Cheney's story satisfies Bush

2006-02-16 19:22

Washington - President George W Bush was satisfied with vice-president Dick Cheney's account of his Texas hunting accident, but his spokesperson declined to say on Thursday whether he felt it should have been disclosed earlier.

"I think the vice-president clearly explained the rationale behind that," said White House press secretary Scott McClellan, avoiding a direct response to questions about whether Bush felt the shooting accident was publicly disclosed in a timely manner.

The accident happened on Saturday, but was not publicly revealed until the next day.

Cheney himself spoke publicly about the accident for the first time on Wednesday in an exclusive interview with Fox News Channel.

He said he did not see his hunting companion Harry Whittington until just after he fired on a covey of quail, and had peppered him with birdshot in the face, neck and chest.

Cheney described it as "one of the worst days of my life" and rejected the notion that Whittington bore any responsibility.

Roundly criticised

"I'm the guy who pulled the trigger and shot my friend," he said.

"The president's satisfied with what the vice-president said," McClellan said on Thursday.

Cheney also defended his decision to keep it from the public until a day after it happened.

The vice-president has been roundly criticised in the media and by leading congressional Democrats for his decision.

Members of the White House press corps fiercely questioned press secretary Scott McClellan on Monday.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said the administration needed to be less secretive.

The vice president acknowledged that McClellan and Bush communications adviser Dan Bartlett urged him to release information about the accident quickly.

But, he said he made the ultimate decision to have the owner of the Texas ranch reveal it to a local newspaper without any official announcement from the White House.

Internal discussions

That created a major public-relations problem for the White House, with some Republicans even suggesting that it made the situation worse by suggesting the possibility of some sort of cover-up.

Asked whether Bush encouraged Cheney to speak out on Wednesday, McClellan said: "Obviously there are internal discussions that we have, and I'll leave those internal."

Cheney said he still believed it was the right decision to allow ranch owner Katharine Armstrong to disclose the accident to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times the day after the accident.

- AP