In his testimony, FBI Director Christopher Wray stated that there was “some uncertainty” as to whether former President Donald Trump was shot in the course of an attempted assassination.
Wray detailed the July 13 attempt on Trump’s life at a Pennsylvania rally during his appearance before legislators on Wednesday. This sparked questions about whether shrapnel or a bullet struck Trump’s right ear.
Jim Jordan, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, questioned the FBI director about whether or not Thomas Matthew Crooks, the would-be assassin, had fired all of the shots that were recorded before a Secret Service sniper killed him.
“There is some uncertainty over the nature of the projectile that struck former President Trump’s ear—whether it was a bullet or shrapnel,” Wray snapped back.
“That’s possible, but as I sit here, I’m not sure if that bullet could have landed somewhere else in addition to creating the grazing,” he continued. However, I think we’ve counted every shot in the cartridges.
Wray had earlier told Representative Kevin Kiley (R-CA), “My understanding is that either that [a gunshot] or some shrapnel is what grazed his ear.”
Trump sent a statement on Truth Social a few hours following the terrifying incident that left one local retired firefighter dead and two rally attendees badly wounded.
His tweet said, “I got shot, and the bullet went through the top part of my right ear.” “As soon as I felt the bullet ripping through and heard the bullets and a zipping sound, I knew there was something wrong. When there was a significant amount of blood, I became aware of what was happening.
Later the following week, at the Republican National Convention, Trump gave a speech in which he detailed his own personal experience.
“There was a tremendous zipping sound, and I felt something really hard strike my right ear.” Whoa, I thought to myself, what was that? The former president recalled, with a big bandage covering his ear, “It can only be a gunshot.” As I raised my right hand down to my ear, blood was all over it. Just blood wherever you looked. I immediately realized that we were under attack and that it was really dangerous, so I quickly fell to the ground.”
Wray discussed further information that investigators have uncovered on the gunman—who had allegedly flown a drone over the area just two hours prior to the rally—during his testimony before Congress.
Prior to the shooting, Crooks allegedly conducted a number of internet searches, turning up details on President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.
It goes without saying that the quest was important in terms of his mental health. It appears that he registered for the Butler demonstration on the same day, as Wray pointed out.
We are unaware of the motivation. because is undoubtedly one of the main concerns of our inquiry, and it has frustrated us much because many of the typical low-hanging fruit locations that we would locate have not produced meaningful hints on his motivation, he told lawmakers.
Wray’s evidence came after the intense questioning of Kim Cheatle, the former director of the Secret Service, by the House Oversight Committee on Monday. After that, she tendered her resignation before a Tuesday meeting of the House Homeland Security Committee. Neither Cheatle nor her supervisor, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, showed up for the hearing.
In his opening remarks on Wednesday, Wray stated, “I have been stating for some time now that we are living in an enhanced danger environment.” “The FBI is still conducting its probe even after the gunman has died.”
