Above the Law
Texas Sheriff Barred From Interviewing Cheney About Shooting Incident
CBS News reports that local law enforcement officials were prevented from
interviewing Vice President Cheney after he accidentally shot a 78-year-
old man during a hunting trip:
CBS News White House correspondent Peter Maer reports Texas
authorities are complaining that the Secret Service barred them from
speaking to Cheney after the incident. Kenedy County Texas Sheriffs Lt.
Juan Guzman said deputies first learned of the shooting when an ambulance
was called.
McClellan was asked about it at the press briefing but played dumb:
QUESTION: Scott, there�s a report coming out of a sheriff�s deputy
there who said that he was prevented from interviewing the vice president
by the Secret Service. Do you know anything about that? And is that
appropriate?
MCCLELLAN: No, I don�t know anything about that. You have got to
direct that to the Secret Service. My understanding was that Secret
Service took the appropriate steps to inform law enforcement.
Of course, the question is not whether the Secret Service informed law
enforcement, but whether law enforcement was permitted to speak with
Cheney. As Talk Left notes, although the incident was an accident, it
could constitute criminal negligence.
UPDATE: National Journal reports that, after initial resistance, Cheney
was interviewed by law enforcement sometime on Sunday.
UPDATE II: At the breifing McClellan refuses to �speculate� as to whether
the accidental shooting was a criminal offense:
QUESTION: Under Texas law, is this kind of accidental shooting a
possible criminal offense?
MCCLELLAN: I won�t even speculate on that, but I think the sheriff�s
office or the local law enforcement office has already commented on that
and said it was a hunting accident.
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