FBI makes stunning Donald Trump assassination attempt claim

Donald Trump has insisted he was struck by a bullet that came within millimetres of killing him but the FBI head has said there are other theories.

The head of the FBI has made the stunning assertion that former president Donald Trump may not have been struck by an actual bullet when a deranged gunman attempted to assassinate him at a political rally.

He may have instead been injured by shrapnel.

Federal Bureau of Investigations director Christopher Wray told the House Judiciary Committee, in Washington, DC, that it was not clear precisely what caused the injury to Mr Trump’s ear during the shooting, reported the New York Post.

“With respect to former president Trump, there’s some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear,” Mr Wray said in response to a question from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan.

Former US president and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, a bandage on his ear after being injured during an assassination attempt, speaks during a campaign rally at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, on July 24, 2024. (Photo by Logan Cyrus / AFP)

Mr Jordan had asked about the eight shots fired by the would-be assassin, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, at the Pennsylvania rally on July 13.

“We obviously know that (Corey) Comperatore lost his life, two other rally-goers were injured, and then the one that hit president Trump,” Mr Jordan began before asking: “Where did all eight bullets go?”

At the time of the shooting there was discussion over whether Mr Trump had got hit by a bullet or whether, for instance, a piece of shattered glass did the damage. A photograph has emerged of a bullet streaking past Mr Trump.

Mr Trump’s team blasted the astonishing assertion Thursday as a conspiracy.

“Anyone who believes this conspiracy bulls*** is either mentally deficient or wilfully peddling falsehoods for political reasons,” Mr Trump spokesman Steven Cheung told The New York Post.

“We have seen there is no depth low enough for the Biden-Harris Administration. So it’s not surprising they are doing this now,” he added.

FBI director Christopher Wray appears before the House Judiciary Committee in Washington, DC, on July 24, 2024. (Photo by Chris Kleponis / AFP)

Trump attacks FBI director

The FBI director’s comments contradict the Republican nominee’s retelling of the near-death experience, which he described as a “very surreal experience” that was “supposed” to leave him dead.

“The doctor at the hospital said he never saw anything like this, he called it a miracle,” Mr Trump said one day after the shooting at his campaign rally.

“I’m not supposed to be here, I’m supposed to be dead.”

Mr Trump also recalled being ushered away from the chaotic scene by Secret Service agents despite wanting to continue his speech.

“I just wanted to keep speaking, but I just got shot,” he said.

Crooks was shot dead by Secret Service snipers seconds after he fired the eight shots into the crowd.

Mr Trump, 78, also attacked Mr Wray on social media, accusing the FBI director, whom he hired in 2017, of “sweet talking” the committee when it came to his concerns over President Joe Biden’s apparent mental decline.

“I watched the Congressional Hearing today as Christopher Wray was asked the question whether or not he noticed any Cognitive Degeneration in his many conversations with Crooked Joe Biden,” Mr Trump fired off.

A photo showing a bullet going past Donald Trump's head during an assassination attempt is shown on screen during the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)

“[D]espite the fact that Special Counsel Robert Hur said, effectively, that Joe Biden is INCOMPETENT, with LITTLE MEMORY, etc., Wray said that ‘it is not something I observed during my interactions with him, which were uneventful and unremarkable,’ essentially stating that he found nothing wrong, mentally or physically, with ‘Joe,’” the former president continued.

“If that is the case, Director Wray should resign immediately from the FBI,” Mr Trump demanded.

The former president argued that “anybody can see that Joe Biden is cognitively and physically challenged, and if you can’t see that, you sure as hell can’t be running the FBI”.

Numerous Republicans have accused the Biden administration, including Vice President Kamala Harris, of engaging in a cover-up to hide the President’s decline from the public.

Biden, 81, announced on Sunday that he was ending his re-election bid amid mounting calls for him to drop out of the race over concerns about his health.

He vowed, however, to remain in office through the end of his term.

This article was published in the New York Post and is reproduced with permission.