FBI seeking to interview Trump as part of assassination attempt investigation

(CNN) — The FBI is seeking to interview former President Donald 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.

The FBI also said in a statement Thursday that investigators continue to examine bullet fragments and other evidence in the attack on Trump at his Pennsylvania rally this month, but that the agency has always considered the shooting an attempted assassination of the former president.

The bureau issued the statement in response to questions about FBI Director Christopher Wray’s testimony on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, in which he said there’s still “some question” about whether Trump was hit with a bullet or shrapnel.

Questions about Trump’s wound have stoked political backlash. Trump has said he “took a bullet for democracy,” and attacked Wray on Truth Social over his testimony.

“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.

The campaign also has pushed back on any implication otherwise.

“Anyone who believes this conspiracy bullsh*t is either mentally deficient or willfully peddling falsehoods for political reasons,” Trump adviser Steven Cheung told CNN.

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.

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 the former president, 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.

This story has been updated with additional information.

The-CNN-Wire
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