Donald Trump's former physician has revealed that a 2015 letter praising the then-candidate's health as 'astonishingly excellent' was dictated by Trump himself. Dr Harold Bornstein told CNN that he did not write the letter, which stated Trump would be 'the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency'.
The letter was released on the eve of the presidential primary contests to address concerns about Trump's fitness. Two days earlier, Trump had tweeted that he had instructed his doctor to issue a full medical report that 'will show perfection'.
Bornstein, who had been described as Trump's physician since 1980, said: 'He dictated that whole letter. I didn't write that letter.' The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Earlier on Tuesday, Bornstein claimed that Trump's longtime bodyguard Keith Schiller and two other men conducted a 'raid' on his office in February 2017 to seize Trump's medical records. This occurred two days after Bornstein told a newspaper that he had prescribed the hair growth drug Propecia for Trump for years.
Bornstein said he was not given a form authorising the release of records, and that Schiller and Trump Organisation lawyer Alan Garten took originals and copies of charts and lab reports, including those filed under pseudonyms. He described the incident as leaving him 'raped, frightened and sad'.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders defended the move, saying it was 'standard procedure' for a newly elected president's records to be transferred to the White House medical unit. Bornstein said he spoke out after reports that Dr Ronny Jackson, the former White House physician, would not return as Trump's personal doctor following a scandal over his nomination to lead the Veterans Affairs department.
