A United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) official has denied CNN’s report concerning Asif Merchant, a Pakistani man alleged to have connections to the Iranian government and accused of planning political assassinations in the United States.
CNN, referencing unsealed court documents from the Justice Department, reported that Merchant had been charged, prompting the US government to increase security measures for former President Donald Trump and other officials.
Contradicting this report, CNN also cited an FBI official who stated that investigators had not found any evidence linking Merchant to the shooting incident in Butler, Pennsylvania.
According to a US official familiar with the investigation, FBI investigators believe the intended targets of the plot were Trump and other current and former US government officials.
The White House has also confirmed that no evidence has been found against Asif Merchant, and the investigation continues while he remains in federal custody.
Prosecutors allege that Merchant intended to leave the country before carrying out the assassination plot, but he was apprehended before he could flee.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, New York, have charged the 46-year-old Merchant with traveling to New York City and conspiring with a hitman to execute assassinations in late August or early September.
Merchant was arrested on July 12 while attempting to leave the United States. His arrest followed a meeting with individuals he believed to be hitmen, who were actually undercover law enforcement officers. Merchant is currently in federal custody.
Court documents reveal that Merchant expressed a desire to target individuals in the United States whom he claimed were “hurting Pakistan and the world, [the] Muslim world,” emphasizing that “these are not just normal people.”
