Simply Politics & News

[mr40]

Debbie is going to have to answer for her connection to the Awan brothers who SHE HIRED to service the computers for the Congress members. The Awan brothers HAD NO SECURITY CLEARANCE! Around 30 Democrats hired them.

These shady Pakistani brothers Abid, Iman and Jamal Awan have escaped back to Pakistan. The others purportedly involved are Imran’s wife, Hina Alvi, and Rao Abbas, who is not part of the family. Abid has a prior criminal record and a bankruptcy.

Awan began working for Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida in 2005, and his wife, his brother’s wife, and two of his brothers all appeared on the payrolls of various House Democrats soon after, payroll records show. They have collected $4 million since 2010.

They allegedly removed hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment from offices, including computers and servers, and ran a procurement scheme in which they bought equipment, then overcharged the House administrative office that assigns such contractors to members.

Sources also say the contractors, including one who worked for Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, had “unauthorized access” to the House computer system.

House Democrats have stood by the contractors, privately and publicly suggesting their Muslim and Pakistani heritage prompted the probe and is contributing to fear-mongering.

Wasserman Schultz as of Friday was still employing Imran Awan, 36, as an adviser, despite his access to the chamber’s computer system having been revoked.

Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., kept Alvi, 33, employed until about two weeks ago.

“I have seen no evidence that they were doing anything that was nefarious,” he told Politico. “I wanted to be sure individuals are not being singled out because of their nationalities or their religion.”

But other troubling allegations have surfaced.

Police in January were called to the Northern Virginia home of a woman identified in the incident report as the stepmother of the Awan brothers. The woman alleged the brothers were keeping her away from her dying husband.

Abid Awan told police her bedside visits were causing their father additional stress and that he had the full power of attorney over him, then produced “an unsigned, undated document as proof.”

A family member told a foundation reporter that the stepsons had kept the women in a “sort of illegal captivity” from October 2016 apparently until their father’s death in early February in a plot to get his life-insurance money. And they threatened her in an effort to get money that their father had stashed in Pakistan, the family member said.

The Daily Caller story said the stepmother has filed a separate police complaint alleging insurance fraud.

According to LegiStorm.com, which tracks congressional pay, the contractors’ Capitol Hill work started in 2004 with at least two making six-figure salaries, including Abid Awan last year earning $166,944.

But Awan also had money troubles, contributing to concerns about the contractors' access to sensitive emails and how that could be used. Awan declared bankruptcy in 2012 with more than $1.1 million in debt.

Court documents show the debt included roughly $51,150 to the Congressional Credit Union, for two cars and a credit line. And Virginia court records show he has had 19 violations since 2009, mostly traffic-related offenses.

Database searches found no major criminal charges for any of the contractors allegedly under investigation.

On Feb. 2, 2017, the Awans were relieved of their duties on suspicion they accessed Congressional computers without permission and stealing equipment.

Congress members are on the Committee of Homeland Security, Armed Services, and Foreign Affairs.

The investigation began in 2016 and continues.

Abid, Imran and Jamal have all shared a house in Lorton, Virginia, that is owned by Hina R. Alvi. Alvi is a female House IT employee who works for many of the same members as the three brothers, as well as the House Democratic Caucus.

Signs of trouble have long been visible in public records. The Congressional Credit Union repossessed Abid’s car in 2009, and he declared bankruptcy in 2012, facing multiple lawsuits.
{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.}

Jamal, who public records suggest is only 22 years old and first began working in the House when he was 20, was paid nearly $160,000 a year, or three times the average House IT staff salary, according to InsideGov, which tracks congressional salaries. Abid was paid $161,000 and Imran $165,000.

A Continuing DCNF Investigative Group Series - Links on the website.

House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs Committee Members Compromised By Rogue IT Staff
Brothers Had Massive Debts, Years Of Suspicious Activity
...Secretly Took $100K In Iraqi Money
...Owed Money To Hezbollah-Connected Fugitive
...Received $4 Million From Dem Reps
...Allegedly Kept Stepmom In 'Captivity' To Access Offshore Cash
...Also Had Access To DNC Emails
...Could Read Every Email Dozens Of Congressmen Sent And Received
Paul Ryan: Capitol Police Getting 'Assistance' On Criminal Investigation
Read the Court Docs Detailing Greed, Ruthlessness of Democratic IT Guy
House IT Aides Fear Suspects In Hill Breach Are Blackmailing Members With Their Own Data
Suspect Has Fled To Pakistan, Relative Says
Wasserman Schultz Threatened Police Chief For Gathering Evidence On Her IT Staffer
DWS Admits To Violating Network Security, Blames House For Not Stopping Her

Five Capitol Hill technology aides told The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Investigative Group that members of Congress have displayed an inexplicable and intense loyalty towards the suspects who police say victimized them. The baffled aides wonder if the suspects are blackmailing representatives based on the contents of their emails and files, to which they had full access.

“I don’t know what they have, but they have something on someone. It’s been months at this point” with no arrests, said Pat Sowers, who has managed IT for several House offices for 12 years. “Something is rotten in Denmark.”

A manager at a tech-services company that works with Democratic House offices said he approached congressional offices, offering their services at one-fourth the price of Awan and his Pakistani brothers, but the members declined. At the time, he couldn’t understand why his offers were rejected but now he suspects the Awans exerted some type of leverage over members.

A House IT employee who requested anonymity said tech workers who have taken over some of those offices found that computers in some — but not all — offices were “thin clients” that sent all data to an offsite server in violation of House policies. Additionally, staffers’ iPhones were all linked to a single non-government iTunes account.

An IT specialist who took over an Awan office said they did not keep an inventory of what hardware was there, and the office was paying for phone lines it hadn’t used in years.

The investigation goes far beyond the theft of millions of dollars. The employees could read all emails dozens of members of Congress sent and received, as well as access any files members and their staff stored.

Wasserman Schultz renamed Awan an “advisor” to circumvent the Capitol Police’s computer network ban on the brothers. Ohio Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge’s office told Politico a month after the ban that she had not fired Imran either.

Since the investigation became public, the Awans have abruptly moved from longtime homes in Lorton and Springfield, Va.
Imran and Hina recently withdrew their children from their schools, according to members of the Holly Elementary and Lorton Station Middle school communities. Multiple people said Hina told them she was headed to Pakistan where the family has significant property.

Real estate records show Hina listed both the Lorton house and an apartment she owns for sale.

“I came to know from one of their relatives that Hina Alvi and her daughters are moved to Pakistan, Hina Alvi saying ‘we have moved here in Pakistan permanently,'” the Awans’ stepmother, Samina Gilani, told TheDCNF.

Two other sources close to the family, who requested anonymity because they believe it is a “national security issue,” also said that Hina has gone to Pakistan.

When Imran and Hina moved out of their 3,200 square foot home in Lorton, Imran told a neighbor he was moving into a home his father, who died Jan. 16, previously occupied.

“They lived there nine years,” the neighbor told TheDCNF. “I saw a moving truck a month ago, and he said he was moving to his dad’s house.”

Abid also moved out of his longtime Springfield home, the new tenants told TheDCNF.

http://dailycaller.com/2017/02/04/exclusive-house-intelligence-it-staffers-fired-in-computer-security-probe/#ixzz4Zr58G3rT