Four days after the assassination of former President Donald Trump Inches away from death during an election rallyFederal investigators questioned an Iran-backed man who is accused of plotting to potentially assassinate the 45th president or one of two of his political rivals — President Biden or former Republican presidential nominee Nikki Haley, according to an FBI document made public Thursday.
Asif MerchantThe 46-year-old Pakistani man accused in the scheme explained his transactions with handler Mehrdad Yousuf. according to an offer agreement Released by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who obtained it from law enforcement informants.
Merchant was charged with one count of murder for hire after he allegedly sent $5,000 to an undercover FBI agent in an attempt to hire a killer. According to a complaint filed last month,
He was arrested on 12 July.
The proposal described a meeting at a safe house inside Iran in which Youssef and Merchant debated the advantages of an indoor or outdoor attempt to assassinate an American politician.
According to the document, Yousaf “drew a diagram on a whiteboard to show Merchant how the assassination could be carried out” and he “also drew a rectangle indicating the area where the crowd would gather. At the top of the rectangle was a small box indicating a podium to indicate whether the target could be located.”
Specifically, the document suggested that an assassination attempt would be made inside the home with a pistol, and that the shot would be made from “a distance” or “outside” with a long-range rifle, according to Merchant.
Merchant also provided Yusuf with details about a Trump rally, including the number of cameras present, the number of security guards, the size of the convoy, etc.
“Merchant believed that both the near and far options would not be successful due to security concerns, but he assessed that there was a 50% chance that either strategy would be successful,” the document reads.
Everything we know about the Trump assassination attempt
- Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20 identified as shooter Who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
- The crux was Shot dead by Secret Service Agent.
- The gunman touched Trump's ear, 50 year old retired fire chief murderedand injured two other rally attendees.
- Investigators detailed Crookes' search history He told lawmakers that he had learned about Trump's appearance and the dates of the Democratic National Convention.
- FBI officials reportedly said the gangster's search history also revealed he had a broad interest in high-profile people and celebrities, regardless of their political affiliations.
- Trump specifically spoke out about survivors He described the “surreal” assassination attempt at the rally to The Post, commenting, “I should have been dead.”
- high profile politicians, Including President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harrisaddressed the nation about the shooting and called it “a heinous, horrific and cowardly act.”
The Pakistani man repeatedly denied receiving specific target information from Yousuf, though his handler gave some hints about who that person might be.
“The businessman asked Yusuf what he should say if the mafia asked who would be the target of an assassination,” the document reads. “Yusuf said it could be Donald Trump, then paused and said it could be Joe Biden or Nikki Haley or politicians, military people or bureaucrats.”
Merchant said he “understood” the killing would be retaliation for the airstrike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, which Trump ordered in January 2020.
The document also reveals that Merchant traveled to New York City and searched a Mexican club in order to “locate and assess individuals who could facilitate reconnaissance or communications on behalf of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).”
“The dangerous assassination plot exposed in today's indictments was allegedly masterminded by a Pakistani national with close ties to Iran and is directly part of Iranian strategy,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement after the indictment was released.
“Bad actors are hell-bent on wreaking havoc in our country, and America's political leaders from both parties are a direct target,” Grassley said in a statement Thursday.
“In this exceptionally heightened threat environment, federal agencies must remain fully focused on building public trust and reassuring the American people of their efforts to carry out their protective missions.”
Grassley said he has contacted the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Secret Service and Transportation Security Administration to ask about steps they are taking to investigate the Iranian plot.
“If they 'assassinate' President Trump, which is always a possibility, then I hope the US destroys Iran, wiping it off the face of the earth – if that doesn't happen, the US leaders will be labelled 'fighting cowards'!” Trump wrote on Truth Social On July 25th.
The FBI, the Secret Service, multiple congressional committees and other agencies are currently investigating the assassination of Trump on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, by Thomas Matthew Crooks, whose bullets killed Trump. Firefighter Corey ComperatoreDavid Deutch, 50, was shot and killed, and two other rally attendees — David Deutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74 — were seriously wounded.
Investigators have not revealed a motive for the attack, but Crooks is not believed to have any links to Iran.
In addition to the assassination plot, Iran is also accused of Supported hacking into the Trump campaignThe resulting inside information was leaked to Politico and The Washington Post — both of which refused to publish it.
Intelligence officials have warned that Iran has “long shown an interest in exploiting social tensions in a variety of ways.”
