Media pronounce Cheney shooting story "over"; declare he "stopped the political damage," despite lingering questions, contradictions
SUMMARY: In recent days, media figures pronounced the story surrounding Vice President Dick Cheney's accidental shooting of a hunting partner "over," despite several unanswered questions regarding the incident and contradictory statements offered by Cheney and hunting party host Katharine Armstrong, whom Cheney said he designated to first report the incident.
In recent days, media figures pronounced the story surrounding Vice President Dick Cheney's accidental shooting of a hunting partner "over," despite several unanswered questions (documented by Media Matters for America here, here, and here) regarding the incident and contradictory statements (documented by Media Matters here, here, and here) offered by Cheney and hunting party host Katharine Armstrong, whom Cheney said he designated to first report the incident. These media figures have cited several specific events as marking the end of the story's newsworthiness: Cheney's February 15 interview with Fox News' Brit Hume, in which Cheney recounted the shooting and took responsibility for it, stating: "You can't blame anybody else. I'm the guy who pulled the trigger and shot my friend"; President Bush's February 16 pronouncement that he is "satisfied with the explanation he [Cheney] gave" of the incident; and the Kenedy County, Texas, sheriff's February 16 announcement that no charges will be filed relating to the shooting. Following these events, two Fox News commentators have argued that any further effort by the press to pursue the story can only be motivated by a desire to embarrass the White House. Hume argued that "[t]he controversy over how Vice President Dick Cheney handled disclosure of his hunting accident last weekend seems to have begun to subside following his interview," and Fox News' Carl Cameron stated that "the hunting story seemed to be losing steam with the White House press corps in the wake of the vice president's interview with Fox News." Additionally, ABC News chief Washington correspondent George Stephanopoulos argued that Cheney had "stopped the political damage" by coming forth with his version of events, ignoring the unanswered questions regarding the story and the contradictions between Cheney's and Armstrong's accounts.
On the February 17 edition of Fox News' Fox News Live (noon E.T. hour), host Bill Hemmer interviewed syndicated columnist Michelle Malkin because, he explained, "Now, we are wondering about where the story goes next, and whether there's another branch on this tree or not. Syndicated columnist and Fox News contributor Michelle Malkin can answer that." The interview featured an onscreen graphic that read: "The Cheney Incident: Time to Let It Go?"
When Hemmer asked Malkin if "the media overdid it" in pursuing the Cheney shooting story, Malkin replied that there was "[n]o question about it," adding that "the White House press corps, for the most part, was trying to embarrass the White House over this." When Hemmer asked Malkin if Cheney was likely to mention the shooting incident in a press conference scheduled for later that afternoon, Malkin replied: "Yes, and I hope he does. ... And I think with the [hunting partner Harry] Whittington press conference coming up shortly here on Fox News that, hopefully, this will cause a ceasefire once and for all." She added: "The mania -- and the circus journalism -- is just absolutely out of control."
From Malkin's interview on the February 17 edition of Fox News' Fox News Live:
HEMMER: Tough week for Scott McClellan at the podium there, the White House spokesman earning his paycheck on Monday and again on Tuesday, and actually on Wednesday and Thursday as well. The media turning that press conference into a bit of a feeding frenzy over this hunting incident here. Now, we are wondering about where the story goes next, and whether there's another branch on this tree or not. Syndicated columnist and Fox News contributor Michelle Malkin can answer that. Michelle, good afternoon to you. How are you doing?
MALKIN: Good. How are you, Bill?
HEMMER: I'm doing fine. You think the media overdid it this week. How so?
MALKIN: No question about it, Bill. Look, this wasn't an apocalypse. It was a hunting accident. And there was no Nixonian-proportioned cover-up here. It was a minor press bungle. Could the vice president's office have handled it better? Yes. But I think that the White House press corps, for the most part, was trying to embarrass the White House over this. And in the end, it ended up only embarrassing itself.
[...]
