Debbie Wasserman Schultz Scandal: Demands She Testify About Pakistani IT Aides
“Wasserman Schultz has been evasive and unable to answer even basic questions about the nature of Awan’s employment with her office.”
Republicans have suggested that Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz should testify to explain why she kept IT aide Imran Awan on her payroll after he became a subject of an FBI investigation in March.
Wasserman Schultz did not fire Awan until last week when authorities arrested him at Dulles Airport on bank fraud charges.
The Capital Police placed Awan along with his wife and two brothers under investigation months ago for breaching House IT systems and stealing equipment. Other House lawmakers fired the four, but Wasserman Schultz kept Awan on payroll.
Pressure for Wasserman Schultz to Testify
From Fox News:
“I think she should testify,” Republican Party Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told conservative radio host Dana Loesch on Monday. “If I had a staff member, an IT staff member, who had access to all of our data and all of our infrastructure and he had come under investigation … you better believe I would be cooperating.”
Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., also indicated support on Monday for Schultz testifying, though no such hearing has been formally called at this point.
“We have to investigate how our systems may have been compromised, and that may involve putting people in the [witness] chair,” he told “Fox & Friends.”
The Office of Congressional Ethics received a complaint from the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), a non-partisan watchdog ethics group, against Wasserman Schultz due to her decision to keep Awan on her staff. From The Daily Caller:
“There is something quite amiss as to why Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz continued to use taxpayer funds to employ former technology staff member, Imran Awan, even months after he was barred from accessing the House’s computer systems and a number of her colleagues severed ties with Awan,” said FACT executive director Matthew Whitaker.
“Since Awan’s arrest last week, Wasserman Schultz has been evasive and unable to answer even basic questions about the nature of Awan’s employment with her office. This only further confirms the urgency of an investigation into her unethical and illegal actions,” Whitaker added.
Investigation Into the Scandal Advances in Congress?
The Washington Free Beacon has reported that senior congressional sources told the publication that Congress has decided to advance the investigation within the Capital.
The sources also said that Wasserman Schultz’s “refusal to answer questions” and continual payment to Awan “may merit her resignation.”
The leaders in Congress have asked the Capital Police for a formal briefing into its investigation. The Free Beacon reported:
Leading members of Congress are growing frustrated with the pace of the criminal investigation and have moved to conduct their own independent probe into the scandal, according to multiple sources who indicated that the relevant congressional committees are making moves to start an investigation, which could include compelling testimony from Wasserman Schultz, who has been accused of stonewalling on the issue.
As more information about the nature and scope of the IT staffers’ collection of privileged congressional information becomes public, lawmakers are seeking to immediately begin their own investigation into the situation.
Rep. Ron DeSantis (R., Fla.), a member of the House Oversight Committee and chair of its National Security Subcommittee, formally requested a briefing from the Capitol Police on Tuesday, telling the Free Beacon that the situation amounts to “one of the all-time congressional scandals in the last 30 years.”
The mainstream media has barely touched the scandal, but it has made a lot of noise within Congress:
The scandal is said to have rocked the halls of Congress, despite little mainstream media coverage, sources said.
“The extent of the potential breaches has been made more clear” in recent weeks, according to one senior congressional source who would only speak on background when discussing the sensitive matter. “The inexplicable nature of the conduct of Wassermann Schultz and others has broadened” congressional interest.
Lawmakers are confused as to why Wasserman Schultz continued paying Awan and other staffers implicated in the breach for several months after this information came to light.
“At best for her that is gross misapplication of public funds that could merit resignation alone,” the source said. “There’s got to be more to that story.”
The Scandal
Here’s some background information on the scandal as we’ve been following it here at Legal Insurrection.
In February, reports surfaced that four House employees face an investigation for breaching House IT systems and stealing equipment.Media named Hina, Abid, Imran, and Jamal in reports the following days. Lawmakers fired the four when the suspicions arose and barred the brothers “from computer networks at the House of Representatives.”
The House members included three congressmen on the intelligence panel and three on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. The officials suspect the four of “accessing members’ computer networks without their knowledge and stealing equipment from Congress.”
Hina and her two daughters with Imran escaped to Pakistan in March, even though the Capital Police caught up with them at the airport.
Last week, the FBI seized a bunch of smashed hard drives from the home of Awan. A Marine corps veteran and his Navy Officer wife now occupy the home and he discovered “wireless routers, hard drives that look like they tried to destroy, laptops, [and] a lot of brand new expensive toner.”
Wasserman Schultz has done everything she can to protect Awan and even changed his title from technology administrator to advisor.
Then she threatened the Capital Police with consequences if they didn’t return a laptop they seized after they found it “hidden in a vacant office.”
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Comments
She is a DemoRat, she’s not being evasive, she is either too ignorant to answer and/or still trying to figure out who to scapegoat.
/sarc tag missing
sorry – response to anchovy
Another republican witch hunt, except the target this time is a real live witch.
Name another republican witch hunt.
Well there’s that one where they’re trying to prove Trump bribed the Russians to swing the election. Oh wait – you say that’s the Democrats? Well it’s an easy mistake to make – honestly, I’m having trouble telling the difference between them these days.
HOW ELSE can you catch a witch, other than to hunt for them? Much better than giving them a warm hug and having them be your babies Mamma.
I’d bet money she weighs as much as a duck. She would probably burn very nicely.
Well, nobody’s going to build a bridge out of her. That’d be too much like that “reaching across the aisle” hooey, and we know the Dems never do that.
“Lawmakers are confused as to why Wasserman Schultz continued paying Awan and other staffers implicated in the breach for several months after this information came to light.”
Suuure they’re “confused”. Just as James Comey was “confused” as to why Atty. General Lynch wanted him to refer to the Clinton email investigation as a “matter”. Anyone who’s really “confused” as to why she did this must find tying their own shoes to be an insurmountable challenge.
Strange how all these “confused” lawmakers continue to grow wealthy while serving in a public office… They’re ‘serving’ all right, mostly themselves; Clintons are a perfect example. $$$ is the K-Y jelly of dishonest public ‘servants’, the only confused participants in this dance are those who don’t hold them accountable for their actions.
There is a story out that McCabe and Comey overruled arresting his wife when she left the country in March .She had over $12000 undeclared and reports are the airport police wanted to arrest her.
I have a feeling her legal team is boning up on their 5th Amendment jurisprudence.
They had her at the airport but she was still able to leave the country? WTF
DWS testify? Are you crazy? If she don’t take the fifth, I’ll drink one . . .
Query: Why did DWS continue to pay Awan even after he was known to be under investigation?
Once the hush money stops, so does the hushing . . .
the money was NOT her personal cash, it eas feds cash, do WHY WOULD SHE CARE WHERE AND TO WHOM $4+ MILLION WENT TO – that’s right 4 million!
How long before she screams: “islamaphobia” and “anti-semitism”?
Given the grossly overpriced services Awan and his family were paid for, and his transfer of $300k to Pakistan, makes me wonder if Schultz and Awan were involved long-term in money laundering for Pakistani entities. Which, if you think about it, really means terror funding, probably through Islamic “charities” since they are one of the favorite fronts for the Muslim Brotherhood and other like-minded groups.