Donald Trump’s former doctor has said he did not write a 2015 letter declaring the then-Republican presidential candidate’s “astonishingly excellent” health, US media report.
“[Mr Trump] dictated that whole letter,” Harold Bornstein told CNN.
The White House has not yet commented on the physician’s allegation.
Mr Bornstein also said that Mr Trump’s bodyguard had carried out a “raid” on his offices in February 2017, removing all of Mr Trump’s medical records.
In an interview with CNN, Mr Bornstein said the 2015 letter suggesting that Mr Trump would be the “healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency” was not his professional assessment.
“[Mr Trump] dictated the letter and I would tell him what he couldn’t put in there,” he said.
It is not clear why Mr Bornstein is making these allegations now.
What was in the letter?
The letter’s contents included statements on Mr Trump’s physical strength and stamina, which were described as “extraordinary”.
His blood pressure and laboratory tests were described as “astonishingly excellent” and he was said to have lost 15 pounds (7kg) over the course of a year.
It added that Mr Trump had no forms of cancer or joint surgery.
A few weeks ahead of its release, Mr Trump tweeted that Mr Bornstein’s medical report would show “perfection”.
“I am fortunate to have been blessed with great genes,” Mr Trump, who became the oldest president to be elected in US history, wrote on Facebook at the time.
In January this year Mr Trump had a three-hour examination amid speculation over his mental health.
His White House doctor, Ronny Jackson, said at the time: “I have no concerns about his cognitive ability or neurological functions.”
What about Mr Bornstein’s office ‘raid’?
The New York City-based physician said he was visited by one of Mr Trump’s personal bodyguards and two other men at his office on 3 February 2017.
“They must have been here for 25 or 30 minutes, it created a lot of chaos,” Mr Bornstein told NBC News, adding that the incident made him feel “raped, frightened and sad”.
He said the original and only copy of Mr Trump’s medical charts, including lab reports, were taken by his aides.
The incident took place shortly after The New York Times published a report in which Mr Bornstein said he had prescribed Mr Trump with Propecia, an anti-baldness drug.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders later insisted that the incident was not a raid and that it was “standard procedure” for the White House Medical Unit to take possession of the president’s medical records.
Source: BBC