Sounds a lot like alcoholic blackouts.
As I understand it, the sequence of media discussion went something like this:
"Did you hear? The Commerce Secretary was in 2 hit-and-run accidents! He must have been drunk as a skunk!! Or maybe on drugs!"
"No. No. That would be bad. He couldn't have been drunk because ... well ... that would be bad. He ... ahhh ... he had a ... a medical problem."
"A medical problem? That sounds weird. What kind of medical problem?"
"Well ... it was ... ummm ... it was ... a seizure. Yeah. He had a seizure."
"Oh. Okay. If you say so. But wait a minute. The blood tests say that he had ambien in his system. So, maybe it was a drug thing after all? I thought you said he had a seizure?"
"Oh, sure. Happens all the time. You know, people get up and eat stuff during the night when they take ambien. It's weird but it happens."
"Okay. But you said he had a seizure."
"Ummmm. Yeah."
"So ambien causes seizures?"
"I told you! People eat loaves of bread without waking up!!"
"But that's not a seizure. You definitely said he had a seizure. Now you say he was on ambien."
"Yes. That's the story. Now shut up. We know what you did in 1982. We have pictures of you. So just shut up."