The Democrats' IT scandal just got even more bizarre

[zenkai]

source

Perhaps you’ve lost track of the Democrats slowly exploding IT scandal, as much of the media is doing all it can to simply ignore it away.

I’m referring to the strange case of Imran Awan, the IT aide Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., kept on her congressional payroll even after it became known he and his wife, Hina Alvi Awan, were being investigated by the Capitol Police for possible theft, fraud, moving terabytes of data off Congress’s system and more.

Imran Awan was back in court last week. When pushed, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Mirando revealed some telling things about this case.

First, I should note that it was standing room only in the packed courtroom at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Friday morning ... okay, just kidding, actually, only a few reporters sat in the mostly empty wooden benches in the back of the courtroom. Anyone who didn’t know this was the latest scene in a slowly exploding political scandal would have thought this was only a forgettable bank fraud case.

The deeper you dig the more it becomes clear this case is about much more than bank fraud.

Awan’s attorney, Chris Gowen, even told me: “This case is hardly newsworthy.”

But before the show started, Imran’s wife, Hina Alvi Awan, entered the courtroom. She had flown away to Pakistan with their children soon after the investigation became known.

Was she back as part of a plea deal?

While Hina Alvi was gone, on August 17, 2017, a federal grand jury indicted her and Awan on four counts, including conspiracy and conspiring to obtain home equity loans for $165,000 and $120,000 from the Wright Patman Congressional Federal Credit Union and then transferring the money to Pakistan. (Read the FBI’s criminal affidavit on the bank fraud here and you’ll see why the government thinks it has a strong case.)

Imran Awan is considered such a flight risk that his passport was taken, he was given a curfew and was fitted with a tracking device.

Meanwhile, Hina Alvi’s passport was also publicly taken during the court hearing, but she was officially listed as a “walk in,” a tracking device wasn’t attached to her ankle and the government had asked the court to quash an outstanding warrant for her arrest.

Now came the revelations. Gowen, Imran’s attorney, asked that Imran’s travel restrictions be removed.

This prompted Assistant U.S. Attorney Mirando to say that when Imran was arrested at Dulles International Airport a cellphone found on him “had been wiped clean just a few hours before.”

Gowen tried to counter this by saying, “Awan had recently bought the phone, so of course it didn’t have any data on it.”

But Mirando was ready. He said the FBI found that the phone had been wiped as clean as Hillary’s server. A time stamp on the iPhone indicated it had been wiped at 6:30 p.m. that evening. Also, Imran did have a laptop on him, but one of the few things on it was a resume. Mirando used this and other details—such as the Awans quickly selling many of their Virginia properties—to explain that Imran had no intention of returning.

In another twist, Gowen brought up a computer that Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz wants back so badly she actually threatened the chief of the Capitol Police in a public hearing with “consequences” if she didn’t get it back.

Gowen argued that the computer and documents seized in a bag left in a public area of a congressional building around midnight on April 6, 2017, are “protected by attorney-client privilege.” Gowen hopes to remove this evidence from future court proceedings.

Gowen, however, didn’t answer what Imran was doing in the Longworth congressional building late at night and long after he’d been fired by every Democrat aside from Rep. Wasserman Schultz (Wasserman Schultz’s office isn’t in Longworth).

The deeper you dig the more it becomes clear this case is about much more than bank fraud. Capitol Police are investigating possible theft of congressional computer equipment, massive amounts of data moved off the congressional system, alleged fake computer data created to throw investigators off the trail, and data mined by the Awans that could include emails from many members of Congress and more.

Rep. Wasserman Schultz, who lost her post at the DNC when WikiLeaks published emails showing that under her leadership the DNC worked to sabotage Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, might be exposed to even more revelations.

Meanwhile, Congress has been asked to open an ethics investigation to answer why Rep. Wasserman Schultz kept Imran on her payroll even after the Capitol Police investigation became known.

So does this sound like a small bank fraud story to you or is it more likely that a lot more is going on here?

Looks like the Wasserman is going to down in flames.

[Cerilis]

Did Trump fuck something up today? I mean, more than usual. Just wondering.

[Machismo]

So, what is she being accused of doing?

If we are going to slam people who keep people on payroll who are being investigated... the current administration has already done it multiple times. Not that I like the woman in the slightest, but what are the actual accusations? I also find it odd that the OP is one of those who tried to wave away every single accusation thrown at any member of Trump's administration or campaign team, so the selective outrage is real.

[Underverse]

I don't really see anything definitive here. I hope Debbie gets rekt though. Epitome of a slimy politician.

[NoiseTank13]

So, what is she being accused of doing?

If we are going to slam people who keep people on payroll who are being investigated... the current administration has already done it multiple times. Not that I like the woman in the slightest, but what are the actual accusations? I also find it odd that the OP is one of those who tried to wave away every single accusation thrown at any member of Trump's administration or campaign team, so the selective outrage is real.

That's what being "woke" is.

[Uoyredrum]

Did Trump fuck something up today? I mean, more than usual. Just wondering.

He got called a moron and wants to compare IQ tests with Tillerson, so apparently he's six years old. So just the usual pretty much.

[Blamblam41]

That's what being "woke" is.

Ahhh, the ignoring reality and substituting it with your own route.

Adam Savage would be proud.

[Gaexion Ramza Beoulve]

Is it en vouge to hate both Republicans and Democrats or is that no longer an option?

[Pratt]

This article is a terribly-written conspiracy clickbait. Gotta do better than that.

[ohwell]

Did Trump fuck something up today? I mean, more than usual. Just wondering.

