Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), pictured here in May 2016, said in a recent press release that the "allegations levied against Imran Awan are alarming and could have serious national security ramifications.” | Andrew Harnik/AP DeSantis demands DOJ probe of ex-Wasserman Schultz aide

Rep. Ron DeSantis called on the Justice Department on Thursday to take a deeper look at the finances of a former staffer of fellow Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz after his arrest on a bank fraud charge.

“The allegations levied against Imran Awan are alarming and could have serious national security ramifications,” DeSantis, a Republican member of the Judiciary Committee, wrote in a news release accompanying his letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.


“The Department of Justice must work to immediately mitigate the damage done by Awan and take whatever measures are necessary, including freezing illicit funds, in order to fully investigate this incident,” DeSantis wrote.

Hours later, Wasserman Schultz defended her actions surrounding Awan, saying she resisted terminating him out of her concerns for due process.

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 policies since it is not the owner’s primary residence. Investigators say those funds were then included as part of a $283,000 wire transfer to two individuals in Faisalabad, Pakistan.

In his letter, DeSantis asks whether DOJ is bringing in the Treasury Department’s financial crimes bureau to help look at Awan’s finances for evidence of other crimes, and whether any U.S. banks tipped off the feds regarding any suspicious activity with accounts held by Awan or his wife.

Meanwhile, Awan’s attorneys filed a motion Wednesday seeking the return of roughly $9,000 he said Capitol police took from him when he was arrested July 24 as he attempted to leave the United States for Pakistan, where his wife had previously moved.

Awan has also been at the center of a criminal investigation on Capitol Hill for months for allegedly pilfering House computer equipment.

DeSantis wants to make sure DOJ is investigating whether any money made from selling the allegedly stolen equipment was included in the wire transfer to Pakistan. He asks whether DOJ lawyers will seek a court order freezing any proceeds Awan made from selling the equipment or any real estate transactions.

“While we can never tolerate breaches of the public trust, the wire transfer to Pakistan is particularly alarming, as Pakistan is home to numerous terrorist organizations,” DeSantis wrote.

National security aside, the case has a political dimension for DeSantis, a likely candidate for governor who has mused about calling Wasserman Schultz to testify before the judiciary panel about the case.

The case has captured the attention of conservatives abuzz with speculation that Awan — despite a lack of evidence — might have been involved in the hack of information at the Democratic National Committee when Wasserman Schultz was chair. The U.S. national intelligence community has blamed the hack on Russia.

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Though other House Democrats fired Awan and his family as IT consultants after the investigation began, Wasserman Schultz stood by him until his arrest. The day before his arrest, the Daily Caller reported that Awan’s house was raided by the FBI, which seized smashed computer hard drives. It is unclear whether the bank fraud case is directly related to the cybersecurity probe.

Wasserman Schultz defended her decision to keep Awan on the payroll, even if that meant she was the only member of Congress who would.

"As a mother, a Jew, and a Member of Congress, if there is one thing I know for sure, it's this: my commitment to doing what's right and just — even if it isn't what's easy and simple — is unyielding,” she said in a statement. "Whether that meant standing in opposition to the Terri Schiavo bill, combating prejudice by encouraging my colleagues to bring Muslim-American constituents to the State of the Union, or questioning whether an employee has been afforded due process before terminating him, I have never been afraid to stand alone when justice demands it."

Her office says it paid Awan less than $8,000 this year.

Wasserman Schultz spokesman David Damron said her office worked with House staff to set up a way for "us to obtain, and our employee to provide, valuable services without access to the House network. Those services included consulting on a variety of office needs, such as on our website and printers, trouble-shooting, and other issues."

Wasserman Schultz said it would have been “undoubtedly” easier to fire him, "despite the fact that I had not received any evidence of his alleged wrongdoing; but that is not the woman my constituents elected, and that is not the mother my children know me to be.”

She said the investigation "raised troubling concerns for me about fair treatment, due process, and potential ethnic and religious profiling,” as she vowed to "always protect the democratic and pluralistic values that we South Floridians hold so dear.”

Despite the arrest, Wasserman Schultz said she has no regrets about the choice.

"At the end of the day, there are times in our lives when we must do what may be hard but right, even when there is a cost,” she said. "This was one of those times for me and I would make the same decision again."

