Defending Cheney, Fox's Henneberg falsely claimed that vice presidents "rarely, if ever" hold press conferences

Summary: Fox News correspondent Molly Henneberg claimed that vice presidents "rarely, if ever" hold press conferences. In fact, Vice President Al Gore conducted at least 15 press conferences while in office; Cheney has so far conducted three.

During live coverage on the February 15 edition of Fox News Live, Fox News correspondent Molly Henneberg, after reporting Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid's (D-NV) comment that "the vice president should have a press conference to talk about the [accidental shooting] incident in Texas," falsely claimed that "[v]ice presidents rarely, if ever, do that." In fact, Vice President Al Gore conducted at least 15 press conferences from 1993 to 1999, according to the Nexis "Transcripts" database. Eleven of those press conferences took place from 1993 to 1997, including one on March 3, 1997, in which he answered press questions about alleged campaign finance violations. By contrast, a similar search of Nexis transcripts found only three press conferences featuring Cheney, all of which occurred between February and April 2001.

From the February 15 (2 p.m. ET) edition of Fox News Live:

HENNEBERG: Here you see the vice president arriving at the White House this morning for a meeting with the president and congressional leaders. After that meeting, the top Senate Democrat, Harry Reid, told reporters he thought the vice president should have a press conference to talk about the incident in Texas. Vice presidents rarely, if ever, do that, but they sometimes do interviews, as Mr. Cheney is doing right now with [Fox News Washington managing editor] Brit [Hume].

—R.S.K.