Cheney Defends Rumsfeld, Says 'Get Off His Case'
Sun May 9, 2004 07:20 AM ET
By Randall Mikkelsen
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vice President Dick Cheney rushed to the aid of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld -- under fire over Iraqi prison abuses -- by saying people should "get off his case" and let Rumsfeld do his job.
"Don Rumsfeld is the best secretary of defense the United States has ever had," Cheney said in a statement from his office late on Saturday. The statement appeared to signal a White House push to rally Republicans behind the embattled Rumsfeld.
"People ought to get off his case and let him do his job," said Cheney, a Republican.