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Pakistani man, 42, with ties to Iran charged in assassination plot potentially targeting Donald Trump
A Pakistani man with ties to the Iranian government has been charged with plotting political assassinations that may have targeted Donald Trump.
Asif Merchant, 46, is accused of working with an undercover officer posing as a hitman who would carry out the assassinations after travelling to New York.
The Department of Justice says his aim was to take out high-ranking U.S. officials in August and September.
The investigation was carried out weeks before Trump was shot at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Asif Merchant, 46, is accused of working with a hitman to carry out assassinations after travelling to New York
The former president's team had been warned that he had been the potential target of assassination plots with links to Tehran.
Iranian officials have publicly expressed their desire to avenge the death of Qasem Soleimani.
The threat brought additional security before an unrelated attempted assassination at Donald Trump's campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Merchant was arrested one day before the July 13 rally.
Merchant is accused of flying from Pakistan to the U.S. to try and recruit accomplices for his deadly scheme.
Merchant also paid $5,000 in cash to an undercover agent after a meeting in Manhattan, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors say Merchant plotted his deadly scheme with scribbles on a napkin
Images show the notes he made on one of the napkins, that was retrieved during the investigation
Word of the stunning alleged plot follows an unrelated attempt on Trump's life
He also paid $5,000 in cash to an undercover agent after a meeting in Manhattan and laid out his plans on a napkin, according to prosecutors.
The damning indictment reveals he frequently travelled to Iraq, Syria and Iran.
When in the U.S., he contacted a person he believed could help him in his sinister plans.
The individual then contacted law enforcement and became a confidential informant.
Federal officials said his wife and children lived in Iran, and that he had traveled to Iran, Syria and Iraq.
Said AG Merrick Garland in a statement, '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.'
'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,' he added.
The charges come amid new scrutiny on the Secret Service amid what has been deemed a massive security failure after a shooter was able to fire on Trump during his rally last month.
Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle stepped down in the wake of the shooting.
It also comes amid fears of a widening conflict in the Middle East, with the Pentagon dispatching additional forces to the region to head off escalation amid expectations Iran will further strike out at Israel and as its proxies continue to fire on U.S. military positions in the region.
The charging documents did not mention Trump by name, and sources told ABC potential targets came from both parties.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, asked about the news at her Tuesday briefing, said that based on the ongoing DOJ probe, 'there has been no evidence to suggest that the individual named in today's indictment has any connection to the assassination attempt against former President Trump that happened in Butler Pennsylvania.'
'These threats arise from arise desire to seek revenge for the killing of Qasem Soleimani. We consider this a national and homeland security matter of highest priority, the highest priority,' she said. ''We have repeatedly met at the highest levels of our government to develop and implement a comprehensive response to this to these threats.'
Tehran has denied any role in the plot, saying in a statement by Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani last month that Iran 'strongly rejects any involvement in the recent armed attack on Trump or claims about Iran’s intention for such an action, considering such allegations to have malicious political motives and objectives.'