The Department of Justice announced on Tuesday that a Pakistani national has been charged in connection with a plot to assassinate a U.S. politician or government official on American soil.
Asif Merchant, also known as Asif Raza Merchant, 46, arrived in the U.S. in April 2024 after spending time in Iran. Upon arrival, he contacted a person he believed could assist him with the plot. This person reported Merchant to law enforcement and became a confidential source (CS).
While the DOJ press release did not specify the potential targets, a U.S. official told CNN that FBI investigators believed the targets included 2024 GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump and other current and former U.S. officials.
According to the DOJ, Merchant explained the assassination plot to the CS during a meeting in New York, indicating that the opportunity would be ongoing and not a one-time event. He made a “finger gun” gesture to illustrate that the opportunity involved a killing.
Merchant discussed various assassination scenarios during the meeting, asking the CS to explain how a target would die in different situations and noting that there would be security around the person.
Merchant allegedly said the killing would occur after he left the U.S. and that he would use code words to communicate with the CS. He mentioned that he had spoken to an unidentified “party” back home who instructed him to finalize the plan and leave the United States.
In mid-June, Merchant met with purported hitmen who were undercover law enforcement officers in New York. He requested three services: theft of documents, arranging protests at political rallies, and the assassination of a “political person.” He said the hitmen would receive instructions on who to kill in the last week of August or the first week of September.
On June 21, Merchant met with the undercover officers in New York and paid them a $5,000 advance, with help from an overseas individual. After receiving the payment, one of the officers confirmed the commitment to the plan, to which Merchant agreed. He then made flight arrangements to leave the U.S. on July 12 but was arrested by law enforcement before he could depart.
“For years, the Justice Department has been working aggressively to counter Iran’s brazen and unrelenting efforts to retaliate against American public officials for the killing of Iranian General Soleimani,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland. “The Justice Department will spare no resource to disrupt and hold accountable those who would seek to carry out Iran’s lethal plotting against American citizens and will not tolerate attempts by an authoritarian regime to target American public officials and endanger America’s national security.”
“This dangerous murder-for-hire plot exposed in today’s complaint allegedly was orchestrated by a Pakistani national with close ties to Iran and is straight out of the Iranian playbook,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “A foreign-directed plot to kill a public official, or any U.S. citizen, is a threat to our national security and will be met with the full might and resources of the FBI.”
The arrest follows the attempted assassination of Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13. Gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks was killed by law enforcement after opening fire, striking Trump in the ear, injuring two others, and killing a father who was protecting his family.
So pathetic that it’s almost funny. Guess they really had no idea that their government assisted shooters would fail. Even the TREASONOUS alphabet agencies have become a bad joke.