Man on trial in assassination plot says possible targets included Trump, Biden, Haley
Man on Trial in Assassination Plot Says Possible Targets Included Trump, Biden, Haley
Asif Merchant, the defendant in a terrorism trial, described a scheme that resembled a spy thriller scenario. He allegedly hired hitmen, even providing them $5,000 in cash, to assassinate a U.S. official on behalf of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. The 2024 plot targeted current and former political figures, including President Donald Trump, then-President Joe Biden, and former presidential candidate Nikki Haley, according to Merchant’s testimony in a Brooklyn federal court on Wednesday.
Merchant claimed his actions were motivated by fear for his family in Iran. He believed he would be arrested before the plan could be executed, stating, “My family was under threat, and I had to do this,” through an Urdu interpreter. He further insisted he did not act willingly, aiming to secure a cooperation deal with U.S. authorities to obtain a green card.
“You traveled to the United States for the purpose of hiring Mafia members to kill a politician, correct?” Assistant U.S. Attorney Nina Gupta asked during cross-examination. “That’s right,” Merchant replied, his tone as casual as his account was unconventional.
Authorities uncovered the plot early, with the hired assassins being FBI agents. Merchant was arrested on July 12, 2024, a day before an unrelated assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. Despite participating in voluntary FBI interviews, he faced a trial instead of a plea agreement.
The trial occurs amid ongoing tensions in the Iran conflict, where Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a recent strike. Trump remarked on the event, calling it “I got him before he got me.” Jurors are instructed to disregard external news about the case. The Iranian government has refuted claims of plotting against Trump or other U.S. officials.
Merchant, 47, previously worked in banking for two decades in Pakistan before expanding into ventures like clothing, car sales, and banana exports. He has dual families, one in Pakistan and another in Iran, where he met a Revolutionary Guard intelligence officer around late 2022. Their discussions initially focused on hawala transactions, a traditional money transfer method.
“He did not tell me exactly who it is, but he told me — he named three people: Donald Trump, Joe Biden and Nikki Haley,” Merchant recounted, revealing the targets of the plan.
Merchant’s visits to the U.S. for his garment business drew attention from his Revolutionary Guard contact, who trained him in surveillance evasion. After immigration agents questioned him at Houston airport in April 2024, he concluded he was being watched. Despite this, he gathered details on Trump’s rally locations, drafted a shooting plan, and arranged payments to suspected hitmen.
He sent fabricated reports to his handler via a book shipped through intermediaries, claiming to relay observations about the targets. Merchant argued he had no choice but to comply, as the handler knew his Iranian relatives’ identities and residences. Prosecutors, however, noted he failed to inform authorities of his concerns prior to arrest, stating in a court filing that he “neglected to mention any facts that could have supported” his claim of coercion.
“They think that I’m some type of super-spy,” Merchant said, expressing doubt that agents would believe his story.
