President Trump’s longtime personal doctor in New York says a trio of Trump associates showed up at his office without notice in early 2017 and seized the president’s medical records.
Dr. Harold Bornstein told NBC News that Trump’s bodyguard, Keith Schiller, a lawyer with the Trump Organization and a third man came to his office the morning of Feb. 3, 2017. They took lab reports and Trump’s medical charts, he said.
“They must have been here for 25 minutes or 30 minutes. It created a lot of chaos,” Bornstein said, adding that he felt “raped, frightened and sad.”
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NBC reported that Trump’s White House physician, Ronny Jackson, wrote a letter authorizing the release of Trump’s records, but Bornstein told the news outlet he was not given a release form to sign.
Bornstein said the incident, which he described as a “raid,” took place days after he told The New York Times that Trump takes Propecia, a drug for men with enlarged prostates that helps with hair growth.
Trump’s longtime doctor said the president cut ties with him after he made the comments to the Times.
The White House on Tuesday afternoon disputed characterizations that Bornstein was the victim of a “raid” or a “burglary.”
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called it “standard operating procedure” for the White House medical unit to obtain a newly elected president’s medical records.
“That was what was taking place, is those records were being transferred over to the White House medical unit, as requested,” Sanders said.
Bornstein told NBC he felt compelled to speak about the “raid” because of the allegations against Jackson, whom Trump nominated to serve as Veterans Affairs (VA) secretary.
Jackson withdrew his nomination last week in the face of mounting allegations of improper behavior.
Jackson has been accused of overprescribing medication, drinking on the job and creating a hostile work environment. He has denied the allegations.
“This is like a celebration for me,” said Bornstein, who had previously expressed a desire to serve as White House physician.
Bornstein also made headlines during the 2016 presidential campaign when he declared Trump would be “the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.”
–This report was updated at 3:38 p.m.