FBI wants to interview Trump to get to bottom of whether ear was struck by bullet or shrapnel

The FBI is seeking to interview Donald Trump as investigators try to get to the bottom of whether or not he was struck in the ear by a bullet or shrapnel during the assassination attempt earlier this month.

Two weeks on from the attack at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, unanswered questions remain about the attempt on Trump’s life.

Gunman Thomas Crooks, 20, fired eight rounds from his AR-15 rifle towards the Republican presidential nominee, killing one rallygoer, wounding two others and leaving Trump with an injury to his ear.

On Wednesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before the House Judiciary Committee about the ongoing investigation into the response of law enforcement agencies that day andraised doubts as to whether the former president’s ear was struck by a live round.

“With respect to former president Trump, there’s some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear,” Wray said.

FBI investigators have now asked to interview the former president as they try to identify the specific cause of his injury as part of the probe, an agency and law enforcement official told The New York Times.

In a statement on Thursday, the bureau said its shooting reconstruction team “continues to examine evidence from the scene, including bullet fragments, and the investigation remains ongoing”.

Trump, his former White House doctor and other Republicans have hit out at the FBI director for suggesting that it could be anything other than a bullet that punctured the former president’s ear – and have doubled down on the matter.

“FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress yesterday that he wasn’t sure if I was hit by shrapnel, glass, or a bullet (the FBI never even checked!), but he was