HEMMER: One thing we're hearing, Michelle, is that the vice president may make mention of this at 1:00, in the 1:00 hour in that speech, do you anticipate that?
MALKIN: Yes, and I hope he does. I think the vice president's office understood that it should have handled things better. And I think with the Whittington press conference coming up shortly here on Fox News that, hopefully, this will cause a ceasefire once and for all.
[crosstalk]
MALKIN: The mania -- and the circus journalism -- is just absolutely out of control.
Similarly, on the February 16 edition of Fox News Live, syndicated columnist and Fox News contributor Robert D. Novak stated that he doesn't "think you can keep beating this totally dead horse over and over again. This story is really over, and I think what's left is the Cheney-bashing by people who don't like him."
From Novak's interview on Fox News Live (10 a.m. ET hour), hosted by John Scott:
SCOTT: Bob -- I don't know, I guess I have something of a public position. If I had done exactly the same thing, I wouldn't want the whole world knowing about it. If you're the vice president -- I mean, has he come to learn or does he know that this kind of thing ought to be covered, deserves to be covered?
NOVAK: Look, [former Sen.] Al Simpson [R-WY], former -- his buddy from Wyoming, former Senator, said it the other day very candidly that Dick Cheney doesn't like the press anymore -- used to like the press, but he detests them. And he is not going to make anything easier for them. I don't think there's any question, of all the Republicans I have talked to, several people in the administration, they said that immediately the information should have been given to the media and that the vice president didn't want to do it. And he -- as Marvin [Kalb, Fox News contributor] says, he is autonomous, but for goodness' sakes, I think -- I don't think you can keep beating this totally dead horse over and over again. This story is really over, and I think what's left is the Cheney-bashing by people who don't like him.
Additionally, on the February 16 edition of Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume, Hume asserted: "The controversy over how Vice President Dick Cheney handled disclosure of his hunting accident last weekend seems to have begun to subside following his interview yesterday in which he took full responsibility for wounding his fellow hunter." During a report on the hunting story, Cameron stated: "After three days of feisty [White House] briefings, the hunting story seemed to be losing steam with the White House press corps in the wake of the vice president's interview with Fox News." During the program's "All-Star" panel discussion, Hume asked NPR national political correspondent Mara Liasson if the "hunting accident controversy" was "largely over," to which she replied: "I think it's probably just about run its course," adding, "I don't think this does lasting damage to the White House." When Hume asked Liasson, "Has the Republican heartburn subsided?," Liasson responded: "Yes, by now, probably. It's subsiding."
From the February 16 edition of Special Report with Brit Hume:
HUME: The controversy over how Vice President Dick Cheney handled disclosure of his hunting accident last weekend seems to have begun to subside following his interview yesterday in which he took full responsibility for wounding his fellow hunter. But there was still some noise on the issue today. And as Fox News Chief White House Correspondent Carl Cameron reports, this afternoon President Bush broke his public silence on the issue.
[...]
CAMERON: After three days of feisty briefings, the hunting story seemed to be losing steam with the White House press corps in the wake of the vice president's interview with Fox News, though there were attempts to link the accident to Iraq.
[...]
HUME: Mara, your view of this hunting accident controversy. Is it in your judgment largely over?
LIASSON: I think it's probably just about run its course. For those -- for opponents of the administration, this is a metaphor for Cheney's disproportionate power, the fact that he kind of runs an entity unto himself and isn't subject to the rules of the White House and doesn't consult with anybody and decides for himself and, in this case he was seeded a tremendous amount of power, as he has been all along. So that becomes a metaphor. I don't think this does lasting damage to the White House. I think the way it was handled, to Cheney, it doesn't matter. Cheney is not going to run for anything. He doesn't really care about his favorability ratings. I do think, though, that it made a lot of Republicans worried and nervous about how it was handled. Not about the incident itself, but just it didn't seem it was handled very professionally. It caused a lot of unnecessary --
HUME: Has the Republican heartburn subsided, in your judgment?
