Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas, a former White House physician with direct knowledge of former President Donald Trump's ear injury, on Friday disputed FBI Director Christopher Wray's previous doubts about whether the former president's injury was a gunshot wound.
Wray said Wednesday there was “question” as to whether Trump was hit by a “bullet or shrapnel” during the July 13 assassination attempt. Give Witness Jackson, who has questioned the House Judiciary Committee about the FBI's handling of the case, said in a statement Friday that there was “no evidence” other than that a gunshot wound struck Trump in the upper right ear.
“Two days ago at a congressional hearing, FBI Director Christopher Wray suggested it could have been a bullet, shrapnel or glass,” Jackson wrote. “There is absolutely no evidence that it was anything other than a bullet. As the hospital and I have confirmed, Congress should correct the record. It is erroneous and inappropriate for Director Wray to suggest otherwise.”
An update on President Trump's recovery from a gunshot wound to the ear. pic.twitter.com/zLQuvk5cnQ
— Ronny Jackson (@RepRonnyJackson) July 26, 2024
Dr. Jackson said he had treated many gunshot wounds during his 20-year career as an emergency physician in the U.S. Navy and as a combat medic in Iraq, and wrote in his medical report that he “fully agrees” with the initial diagnosis and treatment given to Mr. Trump at Butler Memorial Hospital, where he was treated for a gunshot wound to the ear.
Wray testified before the House Judiciary Committee that the would-be assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks, used a semi-automatic AR-15-style rifle with a folding stock in the shooting, which saw Trump leave the rally bleeding from above his right ear.
“With regard to former President Trump, I think there is a question as to whether it was a bullet or shrapnel that struck his ear,” Wray testified at Wednesday's hearing. “As I sit here now, I don't know whether that bullet could have caused more than just a graze wound and possibly landed somewhere else.”
a photograph A photo taken by New York Times reporter Doug Mills showed a bullet whizzing past Trump's head just before he began bleeding. (Related: “Somewhat surprising”: Dr. Sanjay Gupta points out clues about severity of Trump's ear injury)
I took some totally surreal photos. translation: The footage reportedly shows a bullet whizzing past President Trump's head. pic.twitter.com/3K8fsGAVWV
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 14, 2024
Crooks fired eight shots into the crowd, killing former volunteer fire chief Cory Comperatore and wounding two other protesters, then climbed onto the roof of a building where authorities were escorted away. Located 130 feet away from the meeting location.
The Secret Service and FBI told lawmakers on Wednesday that authorities noticed Crooks about 50 minutes before Trump took the stage. One source told senators they saw Crooks holding a rangefinder, while another said they saw him standing on a rooftop with a gun about 20 minutes before the shots were fired.
In response to the incident, former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned from the agency on Tuesday after a tense hearing before the House Oversight Committee on Monday. Oversight committee Chairman James Comer and Ranking Committee Member Jamie Raskin issued a joint statement Monday after the hearing calling for Cheatle's resignation, saying she “had failed to explain” the “stunning operational failures” that occurred during the rally.
MSNBC's Michael Steele and Ari Melber raised questions about the details of Trump's ear injury, with Steele saying on July 16 that “a lot of questions” remain about Trump's injury, and Melber suggesting the bandage was a “political attempt” to gain sympathy and political clout.
MSNBC host Joy Reid suggested that it may have been glass that caused the injury during Trump's July 17 interview. post In thread.
The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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