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/* The Awans' Democrat member-clients */ typo
Despite an interval of at least 18 months, the Awan scandal was made a closed case by investigators with the destruction of evidence on the day the scandal became public - yet it took a year and a half for the public to learn that basic fact.
While the case was reported by ''Politico'' as at the start of an investigation in February 2017, it was in fact closed that same day. Not until the DNC chairwoman's IT specialist plead guilty to crimes committed after the case was closed a year and half later, did the public learn the extent of Democrat party spying, corruption, and foreign money laundering would never be exposed.
The off-site server for the Democratic House Caucus chaired by [[Xavier Becerra]] and maintained by the Awans went "missing" the same day the Awan's were denied access to House computers in February 2017.<ref>https://dailycaller.com/2018/07/02/awan-memo-server-vanished/</ref> Chairman Becerra fired Imran Awan six months earlier when suspicions arose, only to replace him with Awan's wife, who was paid by taxpayers. Records show she never did any work. Awan had been employed by Bacerra for more than 10 years.
Imran Awan spent months at a time in [[Pakistan]] as the highest paid staffer in the U.S. Congress, accessing Becerra's server which was illegally tapped into about 60 other congressional members offices. None of the dozens of Democrats, who also paid the Awan's, pressed charges.<ref>https://dailycaller.com/2018/07/03/awan-cybersecurity-not-charged/?utm_medium=push&utm_source=daily_caller&utm_campaign=push</ref> Wheher Whether Democrat members knowingly or unknowingly participated in the transfer of their private Congressional office data and records to Pakistan remains a mystery.
In an unprecedented plea agreement with the United States [[Department of Justice]], Imran Awan was exonerated of all "non-violent" federal crimes he may have committed prior to the plea agreement in exchange for a guilty plea to one charge of bank fraud. According to some experts, the deal may not be legal.<ref>https://truepundit.com/rigged-awan-plea-deal-for-petty-bank-fraud-gives-immunity-for-computer-crimes-in-congress/</ref>
On February 2, 2017, ''Politico'' reported 5 House IT staffers, including 3 brothers later identified as Abid, Imran, and Jamal Awan, and two of their wives, Hina Alvi and Natalia Sova, were relieved of access to House computers and had been under criminal investigation since late 2016.<ref>https://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/house-staffers-investigation-equipment-234586</ref> A sixth, Rao Abbas, privileges were also revoked.<ref>http://nypost.com/2017/03/04/capitol-hill-staffers-probed-for-theft-worked-for-nyc-congressmen/</ref>
While full details were not disclosed, subsequently it was learned they managed office information technology for at least 80 Democratic members of the House, including members of the House Intelligence, Homeland Security, and Foreign Affairs committees handling matters of [[national security]].<ref>https://dailycaller.com/2017/02/04/exclusive-house-intelligence-it-staffers-fired-in-computer-security-probe/#ixzz4b5enE6c9</ref> It was also learned later Imran Awan worked for ex-DNC Chair [[Debbie Wasserman Schultz]],<ref>httphttps://observer.com/2017/02/imran-awan-democrat-debbie-wasserman-schultz-criminal-investigation/</ref> had access to her iPad and password,<ref>
https://dailycaller.com/2017/03/09/suspect-in-house-it-security-probe-also-had-access-to-dnc-emails/n</ref> took $100,000 in cash from an Iraqi doctor who was part of the new Iraq government,<ref>https://dailycaller.com/2017/02/20/exclusive-house-dem-it-guys-in-security-probe-secretly-took-100k-in-iraqi-money/</ref> and was a suspect in the leaking of DNC emails to Wikileaks (despite verbose allegations of "Russian hacking," the DNC never allowed the FBI to examine its servers to determine if indeed the DNC had been hacked, or if the [[leak]]s come from an inside source).<ref>https://dailycaller.com/2017/03/09/suspect-in-house-it-security-probe-also-had-access-to-dnc-emails/</ref>
http://www.americanow.com/story/society/2017/02/06/muslim-spy-ring-linked-navy-seals-death</ref>
Because the subjects were [[Muslim]],<ref>http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-03-01/house-democrats-delayed-dismissal-it-staff-hackers-because-they-were-muslim-american</ref> their activities were covered up , and they were only relieved of duties without their names being released.<ref>https://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/house-staff-criminal-investigation-234714</ref>
==Law enforcement in the Legislative Branch==
