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The US Marine Corps has denied that the soldier under investigation for appearing at a Trump rally last weekend is the same troop who lifted a baby over the wall to safety at Kabul airport.
A US Marine Corps spokesperson said Lance Corporal Hunter Clark 'was not the individual who lifted the child over a wall in the viral image' at Hamid Karzai International Airport in August.
Trump had invited Clark to his rally in Georgia last Saturday, where the former president and Marine both boasted about his supposed heroic actions captured on camera.
'You saw him. He did a great job,' Trump said, referring to the viral video and photo.
An emotional Clark even introduced himself as the 'guy who pulled the baby over the wall' and teared up as the crowd chanted 'USA'.
But the Marine Corps confirmed that Clark was not the man in the August 20 viral photo, although it is not clear whether there were any other instances of US troops hoisting babies over the wall at the Kabul airport during the chaotic US withdrawal, CNN reports.
While many Marines were seen helping desperate Afghans to safety during the airlift, Clark has yet to provide specific details of when he helped the child.
The US Marine Corps would not comment on whether Clark appeared anywhere in the video of the baby being lifted over the fence.
Marine Lance Corporal Hunter Clark (right) is under investigation after he appeared on stage with former President Donald Trump (left) at a rally in Perry, Georgia on Saturday
Clark introduced himself as 'the guy that pulled the baby over the wall' in the images that went viral from the Kabul airport during the Afghanistan withdrawal last month. There were multiple Marines pictured helping desperate Afghans to safety during the airlift
It is, however, against US Defense Department rules for active-duty troops to 'speak before a partisan political gathering, including any gathering that promotes a partisan political party, candidate, or cause.'
'The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) has initiated a command investigation regarding LCpl Hunter Clark's attendance at the event last weekend to determine if any DoD policies were violated,' Captain Kelton Cochran, a spokesman for the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit said in a statement.
'Any details pertaining to this incident are not releasable while the investigation is being conducted,' Cochran added.
Clark did not wear his Marine uniform while on stage with Trump and he did not campaign for any political candidate – even though the former president was there to rally for three different Republican candidates in Georgia.
The marine's mother, Peggy Clark, told CNN that Clark would not be commenting on the ongoing investigation.
'He's asked that
