FBI: Trump was hit by bullet during assassination attempt

CNN
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The FBI said Friday that Donald Trump was hit by a bullet or bullet fragments fired by the suspected assassin at his rally in Pennsylvania earlier this month.

“What struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, either whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle,” the office said in a statement.

The department’s confirmation Friday that the former president was struck by a bullet in the ear is its latest attempt to quell a political uproar. The new statement is the most direct yet from federal law enforcement on Trump’s injury, but it changes little in practical terms.

Some law enforcement officials – including FBI Director Christopher Wray – have previously publicly stated that it was unclear whether Trump was hit by a bullet or shrapnel. Other officials questioned whether Trump was hit by a bullet at all, or whether he was struck by a shard of glass or even injured in the fall.

“As I said, with regard to former President Trump, it is questionable whether his ear was struck by a bullet or shrapnel,” Wray testified before Congress earlier this week.

Questions about Trump’s injury sparked a political backlash, with the former president saying he “took a bullet for democracy” and attacking Wray on his social media platform for his statement.

Trump, for his part, has repeatedly stressed that he was hit by an intact bullet, writing on his Truth Social platform: “Unfortunately, it was a bullet that hit my ear, and it hit me hard.”

“There was no glass, no shrapnel. The hospital called it a ‘gunshot wound to the ear,’ and that’s what it was. No wonder the once historic FBI has lost America’s trust!” Trump posted.

The campaign team also denied any allegations to the contrary. Trump adviser Steven Cheung told CNN: “Anyone who believes this conspiracy nonsense is either mentally retarded or is deliberately spreading untruths for political reasons.”

The agency wants to question Trump as part of its investigation into the assassination to obtain a statement from the victim – a standard part of the investigation because Trump is a crime victim, a US official said.

The FBI said on Thursday that investigators are still examining bullet fragments and other evidence of the attack. However, the agency made it clear that it has always viewed the shooting as an attempted assassination of the former president.

“Since the day of the attack, the FBI has consistently and clearly maintained that the shooting was an attempted assassination of former President Trump, resulting in his injury, the death of a heroic father, and the injuries of several other victims,” ​​the agency said in its first statement in response to questions about Wray’s testimony on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

The agency said it is “devoting enormous resources” to its ongoing investigation into the “heinous attack.”

During the wide-ranging House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, Wray shared with lawmakers new details about Trump’s would-be assassin, including saying he used his laptop to research details of the shooting of John F. Kennedy and flew a drone near the rally just two hours before the former president took the stage.

Despite later criticism from Republicans of the FBI’s pending conclusions about the nature of the bullet, Wray was praised by lawmakers from both parties for providing new insight into the details of the investigation into the shooter. Those bipartisan expressions of appreciation stood in stark contrast to earlier statements by then-Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who resigned Tuesday after Democrats and Republicans accused her of obstructionism and called for her resignation.

Asked how close the “assassin’s bullet” came to killing Trump, Wray said Wednesday, “As far as I know, either the bullet or a piece of shrapnel grazed his ear.” He agreed that the bullet nearly killed the former president.

This headline and story have been updated with additional information.