Jim Jordan demands documents from Mayorkas, Blinken related to attempted Trump assassination

House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan is asking two top Biden administration officials information regarding the arrest of a Pakistani man recently arrested on suspicion of planning several political assassinations, former President Donald Trump's among them.

Concretely, Jordan sent letters to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, seeking information about Asif Merchant, who had ties to Iran and traveled to the U.S. to "recruit individuals to carry out his plot to assassinate U.S. government officials."

After detailing how the plot was foiled, Jordan says in the document to Mayorkas that "potential terrorists and enemies of the United States exploit vulnerabilities in our nation's immigration system to the detriment of those in the country," saying "the Committee has documented how Biden-Harris administration's border and immigration policies have allowed a known 99 potential terrorists into the country and only increase the likelihood that other dangerous aliens will successfully enter and remain in the country.

In that context, he requests the case history information of Merchant, as well as immigration detention status and history, information about his entry to the U.S. and his processing by Customs and Border Protection officials, "including whether CBP officials were alerted to derogatory information about the alien and what questions were asked of the alien during the screening process."

Moreover, Jordan requested Blinken's Department of State "case history information and visa records, including, but not limited to, the alien's immigration history, immigration benefits, applications, and the alien file (A-file) or consular files (including all consular notes). Both notes demand the information be given before August 23 at 5 PM.

Merchant was arrested on July 12, a day before Trump was almost assassinated during a rally near Butler, Pennsylvania. Court documents cited by Jordan detail that, once inside the U.S., Merchant contacted a person he believed could assist him with his criminal scheme, but the person instead reported him to law enforcement and became a source.

In follow-up meetings, Merchant allegedly asked potential co-conspirators how they would commit a murder and told them he would coordinate efforts from outside the U.S. The people, however, were undercover agents. He was finally arrested by law enforcement three months later as he planned to leave the U.S.

"This dangerous murder-for-hire plot exposed in today's complaint allegedly was orchestrated by a Pakistani national with close ties to Iran and is straight out of the Iranian playbook," FBI Director Christopher Wray said. "A foreign-directed plot to kill a public official, or any U.S. citizen, is a threat to our national security and will be met with the full might and resources of the FBI."