The Biden administration is refusing to file prosecution charges against two men connected to the Iranian government allegedly planning to assassinate John Bolton due to concerns that doing so could cause the Iran nuclear deal talks to collapse.
The Washington Examiner first reported on the assassination plot on March 7, stating that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has “indictable evidence against the Iranians but that Biden administration officials are resisting publicly indicting the men for fear that it could derail their drive for a nuclear deal with Iran, currently nearing completion in negotiations in Vienna, Austria.” Citing a DOJ source, the Examiner report stated that the two men appear to be connected to the Quds Force, an arm of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that was designated as a terror organization in 2019 by the Trump administration. The Iranian government has been pushing for the Biden administration to rescind the IRGC’s terror designation as part of a new Iran deal; consequently, “Biden administration officials appear to fear that indicting Quds Force officers for assassination plots in the U.S. would complicate their diplomatic efforts,” the report stated.
Additionally, the DOJ source also told the Examiner that Bolton, as well as former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, were both “asked to sign nondisclosure agreements in return for their being briefed on classified intelligence related to the threats against them” and that “prosecutors, FBI agents, and intelligence community personnel involved in disrupting the plot against Bolton are frustrated and angry that there have been no indictments and suspect political foot-dragging.” The Examiner report added that sealed indictments against the two men are “possible but unlikely,” noting that “the seriousness of the conspiracy and the evidence warranted public indictment without delay.”
A DOJ official denied that they were slow-walking the indictments due to the Iran deal, telling the Examiner: “It would be categorically false to claim that these kinds of policy considerations would drive such a charging decision.” A DOJ spokesperson also told the outlet that the DOJ does “not confirm or deny non-public law enforcement activity. In every case, the Department’s decision whether to charge would be made based on the facts and law and in accordance with the principles of federal prosecution.”
Two Republican members of Congress criticized the Biden administration over the matter.
“The Iran Nuclear Deal has always been a disaster & bad for America,” Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) tweeted. “The President of the United States ignoring a plot to kill Americans so he can make a deal with terrorists must be investigated. Joe Biden must answer for this NOW!”
The Iran Nuclear Deal has always been a disaster & bad for America. The President of the United States ignoring a plot to kill Americans so he can make a deal with terrorists must be investigated. Joe Biden must answer for this NOW! https://t.co/8fTavP5QwK
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) March 8, 2022
Representative Claudia Tenney (R-NY), who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also tweeted: “Members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard are plotting the assassination of a former National Security Advisor, and the Biden Administration still wants to strike a [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] deal with them. These talks should be halted immediately!”
Members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard are plotting the assassination of a former National Security Advisor, and the Biden Administration still wants to strike a JCPOA 2.0 deal with them. These talks should be halted immediately! https://t.co/MOPXTgL4Uj
— Rep. Claudia Tenney (@RepTenney) March 8, 2022
The Simon Wiesenthal Center tweeted, “Is this how America says ‘thank you for your service’ to public servants?”
Is this how America says 'thank you for your service' to public servants? https://t.co/yIRxMaRNgG
— SimonWiesenthalCntr (@simonwiesenthal) March 8, 2022
Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt tweeted, “No foreign government can be allowed to do this,” pointing to how then-President Bill Clinton struck Iraq’s intelligence headquarters in Baghdad in 1993 after a plot to assassinate former President George H.W. Bush was thwarted. “Team @JoeBiden has to prosecute and also provide security for Bolton, others threatened by Iran as they themselves will be protected by [the 47th president],” Hewitt wrote.
No foreign government can be allowed to do this. Bill Clinton demonstrated that to Saddam: https://t.co/XVxmzSTS7w Team @JoeBiden has to prosecute and also provide security for Bolton, others threatened by Iran as they themselves will be protected by 47 https://t.co/d4jrmYDX0Q
— Hugh Hewitt (@hughhewitt) March 7, 2022
Former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy wrote in the conservative publication National Review that the new Iran deal would “lift sanctions on Iran and its components, such as the IRGC, for activities such as terrorism promotion, ballistic-missile development, regional aggression, and human-rights abuses that were not covered in the 2015 Obama/Biden administration’s Iran nuclear deal.” “Now, we have a purported plot to kill a prominent American security official,” he added. “So, why wouldn’t we want to help the Iranians with a program that will yield nuclear weapons in short order, and in the interim help them by lifting sanctions on their anti-American terrorism so they can subsidize more anti-American terrorism — all with the help of our other negotiating partner, Vladimir Putin?”
