Awan brothers facing criminal investigation

Right wing watchdogs and think tanks are calling for an investigation into former Chairman of the Democratic National Convention, Wasserman Schultz, over continued employment of a Pakistani origin IT staffer despite his name being part of a criminal investigation.

As reported by Politico, The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), a conservative accountability group, is requesting the Office of Congressional Ethics launch an investigation into what the nonprofit says is Wasserman Schultz’s “apparent breach” of House rules for continuing to employ Imran Awan, even after he was blocked from accessing the House IT system earlier this year.

Imran Awan, who was recently arrested trying to flee the US to Pakistan after transferring $300,000, has been under investigation since February this year. However, with the influx of media attention of President Donald Trump, the story has taken a backseat with little to no attention paid to it. Right-wing media outlets and fringe websites have said, however, that this is a deliberate attempt of the ‘liberal’ media to bury what could be a major scandal for the DNC.

The matter can be traced back to six individuals of Pakistani origin; three brothers named Imran, Jamal, and Abid Awan; their wives Hina Alvi and Natalia, and Rao Abbas who have worked as IT staffers for 32 former and current Democratic members of the House of Representatives between 2004 and 2016.

Out of the 6 named, 5 are known to be under investigation by the Capitol Police since February. The criminal investigation looks into allegations regarding equipment stolen, from at least 20 members of the house, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. However, the more incriminating and serious allegation is one of “accessing House IT systems without lawmakers knowledge.

The seriousness of the matter can be gauged from the fact that the Awans had access to the electronic correspondence of dozens of house representatives, and details of Democratic Party affairs.

The saga has only now come to the fore again after the arrest and subsequently released on a “high-intensity supervision program” of Imran Awan. The arrest was followed by Imran’s dismissal from service by Schultz, the reaction to which has been FACT’s call for an investigation into why he was not removed from his post earlier.

FACT’s demands, however, may just be legitimate considering that there has been a glaring aversion of large media companies such as CNN from covering the anti-Democrat story. The scandal has received next to no coverage which may be detrimental to the future of an already fractured Democratic party. The news has only been reported by predominantly right wing outlets such as Fox, Breitbart, Daily Caller, Tea Party Daily, with the only regular coverage coming from Politico.

Because of this, there has been a visible amalgamation of fact and fiction, with claims of “Defrauding Congress, internal cover-ups, illegal access, potential ties to Pakistani ISI and the Muslim Brotherhood, and a curious interest in paedophile centric videos” entering the conversation. Because there has been no retaliation or confirmation from what is generally considered the liberal media.

Moreover, the matter has not been picked up the media in Pakistan despite the stakes the country holds considering that all involved belong to Pakistan, and with the exception of Imran Awan, are residing in the country. Furthermore, there is no check over allegations being made by Republicans such as Steve King (R-IA), who serves on the House Judiciary Committee, saying that “the Awan-Schultz scandal may have an Islamist tie back to Pakistan.”

With Imran still under the watchful eye of the Capitol Police, which has kept a stringent hold on investigation details, and both moderate and leftist news sources not covering the incident, an information vacuum has been left which is being filled by unverifiable and shocking claims which may play a significant role whenever the investigation comes to head.