Cheney tells Rumsfeld critics to ‘get off his case’

US VICE PRESIDENT Dick Cheney rushed to the aid of Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld — under fire over Iraqi prison abuses — by saying people should “get off his case” and let Mr Rumsfeld do his job.

“Don Rumsfeld is the best secretary of defence the United States has ever had,” Mr 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 Mr Rumsfeld.