Washington [US], July 27: FBI Director Christopher Wray has cast doubt on former President Donald Trump's claim that he was shot in the July 13 assassination attempt.
Speaking before the US House Judiciary Committee, Mr. Wray said that "regarding former President Trump, there are some questions about whether it was a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear," according to The Hill newspaper on July 26.
In another exchange, Mr Wray told Republican US Representative Kevin Kiley that a bullet or a piece of shrapnel "is what grazed [Mr Trump's] ear".
Mr. Wray's statement angered Mr. Trump. On July 25, the former president confirmed that he had indeed been shot and criticized the FBI for "losing the trust" of the United States.
Mr Trump, who nominated Mr Wray to be FBI director in 2017, also said the FBI "never even checked" into the cause of his injuries. The FBI is leading the investigation into Mr Trump's shooting on the evening of July 13.
Former President Trump's physician Ronny Jackson released a letter on July 26 stating that Mr. Trump is "recovering rapidly" after the July 13 shooting at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania and asserted that there is "absolutely no evidence" that Mr. Trump was hit by "anything other than a bullet."
"In congressional testimony two days ago, FBI Director Christopher Wray suggested it could have been a bullet, shrapnel or glass. There is absolutely no evidence to suggest it was anything other than a bullet... Director Wray was wrong and inappropriate to suggest anything else." However,
After Mr. Jackson's letter was released, the FBI issued a separate statement to Fox News Digital, saying that "what hit former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether intact or fragmented, fired from the deceased subject's rifle." The suspect who shot Mr. Trump on the evening of July 13, Thomas Matthew Crooks (20 years old), was shot dead by Secret Service.
A video analysis by The New York Times published on July 26 appeared to support Mr. Trump's assertion that it was likely a bullet, not shrapnel, that struck the former president in the ear.
In addition, US House Speaker Mike Johnson told NBC News on July 25 that he had "seen that analysis, we heard from multiple sources from multiple angles that a bullet went through [Mr. Trump's] ear."
US Senator Lindsey Graham, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a fierce defender of Mr. Trump, sent a letter to Director Wray on July 26, urging Mr. Wray to "immediately" correct his statement at the above hearing, according to The Hill.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper