Was Donald Trump actually hit by a bullet? FBI chief isn’t sure
- There’s ‘some question’ about whether the ex-US president’s bloodied ear was caused by a piece of shrapnel, lawmakers were told
In the aftermath of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump earlier this month, the US former president said in a post on his Truth Social platform that he was “shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear”.
Now FBI Director Christopher Wray cast some doubt on this on Wednesday when he said before the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee that it was not clear whether Trump was struck by a bullet or shrapnel at Trump’s July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“I think, with respect to former President Trump, there’s some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel that, you know, hit his ear,” Wray said.
His comment was in response to a question from the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jim Jordan, who asked where the eight shots fired by gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks went.
Wray added: “So it’s conceivable, although as I sit here right now I don’t know whether that bullet, in addition to, you know, causing the grazing, could have also landed somewhere else. But I believe we’ve accounted for all of the shots in the cartridges.”
Jordan followed up, “It’s my understanding that the very first one was the one that hit the president. The very first shot. Or is that not accurate?”