cheney also beat someone up? Did he have bruises on his shins? I hadn't heard that one but I wouldn't bre surprised.

    Re: Cheney: Texas Warden's Report and Sheriff's P (none / 0) (#7)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Feb 13, 2006 at 05:44:09 PM EST
    Squeaky - You're funny. I bet Rove's German grandfather is involved...somehow. ;-)

    Re: Cheney: Texas Warden's Report and Sheriff's P (none / 0) (#8)
    by Johnny on Mon Feb 13, 2006 at 06:52:43 PM EST
    A barked shin is not on the same level as blowing a man's face off, is it?

    Re: Cheney: Texas Warden's Report and Sheriff's P (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Feb 13, 2006 at 07:36:24 PM EST
    Against both Cheney and Whittington, the Texas Warden's report form has the NO box against alcohol use checked - not the YES or UNKNOWN box. Is this because they tested a hospital blood sample from Whittington and assumed Cheney was also dry, or because they felt they had no grounds to disbelieve exalted GOP functionaries, secret service officers and Cheney med team members in the circumstances of an unreported shooting? So why [X]NO rather than [X]UNKNOWN?

    Re: Cheney: Texas Warden's Report and Sheriff's P (none / 0) (#10)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Mon Feb 13, 2006 at 11:52:41 PM EST
    There was no alcohol involved. Cocaine maybe, but no alcohol. One is reminded of the scene in Scarface where Tony Montana shoots the South American hit man in the head because of a squabble about how to kill their target. Cheney and Whittington probably had a similar tiff about how to blow away the birdies, which resulted with Cheney standing over the stricken Whittington and mouthing something about "look at you now, mother---" in a faux Cuban accent, out the side of his mouth, as only he can. The Cheney era began in violence and you can safely bet it will end in violence. When the military is summoned to remove him from his underground bunker in 2009, he will meet them with a hail of gunfire preceded by the familiar taunt of "say hello to my lil friend". Don't say I didn't warn you all.

    Re: Cheney: Texas Warden's Report and Sheriff's P (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Feb 14, 2006 at 12:51:46 AM EST
    sarcastic unnamed one: Let's say your wife banged her shin yesterday, do you have the sheriff come to take a report to establish that you didn't hurt her? Oh, for heaven's sake. An accident when someone is carrying a loaded gun is exactly the same as an accident when someone is driving a car - it's potentially life-threatening, and yes, you do have to make sure that the driver of the car (or the man with the gun) wasn't drunk. A responsible sober driver will welcome a breathalyzer test after an accident in which he injured someone. So would Cheney have welcomed a breathalyzer test if he were a responsible and sober hunter. As he avoided a breathalyzer test, we can only guess how much drink he was carrying, but we can bet that he wasn't sober. Of course you don't, it wouldn't even occur to you because you don't beat your wife Except we know Cheney did shoot Whittington. The White House official story is that it was Whittington's fault, but what, exactly, is there to back this up in the way of actual evidence? Not even a breathalyzer test proving Cheney was sober.

    Re: Cheney: Texas Warden's Report and Sheriff's P (none / 0) (#12)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Tue Feb 14, 2006 at 10:02:15 AM EST
    Oh for heavens sake. I've been driving for over 25 years, have been in several car accidents and never once did anyone even think to give me or any the other drivers a breathalyzer test. For heavens sake. There is no statute nor SOP in Texas to breathalyze people involved in hunting accidents. By your logic all 4 of them should have pre-emptively had DNA tests done on their privates to establish that adultery was not an issue. Gotta say, I did learn something very interesting this AM. I googled "cheney drunk" and found that he was arrested twice for drinking 40+ years ago, but you already knew that of course. The interesting thing that I found is that I got a zillion hits from blogs like "I Love Lefty," "Left Turn," "Left Bank," and "Left Over" all saying the exact same thing - suggesting that Cheney was drunk. (Ok, I made the blog names up but you get the idea.) Now I understand where Jesur and Squeaky get their motivation. They spend a half-hour or so on the 'net in the AM to find out what everyone else is saying, and then they race over to TL to parrot it. Now I fully understand what people mean when they say "Talking Points." Not an original thought in your heads. For heavens sake.

