Donald Trump has denied making a vile comment to a grieving widow moments before she wept over his coffin.
The bouffant-haired President was accused of telling pregnant Myeshia Johnson that her dead husband Lance Sergeant David Johnson, 25, "knew what he signed up for" before his death in Niger.
La. Sgt. Johnson was among four elite special forces killed when they were ambushed by Islamic militants.
Trump has came under criticism for not speaking about the fatal mission and did not meet the coffin when it arrived back on American soil.
He went golfing instead.
Democrat member of Congress Frederica Wilson said that he told a weeping Myeshia Johnson: "He knew what he signed up for... but when it happens it hurts anyway".
But Trump has now fiercely denied the report and claims to have proof that back up his version of events.
Minutes after the disputed phone call, Mrs Johnson, who is expecting the couple's third child in January, wept uncontrollably over her husband's coffin at Miami Airport.
Her six-year-old daughter stood by her stoically in highly emotional scenes.
Representative Frederica Wilson said: "Yes, he said it.
"It's so insensitive. He should have not have said that.
"He shouldn't have said it."
Mrs Johnson has not commented publicly on the phone call herself.
Trump's bungled handling of the Niger killings has become worse by the day.
He caused controversy on Monday by claiming that unlike past presidents including Obama he planned to personally call all of the families of the soldiers killed.
It was a blatant lie and relatives of fallen troops and previous White House staff members came forward to attest to it.
Delilia O'Malley tweeted to Trump: "When my brother was killed, Pres Bush listened while I screamed at him & then held me as I sobbed, you fat f***ing liar."
Critics claim Trump is trying to detract from increasing evidence that the patrol in Niger was a botched mission.
The Green Berets team was ambushed on October 4 by militants linked to ISIS armed with machine guns and grenade launchers.
Sgt Johnson's team reportedly didn't have air support and were in unarmoured pickup trucks.
It took two days to recover one of the American bodies.
US forces do not have a direct combat mission in Niger, but their assistance to its army does include intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in their efforts to target violent extremist organizations.
US military deployments are on the rise in Africa.
In May, a U.S. Navy Seal killed in a raid on an al Shabaab militant compound in Somalia became the first US combat death in Africa since the 1993 “Black Hawk Down” disaster in Mogadishu.
In Niger, Washington has deployed around 800 soldiers, runs a drone base in the capital Niamey, and is building a second in Agadez at a cost of around $100 million.
US Special Forces help local troops develop counter-terrorism skills to tackle threats from al Qaeda-linked groups, Nigeria’s Boko Haram and Islamists who have pledged allegiance to Islamic State.
"It’s a pretty broad mission with the government of Niger in order to increase their capability to stand alone and to prosecute violent extremists," the U.S. military’s Joint Staff Director, Lieutenant General Kenneth McKenzie, said on Thursday.