From the moment the Capital Police found [[probable cause]] of lawbreaking, the Awan investigation presented many peculiar and difficult problems. The Capitol Police on their own are not equipped to conduct an international [[counter-intelligence]] investigation. And yet the case occurred at a time of serious misuse of the nation's foreign intelligence gathering capabilities by the Executive Branch and civil rights violations by the [[Obama administration]], as well as primary vote rigging by the [[Democratic National Committee]], collusion between the [[Hillary for America|Clinton campaign]], the FBI, and foreign actors to meddle in US elections [[democracy]].<ref>*https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/wikileaks-emails-show-dnc-favored-hillary-clinton-over_us_57930be0e4b0e002a3134b05 <br> *httphttps://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2016/06/30/Bernie-Sanders-supporters-sue-Debbie-Wasserman-Schultz-DNC-for-fraud/7411467293953/ <br> *httphttps://abcnews.go.com/Politics/damaging-emails-dnc-wikileaks-dump/story?id=40852448 <br> *http://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-rigged-hillary-clinton-dnc-lawsuit-donald-trump-president-609582 <br> *httphttps://www.salon.com/2016/03/30/10_ways_the_democratic_primary_has_been_rigged_from_the_start_partner/ <br> *http://nypost.com/2016/07/22/leaked-emails-show-how-democrats-screwed-sanders/ <br> *httphttps://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/05/22/dnc-battling-class-action-suit-alleging-sanders-was-robbed-in-2016.html <br> *httphttps://observer.com/2016/07/wikileaks-proves-primary-was-rigged-dnc-undermined-democracy/ <br> *httphttps://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/ap-sources-ceo-democratic-national-committee-resigns/ <br> *http://floridapolitics.com/archives/215185-debbie-wassermann-schultz-dnc-sued-fraud <br> *http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/news/more-than-100-bernie-sanders-donors-sue-debbie-wasserman-schultz-for-fraud-7883715 <br> *http://jampac.us/2016/06/21/dnc-fraud-class-action-lawsuit/ <br> *http://lawnewz.com/uncategorized/dnc-stoops-to-new-low-in-fraud-lawsuit-filed-by-bernie-backers/ <br> *http://theprogressivewing.com/ca-election-update-mon-7-4-2016-30-links-to-resources-articles-and-videos-day-27-after-californias-election-day-287782-voters-ballots-still-not-counted/ <br> *https://electionfraud2016.wordpress.com <br> *http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2016/07/expert-report-evidence-proves-election-fraud-bernie-won-democratic-nomination-enough-01-rogue-state-crimes-demand-arrests-need-lies-looting-wars.html <br> *https://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/10/21/fec-complaint-filed-clinton-campaign-dnc/ <br> *http://www.inquisitr.com/3211471/election-fraud-allegations-and-evidence-the-dnc-may-have-colluded-with-hillary-clinton-to-defeat-bernie-sanders-create-muddled-future-for-democrats/ <br> *https://medium.com/@tonybrasunas/the-great-recognition-of-2016-nixon-level-corruption-in-the-dnc-means-its-time-to-build-a-new-29cb9dd83001 <br> *http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-07-23/leaked-dnc-emails-confirm-democrats-rigged-primary-reveal-extensive-media-collusion <br>*http://thefreethoughtproject.com/election-fraud-rico-lawsuit-alleging-widespread-e-vote-rigging-dnc-primaries-derail-clinton-nomination/ <br> *http://canadafreepress.com/article/electronic-vote-rigging-in-california-mainstream-media-silent <br> *http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/10-reasons-why-demexit-serious-getting-rid-debbie-wasserman-schultz-not-enough <br> *http://yournewswire.com/wikileaks-dnc-committed-election-fraud-against-bernie-sanders/ <br> *https://www.rnla.org/votefraud.asp <br> *https://m.facebook.com/DNCfraudlawsuit/ *http://www.anonews.co/whistleblower-found-murdered/</ref>
During several years of employment of the Awans, the wives have only been seen at work a few times, one drawing $1 million in pay in recent years. The wife of Imran Awan, herself a suspect in the investigation, reportedly has fled to Pakistan with her children permanently "where her family has significant assets and VIP-level protection.
===Investigating authority===
The lead agency conducting the Awan investigation is the United States Capitol Police, which is a law enforcement bureau within the [[Legislative Branch]] of the [[United States]]. It should not be confused with the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]], or the local District of Columbia Police. The Capital Capitol Police is the lone [[law enforcement]] bureau directly under the control of the [[United States Congress]]. As such, information -sharing arrangements between the Capital Capitol Police and the [[Intelligence Community]] of the [[Executive Branch]] are somewhat different.<ref>https://dailycaller.com/2017/03/15/paul-ryan-house-it-scandal-probe-getting-outside-help/</ref>
Several congressional staffers have suggested their bosses are being blackmailed, hence Members ' reluctance to talk about the breaches and the appearance of a cover-up.
Likewise, the District of Columbia is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Congress which created a single municipal government for the District and retains veto power over local law. The District of Columbia Police are indirectly under the Congress through the local municipal government.
