After Federal Bureau of Investigations Director Christopher Wray told the House Judiciary Committee earlier this week that he wasn’t sure it was actually a bullet that struck Donald Trump on June 27 during a rally in Butler, Penn., the F.B.I. has pivoted.
Now, the agency says it was a bullet.
“What struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle,” the F.B.I. statement said.
What Wray told Congress was, ““As I said, I think with respect to former President Trump, there’s some question about whether or not it’s bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear,” leaving the question open as to whether it was a bullet or some undefined object.
Dr. Ronny Jackson, the former physician to the president and now a member of Congress representing Texas, released a statement on Friday, in his role as a medical consultant to Trump, responding to the F.Bl.I.’s mixed messages. It follows:
Update on the health of President Donald J. Trump
“As the former Physician to the President for President Donald J. Trump, I have continued to monitor his health and well-being, along with his primary care physician, since the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania on the evening of July 13″‘. The would-be assassin fired multiple rounds from a relatively close distance using a high-powered rifle, with one bullet striking the former President, and now the Republican Nominee for President, in his right ear.
“I have reviewed President Trump’s medical records from Butler Memorial Hospital, where he was initially evaluated and treated for a ‘Gunshot Wound to the Right Ear.’ Having served as an Emergency Medicine physician for over 20 years in the United States Navy, including as a combat physician on the battlefield in Iraq, I have treated many gunshot wounds in my career. Based on my direct observations of the injury, my relevant clinical background, and my significant experience evaluating and treating patients with similar wounds, I completely concur with the initial assessment and treatment provided by the doctors and nurses at Butler Memorial Hospital on the day of the shooting.
“During the Congressional Hearing two days ago, FBI Director Christopher Wray suggested that it could be a bullet, shrapnel, or glass. There is absolutely no evidence that it was anything other than a bullet. Congress should correct the record as confirmed by both the hospital and myself. Director Wray is wrong and inappropriate to suggest anything else.
As a former White House Physician for 14 years, who served during three presidential administrations, and served as the appointed physician for both President Obama and President Trump, I fully understand the global significance of this attempt on the life of the former President and the current Republican Nominee for President. As such, I want to reassure the American people and the rest of the world, that President Trump is doing extremely well. He is rapidly recovering from the gunshot wound to his right ear. I will continue to be available to assist President Trump and his personal physician in any way they see fit and will provide updates as necessary and with the permission of President Trump.”