Trump doesn't "fuck something up every day" anyway. When headlines have you convinced it just proves what utter shit CNN has become. That literally would be a headline for CNN and yet they're "unbiased". OK.

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This article is a terribly-written conspiracy clickbait. Gotta do better than that.

Exactly where is any of it terribly written or clickbait? The writer WAS LITERALLY at the hearing and reported on what was presented. "WAHHHH I'M GOING TO PUT MY FINGERS IN MY EARS AND CALL IT CLICK BAIT!"

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Is it en vouge to hate both Republicans and Democrats or is that no longer an option?

That's the ideal thing, but both sides tend to turn on you when you do that. The left will call you a nazi and the the right will call you a commie.

[NoiseTank13]

Is it en vouge to hate both Republicans and Democrats or is that no longer an option?

It's still an option.

You(not you specifically) just seem massively disingenuous to claim to hate both parties but always seem to focus your attention to the losing(and currently on the ropes) party and giving the ones in power a lukewarm "well I don't support them... but what about her emails?"

[Skroe]

Did Trump fuck something up today? I mean, more than usual. Just wondering.

Yep.

This is not a photoshop.



The times we live in.

ol' Zenkai over there is just doing this as our local "Independent Voter" *snicker*.

[Machismo]

Trump doesn't "fuck something up every day" anyway. When headlines have you convinced it just proves what utter shit CNN has become. That literally would be a headline for CNN and yet they're "unbiased". OK.

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Exactly where is any of it terribly written or clickbait? The writer WAS LITERALLY at the hearing and reported on what was presented. "WAHHHH I'M GOING TO PUT MY FINGERS IN MY EARS AND CALL IT CLICK BAIT!"

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That's the ideal thing, but both sides tend to turn on you when you do that. The left will call you a nazi and the the right will call you a commie.

Isn't that what Trump supporters have been doing for over a year now?

There's no actual information on how this points to an action, or how it helped her.

[Grapemask]

The PizzaGate crowd will just keep on finding new threads of insanity to tug. Maybe this one will end in some innocent bystander's place getting shot up, too.

[Simca]

Uh, yeah, it does sound like a small bank fraud story plus maybe a dash of foreign espionage for the moved data. However, I'm not even sure what the aide would have access to directly that would be worth moving.

The only relationship it even has to the Congresswoman is that it was one of her aides and that she didn't fire him instantly, so he received a slight amount of money from her via payroll. Whoop-dee-doo. Given the amount of money he was reportedly stealing, I doubt he even cared about the pay in that limited timeframe.

The story is decently written (though obviously trying to lead you by the nose down the path towards thinking this is a conspiracy) except for parts like "wiped as clean as Hillary’s server", which is just plain stupid. The only point in making a reference like that there is trying desperately to inflate the importance of the story by tying it to a big past scandal. I'm not sure why anyone would be surprised that he wiped his phone either or tried to cover his electronic tracks. If I was guilty of bank fraud, I would also surely wipe everything. It just makes sense to do that as a criminal.

[zenkai]

Uh, yeah, it does sound like a small bank fraud story plus maybe a dash of foreign espionage for the moved data. However, I'm not even sure what the aide would have access to directly that would be worth moving.

The only relationship it even has to the Congresswoman is that it was one of her aides and that she didn't fire him instantly, so he received a slight amount of money from her via payroll. Whoop-dee-doo. Given the amount of money he was reportedly stealing, I doubt he even cared about the pay in that limited timeframe.

The story is decently written (though obviously trying to lead you by the nose down the path towards thinking this is a conspiracy) except for parts like "wiped as clean as Hillary’s server", which is just plain stupid. The only point in making a reference like that there is trying desperately to inflate the importance of the story by tying it to a big past scandal. I'm not sure why anyone would be surprised that he wiped his phone either or tried to cover his electronic tracks. If I was guilty of bank fraud, I would also surely wipe everything. It just makes sense to do that as a criminal.

Thank you for a good post with a fair assessment, those are rare, just thought I would acknowledge it.

[unbound]

Looks like the Wasserman is going to down in flames.

I'll wait for some reputable reporting before getting excited that anything is really happening.

[Anevers]

I'll wait for some reputable reporting before getting excited that anything is really happening.

Good pic, I personally use mediabiasfactcheck.com when consuming articles.

[Svifnymr]

Is it en vouge to hate both Republicans and Democrats or is that no longer an option?

It's odd, since we all know politicians are corrupt, but somehow the defense has become "oh yeah, well so are you!!!" to any story.

Wasserman Schultz is my congresscritter, and I've always disliked her, so my bias is there. The lawsuit about the Bernie stuff was barely covered, this case is barely covered. If it wasn't folks that hated her more than I do, I doubt any of the stuff would even make it online. It barely made the local papers.

Does the press not have enough time to rake EVERYBODY over the coals? Sure Trump is a never ending well of stuff, but that doesn't mean you need to focus all your efforts! I mean, heck, he tweets the stuff out to you, no need to even investigate.

[Allybeboba]

lol... Good ol' MMOC never ceases to let me down.
out of 17 replies we have since I wrote.
5 that replied about Trump
5 that directly or indirect "attack" the OP
4 that "attack" the source even though it is a MSM media source
The rest actually address the issue. Pretty damn sad...

As I usually do I suggest people look up sources on their own. Otherwise, they will just be poopooed away. The strange thing about the Imran Awan case is that most of the MSM media has kept a tight lid on his case. Ever since he was arrested back in August nothing else has been heard since. I wonder why that is. The public should look into this matter. That is why we have unbiased media after all.