LIASSON: Yes, by now, probably. It's subsiding.
MSNBC conservative commentators Joe Scarborough and Tucker Carlson have also pronounced the shooting story dead. On the February 16 edition of MSNBC's Scarborough Country, which featured Steve Rendall, a senior analyst at Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, Scarborough announced: "It certainly sounds to me, if you listen to the news coming out of Texas, that this story is over":
SCARBOROUGH: Let me start with you, Steve. It certainly sounds to me, if you listen to the news coming out of Texas, that this story is over. Do you agree with that?
RENDALL: Well, I'm not sure it's over. I think the thing that you have to take into account here is, you have the most secretive official in what might be the most secretive administration ever, who appoints a private citizen, Katharine Armstrong, to take care of the press business of the White House.
And on the February 16 edition of MSNBC's The Situation with Tucker Carlson, Carlson asserted that given Bush's statement that he is "satisfied" with Cheney's explanation of the shooting, and the Kenedy County sheriff's decision not to file charges against Cheney, "[t]he three-day story is over":
BUSH [clip]: And so, I thought his explanation yesterday was a very strong and powerful explanation, and I'm satisfied with the explanation he gave.
CARLSON: President Bush, as you just heard, pronounced himself one satisfied customer today. The local sheriff's department is satisfied with Dick Cheney's story, too. Law enforcement officials in Texas closed the hunting accident case today without filing any charges against the V.P. The three-day story is over.
Further, on the February 15 edition of ABC's World News Tonight, Stephanopoulos stated that Cheney "stopped the political damage" by "giv[ing] out his whole side of the story," an assertion that can only prove true if journalists like Stephanopoulos stop pursuing the unanswered questions concerning the story, and if they fail to scrutinize the contradictions between Cheney's statements and those of Armstrong. World News Tonight anchor Elizabeth Vargas noted one of these contradictions immediately before Stephanopoulos stated that Cheney had "stopped the political damage":
VARGAS: But there is still a contradiction, isn't there? I mean, he says it was the right decision to let Katharine Armstrong give that version of events, while saying it was his responsibility, and her version of events placed responsibility squarely on -- squarely on Mr. Whittington's shoulders.
STEPHANAPOLOUS: It did, and you know, the fact that he thought she was going to be the more credible witness is undercut right now. But now, he's given out his whole side of the story. And as long as his story is not contradicted by Mr. Whittington or the sheriff's report, and as long as Mr. Whittington doesn't take a turn for the worse, I think he's stopped the political damage. And most Republicans and Democrats I talked to today agree.
As Media Matters noted, some of Armstrong's statements regarding the consumption of alcohol by the hunting party and Whittington's ability to speak after the February 11 incident have been contradicted by Cheney. Additionally, other statements by Armstrong raise questions about whether she saw the actual shooting, as she claims. Salon.com writer Tim Grieve outlines several of the unanswered questions regarding the shooting incident and the subsequent investigation here (subscription required).
This is typical of the media, rather than focus on what is right or what the public wants, they make these declarations to meet their agenda. Other instances: declarations that candidates do or don't have a chance to win primaries and elections well before the votes. Repeatedly calling Alito's confirmation a done-deal. Saying the Iraq War was inevitable before it even started. This story will probably go by the wayside with the Downings Street memo and so many others.
They flop at the first charge by the administration that all is well. And they never get back up.
The media's been told to stop being so feisty, and they're obeying.
Think about it. If the media challenged this administration, they'd lose "access" to the administration's spin points! How can the media function without access to spin?
You are so right. If this media had been around during Watergate, they would have declared that story dead before it even started, and we would have had three more years of a paranoid, petty president. We would have never known that members of the Reagan administration traded arms for hostages and illegally financed a war. Clinton would never have been impeached. What the hell happened to the media?
I don't get it. This administration treats them with utter contempt, yet, like a battered spouse, they keep blaming themselves and trying to please their oppressor. God help us if this continues.