At some point Executive Branch [[law enforcement]] agencies were called in, as evidenced by [[Imran Awan]]'s arrest on [[money laundering]] charges by the FBI at Dullas Dulles Airport in June 2017. However, so far as is known, the Capital Capitol Police remain the lead investigative agency.
==Circumventing the House Information Resources office==
The House Information Resources (HIR) office manages the computer system for all House members and grants permissions to IT staff workers.<ref>https://dailycaller.com/2017/03/13/house-hacking-suspects-could-read-every-email-dozens-of-congressmen-sent-and-received/</ref> To be granted top level administrator privileges over a member's office account, Imran constantly complained about going through a process that required a form to be filled out and a paper trail when he took on a new Member-client. He bullied HIR workers to process his access requests without the proper forms.
Once permissions are granted to access the member’s member's office system, there is no internal House oversight or tracking of what they may be doing on the member’s member's system.
Imran Awan obtained complete unsupervised access to dozens of Democratic members' congressional IT accounts. Information then was surreptitiously replicated and transferred to an outside server.
Wasserman Shultz would encourage newly elected members to hire Imran or put his relatives on the payroll with the understanding that Imran was the one who would actually do the work –something not be permitted under House rules.
Current members who paid the Awan's are [[Marcia Fudge]], Tim Ryan, [[Jim Costa]], Sander M. Levin, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, [[Yvette Clarke]], [[Gregory Meeks]],<ref>https://www.citizensforethics.org/press-release/gregory-meeks-named-most-corrupt-member-of-congress/</ref> [[John Sarbanes]], [[Jackie Speier]], [[Diana DeGette]], [[Frederica Wilson]], Cedric L. Richmond, [[David Loebsack]], [[Karen Bass]], [[Joyce Beatty]], Emanuel Cleaver, [[Lois Frankel]], Daniel Kildee, [[Tony Cardenas]], [[Michelle Lujan Grisham]], [[Robin Kelly]], [[Katherine Clark]], [[Mark Takano]], [[Julia Brownley]], [[Pete Aguilar]], [[Andre Carson]], [[Joaquin Castro]], [[Ted Deutch]], [[Ted Lieu]], [[Hakeem Jeffries]], [[Kyrsten Sinema]] and [[Tammy Duckworth]]. The Awans had full access to the emails and office computer files of members. Focus of the investigation by the US Capitol Police is an off-site server on which congressional data was loaded.
There are more than 15,000 congressional staff on Capitol Hill; four of the 500 highest-paid House staffers are Awans. Median salary for legislative assistants is $43,000 annually; Imran Awan has collected $1.2 million in salary since 2010,<ref>http://congressional-staff.insidegov.com/l/22830/Imran-Awan</ref> and his brother Abid and wife Hina Alvi were each paid more than $1 million. Imran first came to Capitol Hill in 2004 and Abid joined him in 2005. Imran’s Imran's wife Hina Alvi was added to the payroll in 2007, while Abid’s Abid's wife, Natalia Sova, appeared in 2011. In 2014 the youngest brother, Jamal, was added to the payroll in 2014 at the age of 20 with a salary of $160,000, roughly three times the average staff salary.
The brothers spent significant time in [[Pakistan]].<ref>https://dailycaller.com/2017/03/01/pakistani-suspects-in-house-it-probe-received-4-million-from-dem-reps/</ref>
''[[Politico]]'' reported Wasserman Schultz and Rep. Gregory Meeks declined to fire Imran, and that both members have a “friendly personal relationship with Awan and his wife, according to multiple sources.”<ref>https://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/house-democrats-it-staffers-hina-alvi-imran-awan-235569</ref>
On May 18, 2017, former DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz threatened Capital Capitol police chief for impounding evidence in the Awan investigation (See 2 February 2017).<ref>https://m.facebook.com/TimCanovaFL/posts/1851103228549373</ref><ref>httphttps://observer.com/2017/05/debbie-wasserman-schultz-capitol-police-investigation-imran-awan/</ref> The Awan brothers were IT specialists working for Wasserman Schultz with access to DNC data, and for House Democrats on the Intelligence Committee.<ref>https://dailycaller.com/2017/05/24/wasserman-schultz-threatened-police-chief-for-gathering-evidence-on-her-it-staffers-alleged-crimes/</ref>
==Local police respond to family residence==
:“Samani Galani called [police] after her stepchildren were denying her access to her husband of 8 years, Muhammad Shah, who is currently hospitalized...I made contact with her stepson, Abid, who responded to location and was obviously upset with the situation. He stated he has full power of attorney over his father and produced an unsigned, undated document as proof. He refused to disclose his father’s location.”<ref>https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3516620-Abid-Awan-s-stepmother-calls-the-police-on-the.html</ref>
After she contacted police, Abid threatened her and told her they are were going to kidnap her family back in Pakistan.<ref>http://nypost.com/2017/05/28/criminal-probe-on-capitol-hill-staffers-remains-eerie/</ref> Mohammad Shah died a few days later. Imran demanded that Salmani Galani give him power of attorney for his father's assets in Pakistan and instructed Jamal to take her to the Pakistani embassy in Washington. Imran sent a couple of people to pressure her.<ref>https://dailycaller.com/2017/04/30/stepmom-says-house-it-scandal-figure-threatened-kidnappings-of-pakistani-kin/</ref>
Galani learned from a life insurance executive that “a few days before the Mohammad Shah's death, the beneficiary was changed to Abid and the house where she lived would go to Abid."
