In response to FBI Director Christopher Wray’s hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday, House Speaker Mike Johnson pushed back against the possibility that former President Donald Trump was not hit by a gunshot directly during the assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania.
In his testimony on Wednesday regarding his agency’s investigation into the assassination attempt, Wray—whom Trump appointed to lead the FBI in 2017—stated, “I believe there is considerable doubt regarding whether or not former President Trump’s ear was struck by a bullet or shrapnel.” He noted that the FBI is in charge of the shooting investigation, and it is “very much ongoing.”
Johnson stated that he didn’t think Wray’s evidence was reliable.
“Everyone has saw the footage, read the study, and heard from numerous people from various perspectives that a bullet entered his ear. Johnson remarked, “I’m not sure it matters that much.”
Wray “was unwilling to provide some of the information that we would have anticipated,” he added.
According to Johnson, there is a great deal of dissatisfaction and worry with the leadership of these institutions, which likely includes the Secret Service as well.
“Anyone who buys into this conspiracy crap is either mentally ill or purposefully spreading lies for political gain,” tweeted Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, in addition to attacking Wray.
“The FBI has been steadfast and unambiguous since the attack’s day that the shooting was an attempt to kill former President Trump, which left him wounded and resulted in the loss of a brave father and the injuries of multiple other victims,” the FBI stated in a statement released on Thursday.
“The investigation is still ongoing, and the FBI’s Shooting Reconstruction Team is still examining evidence from the scene, including bullet fragments,” the statement continued.
The doctors who treated the former president were not made available to answer inquiries, and he has not disclosed any medical documents from the hospital where he was hospitalized following the shooting. A letter written by former White House physician Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, was made public by the Trump campaign.
Jackson attacked Wray harshly in an X statement. His credibility has been severely damaged by his careless suggestion that Trump may not have been shot. I saw the wound; it was caused by a gunshot. Pathetic!!!” he stated in the post, using all capital letters for the latter two phrases.
In the letter made public by the campaign on July 20, Jackson stated that he has been monitoring and tending to Trump’s wound “daily” ever since the shooting.
Jackson stated in the letter that “He was shot in the right ear by a powerful weapon that the would-be assassin was using, as the entire world was informed and saw.”
Although there was “some initial significant bleeding,” the letter stated that “The bullet trail left a 2 centimeter-wide wound that reached the ear’s cartilaginous surface” and that “no sutures were required due to the broad and blunt nature of the wound itself.”
Wray’s testimony was deemed “noteworthy” by Representative Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., who also stated that Trump “owes it to the people of America to be truthful and to state clearly what transpired.”
“We have not viewed any medical documentation. Other than a very politicized elected member of Congress, we have not heard from any independent doctors about what transpired, according to Goldman.
Wray’s claim in his hearing on Wednesday that he had not observed any cognitive decline in his interactions with President Joe Biden infuriated Trump.
In a social media post, Trump stated, “Wray has to resign, and NOW, for LYING TO CONGRESS!” He continued, “Joe Biden’s cognitive and physical disabilities are obvious to all, and if you are unable to recognize this, you have no business leading the FBI!”