WASHINGTON: About two weeks following Donald Trump’s near assassination, the FBI disclosed Friday that it was certainly a bullet that struck the former president’s ear, moving to clear up conflicting accounts regarding what caused Trump’s injuries after an armed man opened fire at a Pennsylvania rally.
In a statement, the agency said that Trump was struct by a bullet during the rally. The statement from the agency marked the most conclusive law enforcement account of former President’s injuries and followed ambiguous remarks earlier in the week from Director Christopher Wray that seemed to cast doubt on whether Donald Trump had actually been stuck by a gunshot.
The remarks drew fury from Donald Trump and his allies and also strengthened conspiracy theories that have flourished on both sides of the political passage amid a dearth of evidence following the July 13 assault.
Up until now, the US law enforcement agents involved in the probe, including the FBI and Secret Service, had repeatedly declined to provide information regarding what caused Donald Trump’s injuries. Trump’s election campaign has also refused to release medical records from the hospital where he was first treated.
Updates and information have instead come either from Trump or his former White House doctor, Ronny Jackson. Though Dr Jackson has been treating Donald Trump since the night of the assault.
The former President and his supporters have also repeatedly alleged federal law enforcement of being weaponized against him.
Earlier, US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle had tendered resignation a day after acknowledging that the agency had failed in its job to prevent an assassination attempt against Donald Trump during a campaign rally.
Cheatle’s resignation came a day after she appeared before a congressional committee and admitted that the Secret Service had completely failed in its mission to protect Trump from the armed man at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.