U.S. charges Pakistani with alleged Iran ties in murder-for-hire plot against Trump, U.S. officials

A Pakistani national with ties to the Iranian government was arrested and charged with plotting a murder-for-hire scheme targeting U.S. government officials and politicians, according to charging documents unsealed Tuesday.

The man, 46-year-old Asif Merchant, is accused of planning to assassinate current and former government officials across the political spectrum, according to multiple sources briefed on the investigation, including former President Donald Trump, who is also the Republican presidential nominee.

Intelligence about Merchant’s alleged plot was prominently among the information that prompted the U.S. Secret Service to further escalate security assets for the former president in recent weeks, the sources said.

Although the timing of the charges coincides with the July 13 assassination attempt against Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, there is no indication that Merchant’s plan of attack is at all related to that shooting.

“Law enforcement foiled the charged plot before any attack could be carried out. Our ongoing investigation has not found evidence that this defendant (Merchant) had any connection to the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania,” a law information official said in a statement to CBS News.