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The DOJ press release doesn’t mention any names, it just a 46-year-old Pakistani man has been charged with plotting to assassinate «a politician or U.S. government officials on U.S. soil.» But this ABC News report says the main target was former President Donald Trump.
After spending time in Iran, Asif Merchant flew from Pakistan to the U.S. to recruit hitmen to carry out the alleged plot, according to a detention memo. The person he contacted was a confidential informant working with the FBI, according to the criminal complaint.
Merchant, 46, is charged with murder for hire.
Killing the former president was one part of Merchant’s plot but it was clear he wasn’t planning to get his own hands dirty. Instead, he planned to hire the people needed, set everything in motion and then leave the country before it actually happened. Merchant also told the FBI informant that he was in contact with unnamed people overseas who wanted this done.
In early June, Merchant met the CS in New York and explained his assassination plot. Merchant told the CS that the opportunity he had for the CS was not a one-time opportunity and would be ongoing. Merchant then made a “finger gun” motion with his hand, indicating that the opportunity was related to a killing. Merchant further stated that the intended victims would be “targeted here,” meaning in the United States. Merchant instructed the CS to arrange meetings with individuals whom Merchant could hire to carry out these actions. Merchant explained that his plot involved multiple criminal schemes: (1) stealing documents or USB drives from a target’s home; (2) planning a protest; and (3) killing a politician or government official.
At that meeting, Merchant began planning potential assassination scenarios and quizzed the CS on how he would kill a target in the various scenarios.
