Iranian Plot Against Trump, Officials More Serious Than Previously Reported
Trump is facing serious threats…
U.S. officials have warned more than a half dozen former national security officials from the Trump administration that Iran’s assassination threats against them are serious and likely to continue for the foreseeable future as tensions reach fever pitch.
The threats, including the ones against former President Donald Trump, stem from the administration authorizing the drone strike that killed Qassem Soleimani in January 2020.
A new report from Politico revealed that the plots against the officials are “even more extensive and aggressive than previously reported,” according to interviews with a dozen officials about the threats.
“This is extraordinarily serious,” said Matt Olsen, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for national security. “Iran has made it very clear that they are determined to seek retaliation against former officials in connection with the Soleimani strike.”
A former senior Trump administration said that the threats they are facing are “historic” as the U.S. has “never had former senior national security officials,” including cabinet members, face serious threats on their life from a foreign adversary.
The threat against Trump’s life is so serious that he has not played golf — his favorite pastime — in a month and will not do so until after the election because federal officials are not able to secure courses to the extent needed to guarantee his safety.
Trump’s motorcade is now being broken up at random times as a precaution and he has started traveling on “nondescript planes that do not have his name on the side instead of his longtime 757 jet.”
Trump is now requesting military assets to guard and transport him.
At least seven former Trump officials receive 24/7 protection from the U.S. government, which can include up to six officers at a time.
Six of the seven are top former officials who were directly involved with the operation going after Soleimani, including Mark Esper, Secretary of Defense; Mark Milley, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Paul Nakasone, head of NSA and U.S. Cyber Command; Kenneth McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command; Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State; and Brian Hook, the State Department’s Special Representative for Iran.
