Waterboarding were dismissed in a memo from Associate Deputy Attorney General David Margolis who found that Yoo showed "poor judgment" but did not violate ethical standards. Commentators have noted that the memos omitted key relevant precedents, including a Texas precedent under then-Governor George W. Bush when the state convicted and sentenced to prison for 10 years a county sheriff for waterboarding a criminal suspect. Bush did not issue a pardon for the sheriff. Former George W. Bush administration officials Dick Cheney and John Ashcroft have stated since leaving office that they do not consider waterboarding to be torture. At least one
Dick Cheney hunting incident Dick Cheney hunting incident On February 11, 2006, United States vice president Dick Cheney shot Harry Whittington, a 78-year-old Texas attorney, with a shotgun while participating in a quail hunt on a ranch in Riviera, Texas. Both Cheney and Whittington called the incident an accident. The incident was reported to the "Corpus Christi Caller-Times" on February 12, 2006, by ranch owner Katherine Armstrong. The Bush administration disclosed the shooting incident to the public the afternoon of February 12. Local authorities released a report on the shooting on February 16, 2006, and witness statements on February 22. On February 14, 2006,