Friday, February 17, 2006
Nothing To See Here, Folks
In the "move along folks, nothing to see here" department we find "Texas Justice" living up to it's reputation.
The sheriff's department responsible for investigating Vice President Cheney's shooting of a Texas lawyer has closed its investigation and decided no criminal charges are warranted, according to a report released Thursday...
The report, written by Chief Deputy Gilbert San Miguel Jr., quotes Cheney and Whittington as saying the shooting was an accident. They said no one was drinking alcohol during the hunt, according to the report...
Hospital officials have declined to say whether Whittington was given a blood alcohol test when he was admitted.In his first public comments on the shooting, President Bush said Thursday in Washington that he is satisfied with Cheney's account of what happened. "I thought the vice president handled the issue just fine," he said. "I'm satisfied with the explanation he gave."
What else could Bush say? Although some unattributed reports out of the White House claim that the president is furious with the way Cheney handled the incident.
The sheriff's 2 1/2 -page report says that San Miguel began his investigation at the Armstrong Ranch at 8 a.m. Sunday, 14 1/2 hours after the shooting occurred...
Standing on a small hill, Cheney fired down, spraying Whittington's face, neck and chest with birdshot. "Cheney told me the reason Harry Whittington sustained the injuries to his face and upper body," the report said, "was that Mr. Whittington was standing on ground that was lower than the one he was standing on."...
The incident has been a big topic among the many hunters and gun enthusiasts in this region. Ken Tuggle, manager of the Corpus Christi Pistol & Rifle Club, said he could not believe that a blast at 30 yards from a 28-gauge shotgun, which shoots fewer pellets and has a smaller shot pattern than a 12-gauge shotgun, could pass through a hunting jacket and a shirt and that the pellets could become embedded near a victim's heart. "It's hard to fathom," he said...
Other hunters questioned why Cheney was shooting down at a flying bird. "The idea behind quail hunting is that you have to hit the quail when it's about five to 10 feet in the air," said Wade Wilson, a South Texas hunting guide. "Quail don't fly very high. But nobody should be shooting down."
The understatement of the day.
