Just Cases: Issue #7
Assassins from Iran and from within the U.S.—Part One: Asif Merchant
The Just Cases newsletter focuses on tracking cases that are politically charged in some way. I will give commentary here and there, but my primary aim is to track the progression of these cases and, along the way, perhaps determine if they are just.
In this issue, we begin a series of newsletters providing breakdowns of four major assassination-related cases that played out during the 2024 election.
Those cases are Asif Merchant, Thomas Crooks, Ryan Routh, and Farhad Shakeri.
One has recently completed sentencing (Routh), another has reached sentencing for one defendant with another defendant scheduled to be sentenced next month (Shakeri), a third went to trial last week and resulted in a conviction just days ago (Merchant), and a fourth—the one that came closest to succeeding—was investigated, but the defendant died at the scene and no charges were brought against anyone (Crooks). All four cases are extraordinary in their own ways: highly interesting, deeply political, one decidedly bizarre, another chilling and sobering.
All concern the same target: President Donald J. Trump.
I believe these cases are important, beyond the memes, shoot-from-the-hip hot takes, superficial clickbait, and conspiracy theories that surround them. So, I’ve decided to create a series of articles for the Just Cases newsletter that sets aside all those frivolous elements in favor of case filings, court transcripts, testimony, investigative documents, and fact-based reporting. I’ve included information from those sources and provided links to them.
These deep dives grew beyond what is typical for the newsletter format, so I’ve broken them into four issues that will come out back-to-back over the next several weeks. Updates on other cases I’m tracking (Don Lemon, Hannah Natanson, Richman, Comey, and others) will appear in future issues of the Just Cases newsletter.
The Just Human Podcast and Just Cases Newsletter are reader-supported publications, and this newsletter is for paid subscribers. Your support makes pulling these court documents and carefully researching them possible. Thank you all so much for that. This newsletter is exclusively for y’all.
I’d love to hear from you: Drop your takes on these cases in the comments below. Got a case that’s got you fired up and think I should cover it? Tell me!
To keep the insights coming and support my work, consider upgrading to a paid subscription. Thanks a ton.
United States v. Merchant
(2024 Iran Directed Assassination Plot Against Trump)
District: Eastern District of New York (EDNY)
Defendant: Asif Merchant
Charges: Terrorism, Murder for Hire
Trial Result: Convicted on all counts. Facing Life in Prison. Sentencing date TBD.
Summary: According to court filings, DOJ press releases, and presentations at trial, Asif Merchant is a Pakistan-born man who works for Iranian intelligence. In the Spring of 2024, on behalf of Iran, he traveled to the U.S. to hire individuals to participate in a three-act plot: 1) steal documents from a targeted person, 2) orchestrate a protest, and 3) assassinate U.S. politicians and government officials. In recorded conversations that included Merchant the names of three 2024 Presidential Candidates were brought up as potential targets: South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, President Joseph R. Biden, and President Donald J. Trump.
U.S. intel and the FBI were on to Merchant very early in the game, tracking his movements from Pakistan to Iran, then back to Pakistan before flying to Istandbul, Turkey and finally to Houston, Texas. The FBI was able to get a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant for Merchant, they intercepted him in Houston when he arrived on April 13, 2024, and conducted an interview, but let him go. This has been the subject of some scrutiny and criticism (Grrr, how could they be so stupid?!?! /s). But the thing is…
They knew where he was going and who he was going to meet.
