Defendant claims Iran forced him into murder-for-hire plot | amNewYork

"He did not tell me exactly who it is, said Merchant, testifying via an Urdu interpreter. He named three people to me: Donald Trump, Joe Biden and Nikki Haley. Yousef instructed Merchant to find someone in the U.S. who could help with four tasks: the murder of the unspecified politician at a rally; hiring protesters to create a diversion and help the killer escape from said rally; stealing documents or a USB drive from a home; and laundering money."

"Merchant, a 47-year-old Pakistani national, testified that he'd been recruited about three years ago by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, also known as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or, as Merchant calls the paramilitary group, Sepah. He'd meet with his Iran-based handler, Mehrdad Yousef, whenever he was in Tehran visiting his wife and child."

"It may sound more like an admission than a defense, as Merchant essentially confirmed the claims in the indictment charging him with attempted terrorism and murder for hire. He's accused, among other things, of giving hit men who turned out to be undercover FBI agents a $5,000 down payment to kill a high-up political figure."

Asif Merchant, a 47-year-old Pakistani national, testified that he was recruited by Iran's Revolutionary Guards approximately three years ago and received orders from his handler Mehrdad Yousef to find a hit man in the United States. Yousef allegedly instructed Merchant to target an unspecified high-ranking political figure, naming Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and Nikki Haley as possibilities. The mission included additional tasks: hiring protesters as a diversion, stealing documents or a USB drive, and money laundering. Merchant provided undercover FBI agents posing as hit men with a $5,000 down payment. His defense strategy focuses on convincing jurors that he never genuinely believed the assassination plot would be executed, despite his apparent admissions confirming the indictment's core allegations.

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