(CNN) — The FBI said Friday that Donald Trump was hit by a bullet, or a fragment from one, fired by the would-be assassin at his Pennsylvania rally earlier this month.
“What struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle,” the bureau said in a statement.
The department’s confirmation Friday that the former president was struck in the ear by a bullet marks its latest attempt to quell a political uproar. The new statement is the most direct yet from federal law enforcement about Trump’s injury, though it changes little in practical terms.
Some law enforcement officials – including FBI Director Christopher Wray – have previously said publicly that it was unclear whether Trump was hit by a bullet or by shrapnel, which is a fragmented piece of ammunition. Other officials questioned whether Trump had been struck by a bullet at all, or whether he was hit by a piece of glass or even injured while falling down.
“As I said, I think with respect to former President Trump, there’s some question about whether or not it’s bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear,” Wray testified before Congress earlier this week.
Questions about Trump’s wound have stoked political backlash, as the former president has said he “took a bullet for democracy” and attacked Wray on his social media platform over his testimony.
For his part, Trump has repeatedly asserted that he was hit by an in-tact bullet, writing on his Truth Social platform that “it was, unfortunately, a bullet that hit my ear, and hit it hard.”
“There was no glass, there was no shrapnel. The hospital called it a ‘bullet wound to the ear,’ and that is what it was. No wonder the once storied FBI has lost the confidence of America!” Trump posted.
His campaign has also pushed back on any implication otherwise, with Trump adviser Steven Cheung telling CNN that “anyone who believes this conspiracy bullsh*t is either mentally deficient or willfully peddling falsehoods for political reasons.”
The agency is seeking to interview Trump in its investigation of the assassination attempt to obtain a victim statement — a standard part of the investigation because he is a crime victim, according to a US official.
Investigators, the FBI said Thursday, continue to examine bullet fragments and other evidence in the attack, but the agency made clear it has always considered the shooting an attempted assassination of the former president.
“Since the day of the attack, the FBI has been consistent and clear that the shooting was an attempted assassination of former President Trump which resulted in his injury, as well as the death of a heroic father and the injuries of several other victims,” the agency said in its initial statement released in response to questions about Wray’s testimony on Capitol Hill Wednesday.
The agency said it was “devoting enormous resources” to its ongoing investigation of the “heinous attack.”
During Wednesday’s wide-ranging House Judiciary hearing, Wray shared new details with lawmakers about Trump’s would-be assassin, including that he searched for details of the John F. Kennedy shooting from his laptop and flew a drone in the area near the rally just two hours before the former president took the stage. The 20-year-old was killed by Secret Service agents at the scene after the shooting.
Despite later criticism from Republicans about the FBI’s pending conclusions about the nature of the projectile, Wray was commended by representatives on both sides of the aisle for offering new insight into details about the investigation into the gunman. Those bipartisan expressions of appreciation stood in stark contrast to earlier testimony by then-Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle, who resigned Tuesday after Democrats and Republicans accused her of stonewalling them and demanded her ouster.
When asked Wednesday about how close the “assassin’s bullet” came to killing Trump, Wray said, “My understanding is that either it or some shrapnel is what, you know, grazed his ear.” He then agreed that it came very close to killing the former president.
