by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News August 12, 2024
Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley is demanding the Biden-Harris administration explain why it allowed a Pakistani man who plotted with Iran to assassinate Donald Trump into the United States.
Grassley said Asif Raza Merchant was allowed to enter the U.S. by Joe Biden and his border czar Kamala Harris in April despite obvious red flags.
"According to reports, Asif Raza Merchant, a Pakistani native who recently visited Iran, was arrested after it was discovered he planned to assassinate President Trump, as well as other high-ranking government officials," Grassley said in a letter to Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas.
Just the News, citing government documents, reported on Thursday that Merchant was allowed to enter the U.S. with special permission known as “significant public benefit parole” even though he was flagged on a terrorism watchlist and had recently traveled to Iran.
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The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force interviewed Merchant, fingerprinted him and inspected the contents of his electronic devices when he arrived at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, but then let him leave with the special parole that expired on May 11, the documents state.
Grassley's letter alleges that Merchant was labeled as a “Lookout Qualified Person of Interest" and was still granted Significant Public Benefit Parole by the DHS.
As soon as he was let into the country, Merchant “began recruiting individuals to carry out his assassination plot,” Grassley said.
The Department of Justice reported that Merchant tried to hire an individual for an assassination plot shortly after he entered the country in April and that individual become a confidential informant for law enforcement after reporting the contact.
Merchant reportedly asked the informant about various methods to carry out an assassination attempt.
He also told the confidential source that the planned assassination would occur after he left the United States and that he would communicate with the individual to relay instructions. Law enforcement intercepted Merchant before he left the country.
After the charges against Merchant were announced, U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a new warning Wednesday to its field offices that Iran or its proxy groups may try to transport “operatives, money or materials” across both the southern and northern U.S. borders to carry out attacks on the United States.
"On what basis was Merchant granted Significant Public Benefit Parole?" Grassley asked. "Explain in detail and provide all records."
DHS was given until Aug. 23 to respond to Grassley's request.
