An Iraqi man living in Columbus, Ohio, was arrested on Tuesday and faces federal charges related to the alleged plot to assassinate former US President George W. Bush, the Justice Department said.
Shihab Ahmed Shihab Shihab is accused of aiding and abetting in an assassination attempt on a former United States official, as well as immigration for allegedly trying to smuggle foreign nationals into the United States.
According to the Ministry of Justice, it is alleged that Shihab planned to smuggle four Iraqi citizens as part of the plot. Court documents obtained by CNN describe Shihab’s intelligence, which included driving to the neighborhood of Bush’s Dallas residence.
“President Bush has all the world’s trust in the United States Secret Service and our law enforcement and intelligence communities,” said Freddie Ford, Bush’s chief of staff.
The investigation was revealed in a March 23 press release seeking an order to search the phone records of a person identified in the documents as Shihab Ahmed Shihab, who entered the United States in September 2020.
The FBI uncovered the plot through confidential informants, one of whom recorded discussions of the murder plot with Shihab at meetings late last year and in the spring, documents show. There is no suggestion in the documents that the former president was ever in danger.
The application for the order, filed in the Southern Ohio County, was first announced by Forbes.
Shihab’s lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
One of those conversations allegedly took place in November during a trip Shihab and the informant took from Columbus, Ohio, to the Detroit area and back, according to a court order and appeal filed in public. in Tuesday.
During a meeting in November, Shihab allegedly told an FBI informant that “they wanted to kill former President Bush because they thought he was responsible for killing many Iraqis and destroying the whole country of Iraq.”
According to a January interview described in the order, Shihab described himself as “a soldier awaiting instructions from the Qatari leadership”.
During the January meeting, Shihab claimed to be part of an overseas group he called “Al-Raed”, which means “Thunder”.
The complaint said Shihab told the substance informant that the al-Raed group, which plans to assassinate former President Bush, was not affiliated with ISIS, but he hoped ISIS would approve and co-operate in the assassination. “.
In February, during face-to-face meetings in Dallas that were reportedly recorded, Shihab and the informant drove to the Bush residence in Dallas because Shihab claimed to have made videos of the access gate. to the neighborhood and the surrounding area, according to documents.
During the February meetings, Shihab and the informant also traveled to the George W. Bush Institute, where they walked. Shibab made videos of the institute’s library and office, court documents said.
The following month, the informant met with Shihab in Columbus, and Shihab allegedly inspected the US Border Patrol’s firearms and uniform, which the informant presented to Shihab. Court documents say the firearms and uniforms were provided to the FBI informant.
In April, Shihab gave an interview to the FBI, where he told law enforcement officials about the discussions he had led on a smuggling network, but Shihab “is not entirely truthful about his own role in the alien smuggling scheme.” court documents.
SECOND PLOT
In 2021, federal investigators monitored Shihab as he tried to help smuggle people into the United States, according to documents. A separate confidential FBI source has discussed with Shihab to bring his brother to the United States, investigators said. The brother was fictitious, but Shihab still outlined how $ 40,000 could be done by bringing the man through Mexico and the United States.
The final payment of $ 20,000 was to be made to Starbucks in Ohio, according to court records. Shihab stopped at Starbucks, alone, in an old blue minivan, four days before Christmas 2021.
An FBI source recorded the meeting and paid Shihab in cash, investigators said.
“The co-operation was coordinated under the direction of the FBI,” the justice ministry said in a statement on Shihab’s allegations Tuesday.
During discussions about Brother Shihab, he spoke of bringing others into the United States, including two Hezbollah-linked people, investigators said in a statement seeking a search warrant.
A detention hearing on the case is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Friday, the U.S. Ohio Southern District Attorney’s Office told CNN.
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