Many of Cheney's answers raise more questions

BY CRAIG GORDON AND TOM BRUNE | NEWSDAY WASHINGTON BUREAU

February 16, 2006

WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney's public mea culpa yesterday did little to clear up significant questions surrounding the accidental shooting, including why the White House sat on the story for almost a full day and whether he received preferential treatment from local deputies.

Here is a look at some of those questions:

Why didn't the White House notify the public immediately Saturday night that the vice president accidentally shot a man?

Cheney makes it clear that it was his decision to wait almost a full day to go public. But he doesn't indicate why top Bush aides like Karl Rove - and even President George W. Bush himself - appear to have deferred to him on it.

Why didn't Cheney just put the word out Saturday night to avoid risking charges coming from critics now of a cover-up?

Cheney said he waited overnight to find out how seriously victim Harry Whittington was hurt and to avoid rushing out inaccurate information.

Did Rove, Bush chief of staff Andrew Card or even Bush himself want Cheney to go public Saturday night?

Unknown. In one of the more striking statements from the nation's No. 2 leader, Cheney says he didn't personally speak to anyone at the White House until Sunday morning, even though he was involved in the shooting accident the night before.

Rove told Bush about 8 p.m. Saturday that Cheney was the shooter - roughly an hour after the shooting.

How did Cheney decide to alert the news media?

On Sunday, ranch owner Katharine Armstrong initially told CNN that she tipped off the local newspaper without first talking to Cheney.

But by Monday, the White House said Cheney agreed with her suggestion and told her to give the story to a reporter she knew at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.

The White House has an elaborate media operation. Why did Cheney bypass it and the national media outlets that cover the White House around the clock?

Cheney said only that he had no spokesperson traveling with him. But Cheney, who has shown a disdain for the national media, appeared to like the idea of giving the story to a friendly local reporter more attuned to the ways of Texas hunters.

Why didn't the local sheriff's office talk to Cheney on the same day as the shooting?

Kenedy County Sheriff Ramon Salinas III and the federal Secret Service have given conflicting accounts.

On Sunday, Salinas told The New York Times that a deputy talked to Cheney Saturday night. But CBS said the sheriff's office complained a deputy had been turned away that evening.

On Monday, the Secret Service said its agents called Salinas soon after the shooting and arranged for a Sunday morning meeting with Cheney. Salinas said he decided not to send a deputy Saturday night.

Why didn't the sheriff charge Cheney in the shooting?

Salinas said he decided it was an accident Saturday after talking to the Secret Service and a ranch hand he described as a former deputy and Salinas' daughter's boyfriend.

Whose fault was the shooting?

Cheney yesterday took full responsibility for the shooting. But for three days, he let his friend and hunting host, Armstrong, blame the victim, saying it was Whittington's fault for not telling other members of the hunting party he was nearby.

In the end, hunting experts say it's one of the cardinal rules of hunting, that the responsibility ultimately lies with the shooter. "You should know what you're shooting," said one veteran Texas hunting guide.