CNN anchor Anderson Cooper invited Gaige Grosskreutz, a key witness in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, to “clarify his testimony” this week after he seemingly contradicted himself during an interview on “Good Morning America.”
Cooper confronted Grosskreutz Thursday about his statements on “Good Morning America” that appeared to contradict his sworn testimony at the Rittenhouse trial on Monday.
Specifically, Grosskreutz testified under oath that Rittenhouse only fired on him when he “advanced” on Rittenhouse and pointed his handgun at the teenager. But on “Good Morning America,” Grosskreutz claimed that he was not pointing his firearm at Rittenhouse when he was shot.
Cooper asked, “On ‘Good Morning America’ today, you said that you were absolutely not pointing your gun at Rittenhouse. Can you clarify that?”
In response, Grosskreutz once again seemingly contradicted his sworn testimony, saying the only way that he could have sustained the injury that he did is if his hands were up when he was shot.
Grosskreutz said:
Yes. Absolutely. First and foremost, that was a very tense situation, something that I’ve never been in before, just like having never been shot before. I think It’s important to note, though, that specifically during [cross examination], if there is a skilled attorney, they’re able to present questions to help support their narrative. That’s their job, and with one of the exhibits that attorney Chirafisi had introduced, there is a photo of me with my gun pointed toward the defendant, either just after or right during he had shot me in my right arm.
It’s important to note though that the physiology of my wound would be inconsistent with somebody being shot with their arm — and we’ll say, the traditional way that you would point a gun at somebody or some thing — the only way that I could have sustained the injury that I have is if I have been shot with my arms up.
When asked by Cooper — who appeared confused by Grosskreutz’s response — if he ever pointed his firearm at Rittenhouse, Grosskreutz played coy.
“I think that, again, in the still photos, it certainly looks like it, but never intentionally,” Grosskreutz said. “You have to understand that following that gunshot, I had no use of my arm. I wasn’t able to move anything in my right arm or on my right arm.”
Watch:
In an interview with CNN's @AndersonCooper, the lone survivor shot by Kyle Rittenhouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Gaige Grosskreutz, attempts to clarify his testimony and comments on "Good Morning America" about whether he pointed a gun at Rittenhouse. pic.twitter.com/ZxmDibzAZx
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) November 12, 2021
