Federal authorities have charged a 46-year-old Pakistani for his involvement in an alleged murder-for-hire plot against American political figures — including former President Donald Trump.
This according to a CBS News report, which cited unsealed charging documents.
Per the CBS News report which cited multiple sources familiar with the investigation, Asif Merchant, the Pakistani national, is accused of having ties to the Iranian government.
Merchant allegedly began plotting his assassination campaign against American officials back in April.
NEW: DOJ announces it has charged a Pakistani national w/ ties to Iran in a plot to assassinate current & former US government officials on US soil in retaliation for the Soleimani killing. DOJ says Asif Merchant flew to the US in April after spending time in Iran, then traveled… pic.twitter.com/Hjp0L90BVT
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) August 6, 2024
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland accused Merchant with seeking “to hire hitmen to assassinate a politician or a U.S. government official on U.S. soil,” an official Department of Justice press release published Tuesday read.
Merchant’s alleged attempt to recruit hitmen in the end did him in as he met with “undercover law enforcement officers” moonlighting as assassins for hire, Garland said.
CBS News reported that Merchant allegedly offered $5,000 in advance.
Garland, who recently opened up to NBC News about the U.S. investigating Iranian plots against U.S. officials, including Trump, elaborated on the latest developments.
“For years, the Justice Department has been working to aggressively counter Iran’s brazen and unrelenting efforts to retaliate against American government officials for the killing of General Soleimani. The Justice Department has brought multiple cases against individuals working on behalf of the Iranian government to lethally target Americans in the United States,” Garland added. The attorney general also vowed that the Department of Justice would “spare no resource to disrupt and hold accountable those who would carry out Iran’s lethal plotting against Americans.”
AG MERRICK GARLAND: "We believe that the Iranians are attempting to kill or injure" President Trump.
REMINDER: Harris-Biden have funded the Iranian regime with tens of billions of dollars — even as they remain the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism. pic.twitter.com/XoPsUHwqTE
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 31, 2024
The CBS News report stated that that was no indication that the Pakistani’s plot was related to the attempt on Trump’s life that occurred last month in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“Law enforcement foiled the charged plot before any attack could be carried out. Our ongoing investigation has not found evidence that this defendant (Merchant) had any connection to the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania,” a law enforcement official told CBS News.
Merchant was arrested July 12.