Topline
The Justice Department on Tuesday charged a Pakistani national with alleged ties to Iran with attempting to orchestrate a hit on political figures in the U.S. — reportedly including former President Donald Trump — as prosecutors tied the alleged plot to Iran’s vows to retaliate against the U.S. for the 2020 killing of Gen. Qasem Soleimani.
Government officials have not said the man’s plot was connected to the assassination attempt on … [+]
Key Facts
The Pakistani national, Asif Raza Merchant, was charged with one count of murder for hire after he allegedly sought to recruit hitmen to carry out an assassination of U.S. government officials, according to an indictment.
One of the officials is believed to be Trump, who is not named in the indictment, according to CNN and CBS News, which cite an unnamed U.S. official briefed on the matter and multiple sources familiar with the FBI’s investigation into Merchant.
Specifics of Merchant’s assassination plot detailed in the indictment do not indicate it was related to the attempted assassination of Trump last month.
Merchant met with undercover U.S. law enforcement officers posing as hitmen in June and provided them with $5,000 advances for an assassination, which would have involved stealing documents or USB drives from a target’s home, staging a protest and killing a government official, the indictment said.
Intelligence about Merchant’s plot prompted increased security measures for Trump and other government officials, CNN reported.
The indictment’s allegation connecting Merchant to Iran notes the country’s vows to retaliate against the U.S for the killing of Soleimani in 2020.
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What Do We Know About Merchant’s Past?
Merchant has a wife and children in Pakistan, as well as another wife and children in Iran and was in the latter country two weeks before traveling to the U.S., according to the indictment, which noted Merchant’s travel records indicated frequent travel to Iran, Syria and Iraq, and that Merchant was working with a “‘party’ back home.” Merchant was arrested July 12—the day he planned to leave the U.S and one day before the unrelated assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Crucial Quote
Attorney General Merrick Garland said prosecutors had been diligently trying to “counter Iran’s brazen and unrelenting efforts to retaliate against American public officials” for Soleimani’s death, and said the U.S. would not “tolerate” the “authoritarian” regime’s attempts to target Americans.
Chief Critic
“We have not received any reports on this matter from the U.S. Government,” the Iranian Permanent Mission told Forbes. “However, it is evident that the modus operandi in question contradicts the Iranian Government’s policy of legally prosecuting the murderer of General Soleimani.” Iranian officials have vowed to impose sanctions on people accused of participating in the drone strike killing of Soleimani, the Associated Press reported.
Key Background
Iran initially retaliated against Soleimani’s death with missile strikes on Iraqi air bases housing U.S. troops, causing several concussive injuries but no deaths. Garland said in a statement the Justice Department would “spare no resource to disrupt and hold accountable those who would seek to carry out Iran’s lethal plotting against American citizens,” noting Iran’s retaliation efforts against U.S. public officials. The increased security measures for Trump following shared intelligence about Merchant’s assassination plot were made prior to the day the former president was shot in the ear in an assassination attempt. Government officials have not suggested or said the shooter behind Trump’s attempted assassination was connected to Merchant’s plan. The FBI is investigating Merchant’s case.
Further Reading
What We Know About The Attempted Assassination Of Donald Trump (Forbes)
Did Facebook And Google Censor Trump’s Assassination Attempt Photo? Here’s What Really Happened (Forbes)
