US Vice President Dick Cheney took the blame last night for accidentally shooting a friend while bird hunting but rejected criticism that he waited too long to make it public.
Mr Cheney had been under pressure from Democrats and some Republicans to break his silence about his shooting of 78-year-old Texas lawyer Harry Whittington on Saturday.
US Vice President Dick Cheney
"The image of him falling is something that I'll never be able to get out of my mind. I fired and there's Harry falling. And it was, I'd have to say, one of the worst days of my life at that moment," Mr Cheney told Fox News.
The vice president had left it up to Katherine Armstrong, owner of the Texas ranch that hosted the shooting party, to tell the Corpus Christi Caller-Timesnewspaper at least 18 hours after the shooting occurred.
Mr Cheney's goal in speaking now was to avoid the incident becoming a liability to President Bush at a time when both men have low job approval ratings and are trying to keep Republican control of Congress in an election year.
Democrats accused Mr Cheney of a pattern of secrecy and said his interview with one news organisation was not enough.
"The vice president hasn't had a press conference in three-and-a-half years, and he ought to have one to clear the air not only on this issue, but more importantly on the many other issues that have been shrouded by a veil of secrecy," said New York Democratic Senator Charles Schumer.
Mr Cheney told Fox: "You can talk about all of the other conditions that existed at the time, but that's the bottom line. And it's not Harry's fault. You can't blame anybody else," he said. "Ultimately, I'm the guy who pulled the trigger and shot my friend."
Mr Whittington suffered a minor heart attack on Tuesday due to a birdshot pellet lodged hear his heart. Doctors treating him in Corpus Christi, Texas, said his heartbeat had returned to normal with the aid of medication.
Mr Cheney unapologetically stuck to his decision to reject the advice of top White House communication aides and release the information sooner. "I thought that was the right call. I still do," he said.
As a reason for the delay, he said he needed to get accurate information about the incident first, saying: "This is a complicated story that, frankly, most reporters would never have dealt with before."