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February 4, 2008

Was encounter with Cheney a touch, a slap

or a shove?
A Colorado man had an encounter with the vice president, but
no one, including Secret Service agents, agrees on what
happened. Could Cheney be forced to testify?
By DeeDee Correll
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

DENVER — No one can agree on what exactly happened the day a Colorado man
spotted Dick Cheney strolling the streets of a ski resort town and decided to give the
vice president a piece of his mind.
Steve Howards, 55, says he walked up to Cheney and delivered his message -- "Your
policies in Iraq are disgusting" -- then lightly touched the vice president's shoulder.
The White House photographer says he saw Howards slap Cheney on the back.
Cheney's personal aide remembers Howards placing his hand on Cheney's arm and
shaking his hand.
As for the Secret Service agents who arrested Howards on suspicion of assault: two say
he lightly clapped Cheney on the shoulder; one demonstrated it as a shove; a fourth
said Howards reached over several small children and struck Cheney.
Since the agents -- now accusing one another of changing their stories and lying about
what happened -- can't agree, Cheney should give his own version, Howards said.
He has filed a federal lawsuit against the agents, claiming they violated his right to free
speech and protection from unreasonable search and seizure.
"He's the so-called victim of the assault. Clearly the vice president should have very
relevant testimony to give," said Howards' attorney, David Lane, who this month asked
a federal judge to order U.S. marshals to serve a subpoena to the White House.
Getting the vice president in a witness box would be a historic achievement.
It's exceedingly rare for high-level officials to testify or give depositions, said Tom
Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, a Washington group that advocates for transparency
in government.
Fitton said he could not recall any instance in which Cheney had given a deposition
while in office.
He said that to compel such a high-ranking executive branch official to testify, one
must show that that official has information that couldn't be obtained in another way --
the same argument Cheney's attorney made in U.S. District Court last week.
Biz Van Gelder, a Washington lawyer who specializes in white-collar criminal defense,
disagrees.
"I know of no law that says the vice president of the United States is immune from
service process because he's the vice president," she said.
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One question the courts will consider is how much of an intrusion it is on the schedule
of the vice president to be called to testify, said Joel Goldstein, a law professor at St.
Louis University and an expert on the vice presidency.
Perhaps the best-known example of a president or vice president giving a deposition in
recent times is former President Clinton's 1998 testimony in the sexual harassment
lawsuit filed against him by Paula Jones, an event whose anniversary is still noted in
"Today in History" newspaper columns.
Another example is the 1990 testimony of former President Reagan as a defense
witness in the trial of former national security advisor John M. Poindexter.
And last year, speculation swirled that Cheney would testify at the criminal trial of his
former aide, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, but that didn't happen.
Experts noted that situations such as the Howards-Cheney exchange are rare.
"These sorts of things don't happen that often because they have a pretty sheltered
existence," Goldstein said.
On June 16, 2006, Howards, an environmental consultant, was with his family in Beaver
Creek, a resort town about 100 miles west of Denver, when he spotted Cheney walking
down the street.
That morning, Howards said he had read a newspaper article that listed the number of
troops killed in Iraq.
"I was outraged," he said. "The fact he happened to cross my way, I felt, was an
opportunity I couldn't ignore."
So Howards said he spoke his piece, then patted the right shoulder of Cheney's silk suit
and walked away. A Secret Service agent caught up with him a few minutes later and
began to question him.
The agent, Virgil "Gus" Reichle Jr., did not see what happened. But he said other agents
told him an assault had occurred -- that Howards slapped Cheney "with such force that
his shoulder dipped," according to Reichle's deposition.
Reichle arrested Howards, but assault charges were never filed. Instead, Howards was
issued a summons for misdemeanor harassment, but the district attorney later
dismissed the charge, saying it was clear Howards hadn't attacked Cheney.
What transpired next is anything but clear.
In his Nov. 27 deposition, Reichle claimed the other agents later changed their stories
to say there was no assault -- perhaps because they didn't want to inconvenience
Cheney with any legal hassles.
"Certainly they don't want him to be bothered with a deposition," he said. "Perhaps
Vice President Cheney just was willing to let it go, you know. He's a tough guy, played
high school football."
Another agent, Daniel McLaughlin, denied that he had ever considered the incident to
be an assault. After Howards' arrest, he said, he and another agent, Adam Daniels,
wrote statements describing what they had seen -- physical contact but no assault.
McLaughlin said Reichle called him several hours after the arrest and asked him to
alter his written statement.
"[Reichle] said, 'I need you to change your statement; your story and mine are not the
same.' I said, 'My statement is what I recollect from what I participated in. We're not
having this conversation.' Then I hung up on him," McLaughlin testified.
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The next morning, McLaughlin said Reichle confronted him and said, " 'The vice
president's detail is involved in a cover-up.' I thought that he had taken a giant leap
away from his good senses."
A Secret Service spokesman declined to comment on the case because of the
litigation.
The agents' rancorous difference of opinion makes Cheney a crucial witness in the
case, the attorney for Howards argued.
He said it was customary for lawyers to accept subpoenas on behalf of their clients, but
Cheney's attorney, James Gilligan, had refused to do so.
Gilligan noted that the agents and other government employees had complied with
depositions. Asking the vice president, he said, "is a different kettle of fish."
To compel the testimony of a high-level official, the plaintiff must show the testimony
can't be gleaned from other sources, Gilligan said.
Magistrate Judge Craig Shaffer ordered Gilligan to present his legal arguments by the
end of February outlining why Cheney should not be subpoenaed. Another hearing is
scheduled for March 6.

deedee.correll@latimes.com