FBI Deputy Director Tells Congress Trump Was Hit With Bullet

FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate confirmed before Congress that a bullet indeed hit President Trump during his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

During a Senate Oversight hearing, FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate stated, “Former President Trump, who was also struck by a bullet fired from the shooter’s rifle.”

Abbate’s statement comes a week after FBI Director Christopher Wray questioned whether Trump got hit with shrapnel rather than a bullet.

Watch the moment he said it here:

The FBI admitted to Congress that Trump was struck by a bullet after initially casting doubt. https://t.co/i1ImYJLx7j pic.twitter.com/XZ3du2Jxgr

— New York Post (@nypost) July 30, 2024

Here’s what The New York Post reported:

The FBI affirmed Tuesday before Congress that former President Donald Trump was struck by a bullet in the July 13 assassination attempt in Pennsylvania – after initially casting doubt on the object that hit him in a hearing last week.

FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate made the admission as he offered condolences to the victims of the shooting in Butler, Pa. – which also included the fatally shot firefighter Corey Comperatore and injured rally goers James Copenhaver and David Dutch.

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“And to former president Trump, who was also struck by a bullet fired from the shooter’s rifle,” Abbate said, noting the agency is treating the assassination attempt as domestic terrorism.

The remarks opened Abbate’s testimony in the first Congressional hearing since FBI Director Christopher Wray questioned whether it was a bullet or shrapnel that hit Trump.

🔥SAVAGE SENATOR KENNEDY🔥

KENNEDY: "Is there any doubt in your mind or in the collective mind of the FBI that President Trump was shot in the ear by a bullet fired by the assassin?"

FBI DEPUTY DIRECTOR: "There is absolutely no doubt."

KENNEDY: "It wasn't a space laser?"

FBI:… pic.twitter.com/6hUPuGZaPQ

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 30, 2024

Per ABC News:

Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate faced a grilling from lawmakers about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, earlier this month.

The two officials testified before a Senate panel on Tuesday about security arrangements at the site and the status of ongoing investigations into what occurred both on July 13 and in the days leading up to the shooting.

New details have emerged about the shooting, including a potential social media account owned by the shooter and questions about when the Secret Service first saw the gunman on the roof. Officials have also confirmed, after the FBI director’s ambiguous comments last week raised questions about what struck Trump, that the former president was hit by a bullet.