    Re: Cheney: Texas Warden's Report and Sheriff's P (none / 0) (#13)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Feb 14, 2006 at 11:18:13 AM EST
    by sarcastic unnamed one: Oh for heavens sake. I've been driving for over 25 years, have been in several car accidents and never once did anyone even think to give me or any the other drivers a breathalyzer test. For heavens sake. Several car accidents you were clearly responsible for, in which someone was injured and spent a couple of days in the ICU? And no one ever thought to breathalyze any of the drivers involved, including you - even though you'd landed someone in the ICU? Wow, the 25 years you've been driving must be quite a few decades ago now - why did you stop driving? Was it all the could-have-been-lethal accidents you kept having? There is no statute nor SOP in Texas to breathalyze people involved in hunting accidents. That is actually to-the-point information. Can you cite where you found this out? By your logic all 4 of them should have pre-emptively had DNA tests done on their privates to establish that adultery was not an issue. Wow, adultery causes hunting accidents? I never knew. Otherwise, I might have thought you were making a completely irrelevant and rather stupid comment. Gotta say, I did learn something very interesting this AM. I googled "cheney drunk" and found that he was arrested twice for drinking 40+ years ago, but you already knew that of course. Nope, I had no idea. I'd never cared enough about Duck! Cheney to google "Cheney drunk", or indeed, Cheney anything. I made a deduction from the fact that Cheney appeared extremely anxious - as in, make use of the Secret Service to block a county sherriff doing his job anxious - to avoid a breathalyzer, after he'd shot his friend. If, however, you can show that Cheney had no reason to think he would get a breathalyzer test - you can cite your source? - that would answer that point.

    Re: Cheney: Texas Warden's Report and Sheriff's P (none / 0) (#14)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Tue Feb 14, 2006 at 12:42:24 PM EST
    Several car accidents you were clearly responsible for, in which someone was injured and spent a couple of days in the ICU?
    So the severity of the accident, as defined here by the victim spending "several days in the ICU," is the reason to give someone a breathalyzer. Jesur, I just googled "texas sheriff crystal ball" and, nope, they don't have one. They had no way of knowing beforehand the guy was going to spend "a couple of days in the ICU."
    Wow, adultery causes hunting accidents? I never knew. Otherwise, I might have thought you were making a completely irrelevant and rather stupid comment.
    Stupid & irrelevant it may well be, but the very suggestion that there was something similarly untoward afoot is one of your host's very own thread topics. I know, I know, you didn't know anything about it, just like you didn't knew Cheney was arrested for drinking over 4 decades ago.
    There is no statute nor SOP in Texas to breathalyze people involved in hunting accidents. That is actually to-the-point information. Can you cite where you found this out?
    Indeed, this is on point, isn't it? Well, why don't you try google? My search for a statute or SOP indicating that a breathalyzer is required in hunting accidents came up nil. That and, since it is so central to the issue, surely someone else would have thought of it, right? Like someone in a news organization? And if it was legally required, and Cheney illgally avoided it, it would be news? Right? You know, reading what you wrote, unlike some others here, you may not be a lefty parrot, but rather someone who actually thought breathalyzers are, or should be, required after hunting accidents. Regardless, it appears in this case they are not.

