Somehow the story of the two guys, with alleged links to everything from Iran’s IRGC, a hub of Islamic terrorism, to Pakistani intelligence, the guys behind Al Qaeda and the Taliban, infiltrating the Secret Service and other federal law enforcement and intel services keeps getting worse and worse.
More troubling, the pair appear to have been tipped off to the FBI’s impending raid and arrest, and tried to ditch some potentially incriminating items via a Secret Service agent assigned to protect the White House, prosecutors said.
Via a Secret Service agent assigned to protect the White House. That’s really something.
The big question is still what the hell were they up to, throwing around sizable amounts of money and trying to befriend our people?
Prosecutors said they interviewed a former U.S. Marine, who the pair attempted to recruit on the basis of their false DHS credentials. The unnamed witness alleged he observed illegal weapons in Taherzadeh and Ali’s presence, including an AR-15/M4 variant automatic rifle with an illegal suppressor and an AR pistol.
Recruit to do what?
“The Defendants were not merely playing dress-up,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Rothstein argued; “they had firearms, they had ammunition, they had body armor, they had tactical gear, they had surveillance equipment, and they were engaged in conduct that represented a serious threat to the community, compromised the operations of a federal law enforcement agency, and created a potential risk to national security.”
That much clear, what isn’t clear is the endgame.
“I don’t know that we know the ultimate purpose” of the alleged scheme, Rothstein said, or whether the two ever asked any Secret Service officers for anything in exchange for the apartments or items.
“This is a complicated case,” the judge said. “Never seen one quite like it.”
No kidding.
Leave a Reply