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The case disclosed by the Justice Department on Tuesday comes two years after officials disrupted a separate scheme that they said was aimed at former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton.

The case disclosed by the Justice Department on Tuesday comes two years after officials disrupted a separate scheme that they said was aimed at former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton.

Asif Merchant traveled to New York in June for the purpose of meeting with men he thought he was recruiting to carry out the killings, even paying a $5,000 advance to two would-be assassins who were actually undercover law enforcement officers, federal officials said. He was arrested in July as he prepared to leave the United States, after having told the men that he would provide further instructions, including the names of the intended targets, in August or September after he returned to Pakistan.</small></blockquote></ref><ref>Robert Legare, Nicole Sganga, Andres Triay, [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pakistani-iran-murder-plot-u-s-officials/ U. S. charges Pakistani with alleged Iran ties in murder-for-hire plot against Trump, U.S. officials] ''CBS News'', August 7, 2024</ref>

Asif Merchant traveled to New York in June for the purpose of meeting with men he thought he was recruiting to carry out the killings, even paying a $5,000 advance to two would-be assassins who were actually undercover law enforcement officers, federal officials said. He was arrested in July as he prepared to leave the United States, after having told the men that he would provide further instructions, including the names of the intended targets, in August or September after he returned to Pakistan.</small></blockquote></ref><ref>Robert Legare, Nicole Sganga, Andres Triay, [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pakistani-iran-murder-plot-u-s-officials/ U. S. charges Pakistani with alleged Iran ties in murder-for-hire plot against Trump, U.S. officials] ''CBS News'', August 7, 2024</ref><ref>The Justice Department said a Pakistani man, Asif Raza Merchant, was arrested and accused of plotting to kill American leaders. A senior law enforcement official tells NBC News that former President Donald Trump was a potential target.

 

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98gOhORSCPY YouTube].</ref>

[[File:Asif Merchant.jpg|thumb|This image provided by the Justice Department, contained in the complaint supporting the arrest warrant, shows Asif Merchant. The Pakistani man alleged to have ties to Iran has been charged in a plot to carry out political assassinations on U.S. soil, the Justice Department said Aug. 6, 2024. (Justice Department via AP)]]

[[File:Asif Merchant.jpg|thumb|This image provided by the Justice Department, contained in the complaint supporting the arrest warrant, shows Asif Merchant. The Pakistani man alleged to have ties to Iran has been charged in a plot to carry out political assassinations on U.S. soil, the Justice Department said Aug. 6, 2024. (Justice Department via AP)]]