(LibertySociety.com) – The FBI clarified last Friday that it was indeed a bullet that hit former President Donald Trump in the right ear when a gunman attempted to assassinate him at a rally in Western Pennsylvania on July 13, after previous remarks by FBI Director Christopher Wray caused some confusion.
In testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on July 24, the FBI Director told lawmakers that Trump was either struck by a bullet or shrapnel that “grazed his ear.”
Some social media users and on-air hosts from MSNBC have suggested that Trump’s assassination attempt was “staged” or the former president was lying about getting struck by a bullet. One conspiracy theory is that Trump was hit by flying glass rather than a rifle bullet. These conspiracy theorists seized on Wray’s comment to claim that the assassination attempt had been overblown.
In a July 26 statement, the FBI clarified that the Republican presidential nominee was struck by either a whole bullet or one that had “fragmented into smaller pieces.” It also confirmed that the bullet was fired from the now-deceased gunman’s rifle.
Before the FBI’s statement, federal law enforcement involved in the investigation into the attempted assassination had refused to specify what caused the injuries to Trump’s right ear.
The Trump campaign refused to entertain the conspiracy theorists by releasing the medical records from Trump’s hospital visit following the attempted assassination. Instead, any updates on Trump’s condition have come from former White House doctor, Texas Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson.
At a campaign event in Palm Beach last Friday, Trump brought up the conspiracy theory that he was struck by glass and not a bullet and noted that the FBI statement did not include an apology for the confusion Wray caused in his testimony.
During the Judiciary Committee hearing, Director Wray also revealed that the 20-year-old gunman likely used a collapsible stock to make it easier to carry the rifle without being detected. He said this would explain why the rifle was not seen until after the gunman was on the roof.
The House last week voted unanimously to form a task force to investigate the July 13 assassination attempt made up of seven Republicans and six Democrats.
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