New details have emerged surrounding the Iranian plot to kill ex-President Donald Trump, claiming that Iran targeted "politicians, military people or bureaucrats" including President Joe Biden and former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley.
Senator Chuck Grassley released whistleblower information from FBI records amid Trump’s latest presidential bid and in the wake of a failed assassination attempt against Trump just weeks ago, which Iran denied links to.
In a statement, Grassley said: ”Bad actors are determined to wreak havoc on our country, and American political leaders across both parties are sitting squarely in the crosshairs.
“In this extraordinarily heightened threat environment, federal agencies ought to be laser focused on building up public trust and reassuring the American people of their efforts to carry out their protective missions."
He vowed he will not "stop pressing for answers until Congress and the American people are afforded the transparency they deserve.”
Asif Merchant, a Pakistani with known ties to Iran, has been charged for his involvement and according to the FBI documentation, provided evidence to the FBI in a plea deal. He was arrested just one day before the July assassination attempt.
According to the FBI records, Merchant believed he was in for a kill-for-hire scheme that would offer him a cut of $50,000 for successful completion. He had told FBI interrogators that there were options for shooting former President Trump at both indoor and outdoor speaking engagements.
The Pakistani, 46, told investigators that he could hit a target up close or from further away, that a pistol would be best for indoors, but a rifle was necessary otherwise. He is said to have believed he had about a 50% chance of success.
English language notes were smuggled by Merchant’s family members to communicate with his handlers in Iran.
While the FBI has still not commented on the July assassination attempt on Trump by Thomas Matthew Crooks, while investigations continue, the option of it having been an Iranian plot has not been ruled out.
Security had been increased in June based on intelligence suggesting plots to kill him as Iran continues to vow revenge for Soleimani, killed in a drone strike in Iraq in 2020, ordered by Trump for his involvement in terror targeting US troops.
According to the justice department's indictment, Merchant arrived in the US from Pakistan in April after having spent time in Iran, when he contacted someone he thought would help him enact the plot. The unnamed contact reported him to the authorities.
Merchant had apparently told the contact he would leave the US before the killings, staying in contact only through code words.
FBI director Christopher Wray called the scheme a "dangerous murder-for-hire plot... straight out of the Iranian playbook".
Last year, the US listed Iran as the world's number one state sponsor of terrorism while plots to kill dissidents, Israeli and Jewish targets around the world have become increasingly more common.
Demanding transparency from security agencies, Grassley said that a DHS-FBI briefing from earlier this week "yet again failed to provide full transparency, necessitating this letter and the public disclosure of the unclassified proffer.”