    Re: Cheney: Texas Warden's Report and Sheriff's P (none / 0) (#15)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Feb 14, 2006 at 02:17:06 PM EST
    So the severity of the accident, as defined here by the victim spending "several days in the ICU," is the reason to give someone a breathalyzer. Is it really news to you that if you're driving a car involved in an accident where someone is injured badly enough to need to be taken to hospital, the police want to breathalyze you - and if you're sober, you should want to be breathalyzed? You claim you've been driving for 25 years and you didn't know that? Jesur, I just googled "texas sheriff crystal ball" and, nope, they don't have one. They had no way of knowing beforehand the guy was going to spend "a couple of days in the ICU." Hee! You're almost funny. The sheriff of the country knew Whittington had been taken to hospital, and attempted to interview Cheney. Cheney dodged the interview with the use of the Secret Service, and thus escaped being breathalyzed. Interesting reaction from a sober man, isn't it? My search for a statute or SOP indicating that a breathalyzer is required in hunting accidents came up nil. However, as you'd know if you read this thread, the Texas Warden's form includes checkboxes for whether alcohol was involved. Evidently, unless they just always take everyone's word for it, breathalyzers are used after hunting accidents. That and, since it is so central to the issue, surely someone else would have thought of it, right? Like someone in a news organization? And if it was legally required, and Cheney illgally avoided it, it would be news? Right? If you were paying attention, you'd notice that up until Whittington's heart attack became news, the White House had succeeded in framing this to the mainstream media as a trivial incident, even an amusing joke. If Whittington dies, which I sincerely hope he doesn't, whether or not Cheney was sober when he shot him will become an issue. But Cheney, perhaps with foresight, avoided a breathalyzer test. Stupid & irrelevant it may well be, but the very suggestion that there was something similarly untoward afoot is one of your host's very own thread topics. As you'd see if you read that thread, there are no comments from me on it, and if you were paying attention to this thread, you'd see that it's a different thread. Therefore, your comment here to me was both stupid and irrelevant: you just look like you're trying to pick a fight.

    Re: Cheney: Texas Warden's Report and Sheriff's P (none / 0) (#16)
    by roy on Tue Feb 14, 2006 at 02:40:54 PM EST
    Is it really news to you that if you're driving a car involved in an accident where someone is injured badly enough to need to be taken to hospital, the police want to breathalyze you...
    Either that's not true, or the cops down here don't know it. I caused a crash a few months ago and my victim had to go to the hospital. Not ICU-level injury but serious. It was obvious to all involved that I did something deeply stupid to cause the crash. No breathalyzer was involved. The cops probably (I didn't ask) just smelled my breath and guessed I was sober. This was in Texas, on the Fourth of July weekend, known as a heavy drinkin' holiday down here.
    However, as you'd know if you read this thread, the Texas Warden's form includes checkboxes for whether alcohol was involved. Evidently, unless they just always take everyone's word for it, breathalyzers are used after hunting accidents.
    I suspect they exercise some discretion here. If they have a hunch alcohol's involved, they do a test. If they don't, they don't. Same as for traffic stops. The layout of the form doesn't tell you the law.
    - and if you're sober, you should want to be breathalyzed?
    While it might be a good idea to request a breathalyzer to prove yourself innocent, the law doesn't appear to require it. If the law did require it when there was no specific reason to suspect alcohol, the Left would probably call it a violation of civil rights -- correctly, IMHO.

    Re: Cheney: Texas Warden's Report and Sheriff's P (none / 0) (#17)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Tue Feb 14, 2006 at 02:45:20 PM EST
    Is it really news to you that if you're driving a car involved in an accident where someone is injured badly enough to need to be taken to hospital, the police want to breathalyze you
    Indeed it is. Show me the statute or law or whatever. My dad got in a pretty bad accident, his fault, last year. His passenger went to the hospital for several days. There was no breathalyzer given to anybody, and yes, he would have been happy to take the test.
    Cheney dodged the interview with the use of the Secret Service, and thus escaped being breathalyzed.
    Show me where the sheriff was going to give him a breathalyzer test. Heck, I'd even be interested a link showing that TX sherrifs do it regularly after hunting accidents. Then we can argue about whether Cheney knew about it or not.
    you just look like you're trying to pick a fight.
    I'll accept this comment at your word. I assumed you would be familiar with the other thread (actually I thought anyone following this story on TL would have at least some passing familiarity with all of this story's relevant threads on this site) but apparently I was wrong. I appologise.

