Donald Trump has slammed the FBI after the agency confirmed it is investigating whether he was actually struck by a bullet during an assassination attempt. The presidential candidate blasted the FBI director, Christopher Wray, after he suggested that it might have been shrapnel that grazed Trump's ear during the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The FBI has now confirmed it is analyzing fragments found near the stage to determine the cause of the Republican nominee's injuries, following Wray's statement at a congressional hearing that there is "some question" about what truly happened. According to the New York Times, the agency is now planning to interview Trump as part of its investigation.
Trump Furious at FBI's Move
The former president has stood firm in his version of events, claiming it was a "bullet that hit my ear, and hit it hard." In a furious post on Truth Social, Trump slammed Wray's suggestion and attacked his judgment on other current issues, including Biden's mental state.
"FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress yesterday that he wasn't sure if I was hit by shrapnel, glass, or a bullet (the FBI never even checked!)," he fumed.
"But he was sure that Crooked Joe Biden was physically and cognitively "uneventful" - Wrong! That's why he knows nothing about the terrorists and other criminals pouring into our Country at record levels.
"His only focus is destroying J6 Patriots, Raiding Mar-a-Lago, and saving Radical Left Lunatics, like the ones now in D.C. burning American flags and spray painting over our great National Monuments - with zero retribution.
"No, it was, unfortunately, a bullet that hit my ear, and hit it hard. There was no glass, there was no shrapnel.
"The hospital called it a "bullet wound to the ear," and that is what it was. No wonder the once storied FBI has lost the confidence of America!"
Wray made the explosive statement while updating Congress on Wednesday about the assassination attempt on Trump in Butler.
"With respect to former President Trump, there's some question about whether or not it's a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear," Wray said.
"I don't know right now whether that bullet, in addition to causing the grazing, could have landed somewhere else."
No Denying Major Security Failure
Wray was discussing security lapses that enabled the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, to open fire. Crooks, 20, killed firefighter Corey Comperatore, 50, and wounded two others, including Trump, during the shooting.
Since then, the presidential candidate has given detailed accounts of the moment he was shot and has been seen wearing a bandage over his ear. "When I went down, bullets were coming over my head and you hear them, it's like a zip, zip," he said.
The former president claims that his Secret Service detail "thought it was over when I went down" due to "a lot of blood coming" after his ear was grazed.
At 78, Trump insisted he was "not going on a stretcher" and argued with his agents, determined to "get up."
He mentioned that a last-minute turn of his head to look at a screen is what saved him from the bullet.
"I'm supposed to be dead. The most incredible thing was that I happened to not only turn, but to turn at the exact right time and in just the right amount,: he added, saying he survived "by luck or by God".
Some initial reports on the day of the shooting speculated that Trump may have been hit by a piece of shattered glass when a bullet struck the teleprompter. However, the teleprompter theory was debunked when photos showed that both glass screens were undamaged after the attack.
Trump listened to Wray's testimony, during which Wray also explained that Crooks had researched the assassination of President John F. Kennedy before the shooting.
According to Wray, the gunman conducted a Google search one week earlier asking, "How far away was Oswald from Kennedy?" Wray said that the suspect had shown a keen interest in public figures but had not left clear clues indicating an ideological motive.
The online search from July 6, recovered from a laptop that the FBI claims is connected to Crooks, refers to Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy from a sniper's position in Dallas on November 22, 1963.
"That's a search obviously that is significant in terms of his state of mind. That is the same day that it appears that he registered" for the Trump rally, Wray told the House Judiciary Committee.
The FBI is treating the shooting as an act of domestic terrorism.
