"I'm not going to go into that," the usually courtly Texas attorney Harry Whittington told The Washington Post in a lengthy interview published today.
More than four years on, the 82-year-old conservative lawyer and Cheney hunting companion also provided new details that appear to contradict previous reports about the birdshot heard 'round the world.
Paul Iverson, AP
Harry Whittington speaks with reporters after being discharged from the hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas, following his accidental shooting by Vice President Dick Cheney in February 2006.
In February 2006, Cheney fired a round that hit Whittington during a quail hunting expedition on a private Texas ranch, producing one of the more bizarre headlines of the decade: "Vice President Shoots Man."
All concerned said it was an accident. But contrary to media reports that claimed Whittington and Cheney were lifelong pals, Whittington now says he barely knew the vice president.
"The most you could say is that he was an acquaintance," Whittington told the Post.
His injuries were more dire than originally reported. Whittington suffered a collapsed lung and underwent invasive exploratory surgery, as doctors probed his vital organs for signs of damage.
Two hundred bits of shrapnel pierced Whittington's face, neck and chest. His face is scarred and about 30 pieces of shot are still deeply embedded in his body.
Whittington told the Post he bears no ill will, and called Cheney "a very capable and honorable man" who's "said some very kind things to me."
Read more at The Washington Post