The FBI wants to question Donald Trump after he was injured in an assassination attempt at a military rally earlier this month, according to a report.
An FBI official who spoke anonymously told The New York Times that he had asked to interview the former president based on his investigation into the incident.
“The office has asked to interview Mr. Trump as part of its broader investigation, hoping to offer facts about the shooting and, in all likelihood, a more complete record of his injuries,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss further investigation,” the New York Times report said.
It comes after FBI Director Christopher Wray said it was unclear whether Trump fired or pierced shrapnel when a gunman opened fire at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
An FBI official told The New York Times that the company examining steel fragments discovered it near the protest site.
The firm said Thursday that its shooting reconstruction team “continues to read through evidence from the scene, adding bullet fragments, and the investigation continues. “
Videos from the rally show Trump fleeing after the shooting before being temporarily escorted off the level by Secret Service agents. The former president was later photographed with blood flowing from his right ear.
Testifying before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, FBI Director Wray, a Trump appointee and Republican, expressed uncertainty about whether Trump went through a bullet or shrapnel.
When asked for comment, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung referenced Trump’s Truth Social message from Thursday.
Trump wrote, “FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress that he wasn’t sure if he had been hit by shrapnel, glass, or a bullet (the FBI didn’t even check it!), but he was certain Joe Biden was twisted physically and cognitively. “uneventful” – False!”
“No, unfortunately it was a bullet that hit me in the ear and hit me hard. There is no glass, there is no shrapnel. “The hospital called it a ‘gunshot wound to the ear’ and that’s what it caused,” Trump added.
Newsweek also contacted the FBI through a contact form on Friday outside of general business hours.
Identifying the type of projectile that hit Trump is a part, though not the main focus, of the FBI’s investigation, according to the New York Times report.
Michael Harrigan, a former FBI special agent who led the firearms education unit of the bureau in Quantico, Virginia, told the New York Times, “The bureau’s priority is whether someone helped the shooter and eliminate any lingering threats. “
“From an investigative standpoint, knowing what happened in the president’s ear doesn’t matter,” he said.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, opened fire at the rally, killing one attendee and seriously wounding two others before being shot dead by the Secret Service.
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