Feel free to gag ping!
[Cheney and another hunter, Pamela Willeford, the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland, moved on to another covey of quail - Armstrong estimated it was roughly 100-150 yards away - and Cheney fired on a bird just as Whittington rejoined them. She said Whittington was in tall grass and thick brush about 30 yards away, which made it difficult for Cheney to see him, although both men were wearing bright-orange safety vests. She said Whittington made a mistake by not vocally announcing that he had walked up to rejoin the hunting line.]
This article suggests that Cheney was shooting at a dove much farther away than anybody would ever attempt to shoot at. If the lawyer was in between him and his target, then the fact that he didn't announce himself and was obscured in the tall grass would tend to exonerate Cheney that much more, in my opinion. But there's no way in heck Cheney was shooting at a dove 100-150 yards away. They must have moved 100-150 yards while the lawyer was shooting at and retrieving his bird. But the AP wants people to believe otherwise, apparently.
I've got personal experience with the know what's behind your target rule - I was once shot from 100 yards or so while waiting next to a truck while my buddy and his dogs guided a friend and his miscreant wife who thought it was perfectly fine to shoot at a bird with a big stationary SUV in the background.