    Re: Cheney: Texas Warden's Report and Sheriff's P (none / 0) (#18)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Feb 14, 2006 at 05:48:44 PM EST
    SUO: Show me the statute or law or whatever. In Texas if you refuse to submit to a breathalyzer test, your licence is suspended for a minimum of 180 days. Shall I go look up all the other states in the union, or will this do? Show me where the sheriff was going to give him a breathalyzer test. How can I? The sheriff didn't get access to him. Let's just run through this again, shall we? Cheney shoots an elderly man in the face, neck, and chest. The man is taken to hospital. The sheriff of the county comes out to interview Cheney... but the Secret Service won't let him near Cheney. Does this really look to you like a man with nothing at all to hide? You know, what really puzzles me about this is that you seem to think that Cheney is a naive little innocent and it never occurred to him that shooting a hunting companion in the face and neck might look bad. Hell, when Bush shot a protected bird on a dove hunt back when he was running for governor of Texas, he had more sense than that. (Or at least, his advisors did.) I disagree with your assessment that Cheney is a naive innocent who assumes everyone will think well of him no matter what he does - even shooting someone in the face, neck, and chest. I'm just saying. To me, the only question is: Is Cheney so arrogant that he really supposes that it doesn't matter what he does, he should never be blamed for it or take responsibility for it? Or is there something that he's trying to hide? Something as simple as the fact that he would have failed a breathalyzer test: something as complex as the whole story of Cheney swinging 180 degrees to fire right behind him being a lie. I assumed you would be familiar with the other thread Even making that assumption, why make a stupid and irrelevant comment about it if you're not trying to pick a fight? However, I accept your apology.

    Re: Cheney: Texas Warden's Report and Sheriff's P (none / 0) (#19)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Tue Feb 14, 2006 at 07:20:14 PM EST
    SUO: Show me the statute or law or whatever. Jesur: In Texas if you refuse to submit to a breathalyzer test, blah blah blah.
    Enough games. You know as well as I do that I was asking you to back up your claim, with some statute or law or whatever, that:
    if you're driving a car involved in an accident where someone is injured badly enough to need to be taken to hospital, the police want to breathalyze you
    Obviously you can't, especially in light of actual real-world examples that show you to be wrong. Which is fine because it's really not important to the thread. The important point is your allegation that:
    Cheney dodged the interview with the use of the Secret Service, and thus escaped being breathalyzed.
    ...which you were also asked to back up and can't. Unless you have something to back up your allegations, there's not much left to say here.

    Re: Cheney: Texas Warden's Report and Sheriff's P (none / 0) (#20)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Feb 14, 2006 at 07:29:06 PM EST
    ...if Cheney felt his sobriety were an issue. He'd have waited 14 hours to release the information to the authorities and almost 24 to the press.

    Re: Cheney: Texas Warden's Report and Sheriff's P (none / 0) (#21)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Feb 15, 2006 at 01:26:55 AM EST
    sarcastic unnamed one: Unless you have something to back up your allegations, there's not much left to say here. "Something to back up my allegations"? I can't quite believe you said that. You do remember what the real issue is? Cheney shot a guy. The man he shot may die. Now, it's possible that Cheney was completely, absolutely sober when he shot Whittington - but if so, that would be such strong evidence for Cheney that it's really hard to see why a sober Cheney wouldn't have wanted to be breathalyzed. It's clear he could have been - and it's clear that the local Sheriff wanted to talk to him. And it's known that Cheney used the Secret Service to avoid an encounter with the sheriff. You think this is the reaction of a sober, innocent little flower who just didn't realize how it was going to look? You're right - we really don't have much to talk about, if "innocent little flower" is your view of Cheney.

    Cheney: Texas Warden's Report and Sheriff's Press Release | 21 comments (21 topical)