A congressman who has served as former President Donald Trump’s doctor said Friday that Mr. Trump’s ear was in fact struck by a bullet, not shrapnel or glass.
Rep. Ronny Jackson was responding to statements by FBI Director Christopher Wray, who in testimony to Congress this week twice indicated the wound may not have been an actual bullet strike.
Mr. Jackson, a Texas Republican who served as the White House physician for 14 years, including for Mr. Trump, said he’s been keeping tabs on the case and concurs with the emergency room doctors who labeled the injury a “gunshot wound.”
“There is absolutely no evidence that it was anything other than a bullet,” Mr. Jackson said on social media. “Director Wray is wrong and inappropriate to suggest anything else.”
The congressman said the hearing record should be corrected.
Mr. Wray testified to the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday about the FBI’s investigation into the man who fired at least eight rounds at Mr. Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
Twice during the hearing when asked about the bullet that struck Mr. Trump’s ear, Mr. Wray took pains to say it might have been shrapnel.
“With respect to former President Trump, there’s some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel that, you know, that hit his ear,” Mr. Wray said in response to a question from Chairman Jim Jordan, Ohio Republican.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Mr. Wray was “creating confusion” where there isn’t any.
He said Mr. Wray risked undercutting the credibility of the FBI, which is already strained for many Americans who believe the agency has been overzealous in its pursuit of cases against Mr. Trump.
“It is clear to everyone that President Trump survived an assassination attempt by millimeters, as the attempted assassin’s bullet ripped the upper part of his ear. This was made clear in briefings my office received and should not be a point of contention,” the South Carolina senator said Friday.
The FBI, in a statement, did not back down from Mr. Wray’s claims but pointed to the work it’s doing on the case.
“Since the day of the attack, the FBI has been consistent and clear that the shooting was an attempted assassination of former President Trump which resulted in his injury, as well as the death of a heroic father and the injuries of several other victims,” the FBI said.
“This was a heinous attack and the FBI is devoting enormous resources to learn everything possible about the shooter and what led to his act of violence. The FBI’s Shooting Reconstruction Team continues to examine evidence from the scene, including bullet fragments, and the investigation remains ongoing,” the bureau said.
The New York Times this week said it conducted an analysis of photos and audio and bullet trajectories and said it “strongly suggests” the former president was grazed by the first shot taken by the gunman.
Other bullets killed one rally-goer and critically wounded two others.
In the initial reporting on the shooting, some accounts said the former president was struck by flying glass, perhaps from a teleprompter. Mr. Trump, though, quickly took to social media to say it was a bullet that hit him.
He has said the bullet could have killed him if his head had been turned a quarter of an inch further.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.