Investigators say Arian Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Ali, 35, who have been charged with falsely impersonating a federal official, obtained assault rifles, pistols and assault rifles used by federal law enforcement agencies. Then, according to the FBI, they allegedly used their fake intercourse with the US government to cover up US intelligence officials with gifts and favors. Two of the four Secret Service officials who have been suspended are agents and two are uniformed officers of the department. An FBI affidavit released Wednesday lists three of them as witnesses who have been extensively questioned by the office. One of the agents was in the intelligence service for First Lady Jill Biden. Another is a uniformed officer in the White House. The third is described in detail as a uniformed unit officer at the residence of Vice President Kamala Harris at the US Naval Observatory. And a quarter was assigned to the detail of the presidential protection – that is, this officer is one of the federal agents in charge of protecting the security of the incumbent president, the first family and the vice president. The FBI raids a luxury apartment building in which two men posing as FBI agents are involved and deceive four US intelligence agents. Government exhibits However, the fourth officer is not involved in the ongoing USSS investigation because this individual has no information related to the investigation but is allegedly interacting with the suspects. Prosecutors asked Judge G. Michael Harvey late Friday to keep the couple awaiting trial, arguing that evidence gathered from the five apartments raided earlier this week showed the two posed a “serious risk.” that Ali was in danger of fleeing and Zaherzadeh could try to destroy the evidence. “The defendants were not just playing games,” said prosecutor Joshua Rothstein, “but they posed a potential threat to national security.” The men “tricked people whose job it was to be suspicious of others,” he said, who were eventually “shocked” that the two were not the ones claiming to be federal officers. However, Rothstein also revealed in court that the government believed Taherzadeh was a special police officer at the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department indefinitely, a claim that sparked the judge’s interest. Judicial documents filed in preparation for Friday’s detention hearing cite evidence discovered by investigators during their search: a loaded pistol, tactical equipment, a sledgehammer, ammunition bullets, handcuffs, a drone and even lights. of the police. The tools were found in an FBI raid on men allegedly posing as federal agents. Government report The investigators also presented to the court several passports and visas that belonged to Ali and showed two visas that allowed travel from the Islamic Republic of Iran. There were also indications for many international trips. During an interview following his arrest and citing a government detention note, Taherzadeh allegedly told law enforcement that he had falsely identified himself as a member of the Department of Homeland Security and a former U.S. Army guard. He also admitted that he had offered to provide a USSS agent with an assault rifle and provided free apartments to two USSS agents for about a year. “In relation to Ali, Taherzadeh said Ali had received the electronic passwords and a list of all the occupants of the apartment complex. Taherzadeh further stated that Ali was the person who financed most of their daily operations but “Taherzadeh did not know the source of the funds,” the court statement explained. Harvey appeared skeptical of the government’s details during Friday’s hearing, as prosecutors did not have the information to answer many of his questions. He demanded answers from prosecutors by Monday about Taher Zadeh’s previous work and operations, sources of funding and specific information about Ali’s trip.
“I want to know what you know … and what that means,” the judge demanded. The agency is also gathering more information on how the two suspects’ social circles were intertwined with those of Secret Service officials. The agency’s Security Directorate launched an internal investigation Monday to determine how the two suspects alluded to the lives of law enforcement officials, sources told CBS News. Investigators are also examining whether there was a breach of security when the suspects were interacting with officials. At this point, U.S. law enforcement officials say the Internal Audit has not gathered evidence that sensitive information has been leaked to the suspects, but stresses that the investigation is in “very early” stages. The review will ultimately determine whether the agency will take more punitive action against defrauded officials, including whether they should be allowed to maintain their security clearances. Rich gifts given by the suspects to USSS employees – including iPhones, televisions, apartments and a rifle – were not presented as bribes, but were presented to USSS officials as “gifts”, according to sources familiar with the matter. During their transfer to Secret Service officials, the suspects claimed that the equipment was surplus from previous federal cases. For example, a USSS official who had accepted an apartment told investigators that it led him to believe he had been “left behind” by a comprehensive federal surveillance operation. However, federal agents are regularly trained to raise awareness of such conspiracies, raising questions about how trained law enforcement personnel were deceived. Law enforcement sources told CBS News that FBI investigators leading the US government’s criminal investigation into the suspects are examining the possibility that the two suspects had links to Iranian intelligence, including the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, an elite of the Iranian army conducting special operations or the Quds Force. Taherzadeh and Ali face up to three years in prison if convicted, but prosecutors told the court on Thursday that they could also charge the couple as part of a conspiracy. They will remain in jail at least until Monday, when the detention hearing will continue.