Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa has made public a set of FBI documents that suggest Iran was involved in a plot to assassinate several high-profile American figures, including former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden, and former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.
The documents, obtained by Grassley from law enforcement whistleblowers, were posted on the senator’s public Senate page on Thursday but were later removed. Despite the deletion, several news outlets, including the New York Post, were able to review the documents, which detail a federal investigation into an Iranian-backed plot to kill Trump.
The documents reveal that a Pakistani man named Asif Merchant, who was charged in connection with the plot, discussed assassination strategies with a handler named Mehardad Yousef. According to the documents, Merchant asked Yousef who would be the target of the killing, and Yousef replied that it could be Trump, Biden, or Haley, as well as other politicians, military personnel, or bureaucrats.
The plot is believed to have been motivated by a desire for revenge against the US for its role in killing Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani. The documents provide new details about the scope of the plot and the individuals involved.
Grassley has criticized the FBI for its handling of the investigation, saying that the agency needs to be more transparent about its efforts to protect the public. “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 said in a statement.
The FBI has pushed back against Grassley’s decision to release the documents, saying that it undermines the agency’s ability to conduct thorough investigations and puts lives at risk. “Public disclosure about sensitive, ongoing national security investigations and potential cooperation from subjects is irresponsible,” the agency said in a statement.
