'Birdshot lodged in heart' of Cheney Shooting Victim...
OCCURRED 'EARLY TUESDAY' --- YET NOT MENTIONED BY MCCLELLAN IN WHITE HOUSE PRESS BRIEFING!
By Brad Friedman on 2/14/2006, 10:53am PT  

Just breaking from AP:

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - The 78-year-old lawyer who was shot by Vice President Dick Cheney in a hunting accident has some birdshot lodged in his heart and he had a "minor heart attack," a hospital official said Tuesday.

Peter Banko, the hospital administrator at Christus Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi-Memorial, said Harry Whittington had the heart attack early Tuesday while being evaluated.

He said there was an irregularity in the heartbeat caused by a birdshot pellet, and doctors performed a cardiac catheterization.

Guess the incident --- which includes "birdshot lodged in his heart!" --- wasn't quite so minor as it has been downplayed as for the last three days. By the MSM and their sources from Cheney's group of apologists, anyway.

More if I can get anything additional on this from hospital sources or elsewhere...

MORE... Note the story says the heart attack occurred "early Tuesday". Apparently, it was not notable enough for McClellan to mention that in today's White House Press Briefing!

As well, note the section in the transcript where David Gregory asks about "Two timeline questions" in regard to the issue we discussed last night here. McClellan continues to dodge the sequence of events concerning how and when Bush and his people were notified by Cheney's people.

I'm not a big "cover-up" guy, but I see no reason to dispute that what we are now witnessing is indeed a cover-up in action. What they are covering-up, however, is still largely speculation, but I'd suggest this is exactly what one looks like from all the shifty, inexplicable ducking, dodging and dancing that these guys are displaying.

I am less concerned with why Cheney failed to notify the media or the nation in the 21 hours after the shooting, and more interested in why he seems to have failed to give full disclosure to the White House itself.

Thus, I continue to ask: What didn't the President know, and why didn't he know it?

It seems clear there was a fear that Whittington would die from the get-go, and Cheney's team was deciding whether to cover-up the matter if he did so. "Veep Kills Man" is not a great headline, no matter how one tries to spin it. Thus, it seems they "failed" to inform Bush about Cheney being the shooter in the early hours before they knew if Whittington would survive or not --- and we'll see if he actually does at this point, since his condition has changed from what they thought it was --- so Bush would have "plausible deniability" in the event they decided to literally white wash the entire affair.

Still open to less sinister intepretations. But I still fail to come up with any.

STILL MORE... In yesterday's press briefing (which still does not have the video posted along with it, as I pointed out last night!), the following question was asked, and subsequently dismissed by Scottie:

MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead, Connie.

Q Is it proper for the Vice President to offer his resignation or has he offered his resignation ---

MR. McCLELLAN: That's an absurd question. Go ahead, Ken.

I don't general do "predictions," but I'll go on record here as predicting that question will be arising more and more in the coming days and weeks.

SUSANHU AT BOOMAN OFFERS MORE... from a Texas attorney, concerning what Cheney may be "looking at" if Whittington dies...

My [hunting] friend further told me that if Whittington got hit with quite a few pellets, he was most likely closer than 30 yards away. [...]

If Whittington dies, Cheney is looking at negligent homicide (state jail felony, causing death by criminal negligence), or what is called here manslaughter (second degree felony, causing death by recklessness).

When I say "looking at,'' there are of course caveats to that.

FROM JOSH MARSHALL... The gang that couldn't shoot straight manages the media for the guy who couldn't shoot straight...

THINK PROGRESS CONFIRMS THAT WHITE HOUSE KNEW... about the heart attack prior to McClellan's presser today. But that they said nothing. They've got the video from the Hospital's press conference confirming the Hospital informed the White House of the heart attack "between 9:30 and 10:00 am this morning." The WH Press Briefing didn't begin until 12noon.

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