Meanwhile, back at the White House, upon the recommendation of his counsel VP Cheney shuts up for awhile, and waits for this whole mess to blow over.

See the NY Daily News story by Thomas M. DeFrank:
Veep zips lip as probers dig
-- Plans to stay mum till old firm cleared

Sources told the Daily News yesterday that with the urging of his lawyers, Cheney has scaled back his crucial public cheerleading role until a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation of Halliburton's accounting practices while Cheney was chairman and CEO has been resolved.

"Contrary to the urgings of some, including the President, he's decided to lower his profile," one official said. "He doesn't want anybody to say later that he was out there trying to jawbone the [SEC] case away."

Cheney isn't exactly disappearing - he has several public events each week and a heavy schedule of campaigning for GOP candidates. But as for media appearances and the Sunday talk show circuit, a second source said he's becoming invisible: "He's not going to be doing anything for a while."