Galani fled from the brothers and filed a second police complaint with Fairfax County over insurance fraud and other abuses.
Security-sensitive jobs typically require background checks for credit and legal problems that can create pressures to cash in on access to secret information and documents.
From November 2009 to September 2010 the Awan brothers operated a Falls Church, Virginia car dealership with Abid as its day-to-day manager. It was called Cars International A, LLC, referred to as “CIA” in court documents. It’s It's unclear how Abid found time to run an automotive business while working full-time for Congress. He had been on the congressional payroll since 2005. A congressional credit union repossessed two of his personal cars.
The dealership received a $100,000 loan that was never repaid from Dr. Ali Al-Attar, a former Iraqi politician who fled the US on tax charges and who reportedly has links to [[Hezbollah]].<ref>https://dailycaller.com/2017/02/21/congressional-computer-admins-in-criminal-probe-owed-money-to-hezbollah-connected-fugitive/</ref>
Abid declared more than $1 million in debts when he filed for bankruptcy in 2012, but managed to keep ownership of two houses. He signed a sworn statement that he and his wife were living apart and needed separate residences.
:“My spouse and I are legally separated under applicable non-bankruptcy law or my spouse and I are living apart other than for the purpose of evading the requirements of § 707(b)(2)(A) of the Bankruptcy Code,” Abid claimed in bankruptcy documents. Abid alsp also had an unpaid line of credit of $10,000 with the congressional credit union at the time of bankruptcy.
==Imran Awan==
On July 25, 2017 officers and agents from the U.S. Capitol Police, the FBI and Customs and Border Protection, were involved in the arrest of Imran Awan at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., as he tried to fly away to Pakistan. Awan was arrested after wiring $283,000 from the Congressional Federal Credit Union to Pakistan. He had $12,000 in cash on him.<ref>https://www.forbes.com/sites/frankminiter/2017/07/26/this-exploding-dnc-story-is-crazier-than-fiction-maybe-rep-wasserman-schultz-can-explain/#598533174414</ref> ''Politico'' reported that Awan is “at the center of a criminal investigation potentially impacting dozens of lawmakers.”<ref>https://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/25/debbie-wasserman-schultz-aide-arrest-240960?mid=89339&rid=33044660</ref>
Awan is accused of attempting to defraud the Congressional Federal Credit Union by obtaining a $165,000 home equity loan for a rental property, which is against the credit union’s union's policies since it is not an owner -occupied property. Those funds were then included as part of a wire transfer to two individuals in Faisalabad, Pakistan.
Wasserman Schultz did not fire Imran Awan til after his arrest.
''More specifically, the Government agrees that the public allegations that your client stole U.S. House of Representatives ("House") equipment and engaged in unauthorized or illegal conduct involving House computer systems do not form the basis of any conduct relevant to the determination of the sentence in this case. The Government conducted a thorough investigation of those allegations, including interviewing approximately 40 witnesses; taking custody of the House Democratic Caucus server, along with other computers, hard drives, and electronic devices; examining those devices, including inspecting their physical condition and analyzing log-in and usage data; reviewing electronic communications between pertinent House employees; consulting with the House Office of General Counsel and House information technology personnel to access and/or collect evidence; and questioning your client during numerous voluntary interviews. The Government has uncovered no evidence that your client violated federal law with respect to the House computer systems. Particularly, the Government has found no evidence that your client illegally removed House data from the House network or from House Members' offices, stole the House Democratic Caucus Server, stole or destroyed House information technology equipment, or improperly accessed or transferred government information, including classifed or sensitive information.'' <ref>https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4572468/Imran-Awan-Plea-Agreement.pdf</ref>
Awan was sentenced on August 21, 2018, to three months of supervised release along with time served after pleading guilty to lying on a bank loan application. <ref> https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/former-democratic-it-staffer-imran-awan-avoids-jail-time</ref>
*[[Obama war crimes]]
*[[Superdelegate]]
*[[Jessie Liu]]
==References==
