Democrats blast Cheney secrecy after shooting

WASHINGTON – Democrats in Congress on Tuesday accused Vice President Dick Cheney of a pattern of secrecy, and demanded that he “level” with the public, after keeping mum about accidentally shooting an associate over the weekend.

Cheney has been criticised for waiting a day before disclosing a hunting mishap on Saturday in which he shot his 78-year-old hunting companion, Harry Whittington, in the neck, chest, and face. Asked at a press conference for her reaction about how the White House has handled the incident, US Senator Hillary Clinton called the Bush administration’s failure to be more forthcoming “troubling.””A tendency of this administration – from the top all the way to the bottom – is to withhold information …to refuse to be forthcoming about information that is of significance and relevance to the jobs that all of you do, and the interests of the American people,” Clinton said.”Putting it all together, going back years now, there’s a pattern and it’s a pattern that should be troubling,” she said at a press conference calling for a more robust federal response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster.The former first lady continued: “The refusal of this administration to level with the American people on matters large and small is very disturbing, because it goes counter to the way our constitutional democracy …is supposed to work.”Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid at a press conference on Tuesday said the secretive tendency goes beyond Cheney, pervading the entire Bush the White House.”I think the reason it took the vice president a day to talk about this is part of the secretive nature of this administration,” the top Senate Democrat said.”They keep things pretty close to the chest.””I think it’s time the American people heard from the vice president, in a real meeting just like we’re having here,” said Reid, who called the George W.Bush presidency “the most secretive administration in modern history.””In the last many, many decades, there’s no administration more secretive than this,” he said.Cheney has not commented publicly about the accident, which took place on the 50 000-acre Armstrong Ranch in Texas on Saturday, although he issued a statement on Tuesday saying that his “thoughts and prayers” were with his friend, and that he stood ready to help Whittington in any way.- Nampa-AFPAsked at a press conference for her reaction about how the White House has handled the incident, US Senator Hillary Clinton called the Bush administration’s failure to be more forthcoming “troubling.””A tendency of this administration – from the top all the way to the bottom – is to withhold information …to refuse to be forthcoming about information that is of significance and relevance to the jobs that all of you do, and the interests of the American people,” Clinton said.”Putting it all together, going back years now, there’s a pattern and it’s a pattern that should be troubling,” she said at a press conference calling for a more robust federal response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster.The former first lady continued: “The refusal of this administration to level with the American people on matters large and small is very disturbing, because it goes counter to the way our constitutional democracy …is supposed to work.”Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid at a press conference on Tuesday said the secretive tendency goes beyond Cheney, pervading the entire Bush the White House.”I think the reason it took the vice president a day to talk about this is part of the secretive nature of this administration,” the top Senate Democrat said.”They keep things pretty close to the chest.””I think it’s time the American people heard from the vice president, in a real meeting just like we’re having here,” said Reid, who called the George W.Bush presidency “the most secretive administration in modern history.””In the last many, many decades, there’s no administration more secretive than this,” he said.Cheney has not commented publicly about the accident, which took place on the 50 000-acre Armstrong Ranch in Texas on Saturday, although he issued a statement on Tuesday saying that his “thoughts and prayers” were with his friend, and that he stood ready to help Whittington in any way.- Nampa-AFP