"What the hell happened...?" I suspect it has to do with corporate media - governmental glad-handing...and as a result, corporate influence/suppression of the news media. Anyone have any better ideas?
I just can't believe that it's strictly intimidation or bullying by this Bush regime. Has to be about the bottom line... it always is.
It is over to the man who was shot. He walked out of the hospital today and gave a nice press briefing. I guess if he has no problems, then we need to shut up also. Somehow I doubt this will be the case.
I have not been able to tell when those comments are in jest.
I am very curious about the incident but I must admit that I would not have spoken to the police or the press if it was me. It is just an issue of self preservation. It will end a political career (like it did with Condit) but you stay out of jail.
the real story her is the sneakiness of cheney in trying to bury this story and using the ranch owner as some kind of expert and eyewitness, when she was neither. news about the vice president should be released by his office. not some long time associate of his going to the local paper a day later. and maybe he made a mistake but whittington said the accident was friday.
...I don't know about you but I have had it up to here with Ted Kennedy and Chappaquidick...
Let it go!!
Yes, the only story worth playing over and over and over is any story (true or not) that begins with:
It's Clinton's fault that...
I've seen the video of Whittington press conference twice now. I've got to ask, is it just my tired old eyes, or is anybody missing any scars a recent shot in the face with a shotgun would most certainly leave. Or is Whittington really Odo, the shape shifter from the sci-fi universe? Of course there wouldn't be any reason to fake the whole thing to divert the attention away from what is in PLAME sight, would it? Just curious.
what the hell do you mean its over. its a long way from being over, like the rest of the lies, coverups, corruption, and bankruptcy of this nations respect, and reputation. some of these power and war mongers are going to pay for this. they just dont know it yet guy p. fraser
I have come to the conclusion, after this Cheney debacle, the press is oppressed. Why ?? because the press is so hungry to get these guys on TV they will sell their ethics and actually refrain from asking the tough questions. Television exposure is very important. Cutting off your guests has become a favorite pastime. The press, at one time played the role of the " second amendment " protecting us from bad government. What happened ???
Please continue to tell us what WE think is imporant and what WE don't think is important.
WE want more coverage of missing white girls and celebrity hook-up/break-ups.
Enough with the Vice President shooting someone in the face and then hiding out for 4 days before engaging in a staged, sterile interview where he admits alcohol was involved and how he as executive authority to declassify information and the like.
That's not sexy or intriguing.
I'm so glad you all have OUR best interests at heart.
...then why are they still yacking about it on Fox News Sunday????
The past 39 minutes (so far) have been spent propping up the Vice President and bashing Democrats in addition to tearing down the White House Press Corp for (shocker of shockers) of actually investigating a story that the Vice President tried to exclude from them.
Oh, Brit Hume just instructed us that the story is "over"...again.
You've gotta love Fraud News Sunday.
Hey, MediaMatters, you promised me that the media told us that the story is over. But according to Drudge, both Time and Newsweek are going to cover the Dick Cheney-shooting-friend story for another week. And they are going to be cover stories! Yet another great reason why we shouldn' trust the media: they say it's over, and then cover it for a second week.
You guys are delusional.
And it is over. Not the Cheyney shooting but DEMOCRACY in America.
I continue to ache inside that when Clinton (Bill, I love you so, I always will ... wish I were the first to attach that catchy tune to him, but a lady blogger did it better at [link to circlev.blogspot.com] ) deceived his staff, George S. was more wounded than Hillary. It stirred him so deeply that he, more than any other, is the true Darth, turned to the dark side.
He's too smart to believe on an intellectual level even half the tripe he feeds the public ("Stephanopoulos ... received his master's degree in theology at Balliol College, Oxford University, England, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar. He holds a bachelor of arts degree from Columbia University and graduated summa ... laude in political science." [link to mediamatters.org] . The question becomes, does he do this as the spurned lover, or has it become being about the money?