Now the White House is considering its own investigation into the activities of Imran Awan, the IT staffer for Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz who remained on the job and with congressional computer access for about five months after the FBI began investigating him for fraud.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked during a Thursday press briefing if President Donald Trump had an opinion on the matter.
“I haven’t had a conversation with him specifically about that,” said Sanders, “but I do think that is something we should fully look into and there should be a thorough investigation.”
Wasserman Schultz, former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, is at the center of the firestorm. (See SSN's Wednesday story here.)
She didn't fire Pakistan-born Awan until Tuesday, the day after he was arrested at Dulles Airport outside Washington trying to flee the country.
The congresswoman also told investigators there would be “consequences” if Awan’s laptop seized by Capitol Police was not promptly returned to her office.
Awan, 37, has pleaded not guilty. His attorneys, Gowen Rhoades Winograd & Silva, PLLC, claim he’s the victim of “a frenzy of anti-Muslim bigotry.”
The Washington Times reported Awan’s principal attorney, Chris Gowen, denied his client was attempting to flee the country. He said Awan was cleared to travel and had informed the House of his plans to visit his family before the scheduled trip.
An affidavit filed with the criminal complaint states there is probable cause to believe Awan and his wife, Hina Alvi, engaged in a scheme to defraud Congressional Federal Credit Union based on misrepresentations made to obtain a loan. FBI Special Agent Brandon Merriman said in the affidavit that the misrepresentations revolved around written assurances that the home serving as collateral for the loan was a “principal residence.”
Merriman said the credit union normally does not provide home equity lines of credit when the home used to secure the loan is a rental because they are riskier forms of collateral. The investigation, which included physical surveillance and interviews, determined that the couple did not reside at the property used to secure the loan.
The agent also attested that bank records show $283,000 was wired to two individuals in Pakistan. He stated agents followed Alvi in March to Dulles International Airport and that she was allowed to board a flight. She has not returned. She has a return flight for September 2017, but the agent said that he believes Alvi has no intention of returning to the United States.
The FBI agent also stated Awan purchased a flight to Doha, Qatar, and then to Lahore, Pakistan. He purchased a return flight for a date in January 2018.
Gowen pooh-poohs the agent's version of the investigation so far, telling the Washington Times the federal bank fraud count stems from a “modest real estate matter” and is motivated by anti-Muslim bigotry. He said he’s confident Awan “will soon be able to clear his name and get on with his life.”
Gowen said a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 21.
Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, talked about the worsening Awan-Wasserman Schultz scandal Wednesday on talk-radio show "Whatever It Takes."
King, a staunch conservative and ally of populist nationalism, stressed "the facts are anything but clear at this stage." The trio of Awan and his brothers were reported to have been paid more than $4 million over the last last eight years for providing IT services for Wasserman Schultz and up to 24 other Democratic congressmen.
King said after February, when other congressmen had fired these staffers, Awan himself was kept on as a “part-time” employee at a $165,000 salary.
“If the reports are right, if these three individuals ... drew down, over this period of time, $4 million and Debbie Wasserman Schultz had a part-time employee who’s making $165,000 that she just fired -- what -- yesterday afternoon?” King mused with show host Curt Schilling.
"They had access to the information on the multiple clients that they had, and that number is nearly a score, as I recall, they would have had access to all the information that came through all those computers in all those offices and access to ... all the communications of the foreign affairs committee," King said.
The Palm Beach Post named other Florida Democrats who hired at least one of the Awan brothers in their offices: Ted Deutch, Lois Frankel and former Congressman Patrick Murphy.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunhinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
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