Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D., Fla.) learned the hard way how much political damage can result from the unauthorized release of electronic data. Last year she was forced to resign as chair of the Democratic National Committee after WikiLeaks published party emails suggesting that she and her team had inappropriately favored Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders in the race for the party’s presidential nomination. Given this very recent history, one might have expected her to be perhaps the most careful person on the planet when it comes to the security of her office’s IT systems. One would be wrong.

In one of the most bizarre coincidences in political memory, the Florida Democrat has spent several recent months resisting an effort by U.S. Capitol Police to investigate the IT staff that serviced her office as well as those of other lawmakers. Long after other Democratic members of Congress fired tech aide Imran Awan, Ms. Wasserman Schultz continued to employ him—until last week when he was arrested for alleged bank fraud at a Virginia airport while he was trying to fly to Pakistan. Much of Washington has been wondering why Ms. Wasserman Schultz of all people waited months to address a potential problem involving her IT system, and now her handling of the matter may have consequences.

The Washington Post reports this afternoon:

A conservative anti-corruption watchdog group is asking for an ethics investigation of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) after former House IT aide Imran Awan was apprehended trying the flee the country. In a complaint that will be filed Monday, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) asks if Wasserman Schultz violated the House’s rules by continuing to pay Awan after he was cut off from the House computer system.

“It appears that Representative Wasserman Schultz permitted an employee to remain on the House payroll in violation of House Ethics Rules,” FACT’s Matthew Whitaker writes in the letter to the Office of Congressional Ethics. “After Awan was barred from accessing the House computer system, Wasserman Schultz continued to pay Awan with taxpayer funds for IT consulting — a position that he could not reasonably be able to perform.”

The complaint grew out of the ongoing investigation of Awan and four other House staffers who in February came under investigation after allegedly stealing equipment from their employers.

The Post adds:

Wasserman Schultz’s office did not immediately respond to questions, though it has consistently said that the congresswoman merely fired a part-time employee, and that he, not anyone in Congress, is being investigated.

The bank fraud charge doesn’t appear to be related to the alleged activity that resulted in Mr. Awan’s expulsion from House IT systems. According to the Tampa Bay Times: