Wasserman Schultz aide arrested trying to leave the country

[alp227]

Source: Politico

Imran Awan, a House staffer at the center of a criminal investigation potentially impacting dozens of Democratic lawmakers, has been arrested on bank fraud and is prevented from leaving the country while the charges are pending.

A senior House Democratic aide confirmed Awan was still employed by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) as of Tuesday morning. David Dameron, a spokesman for Wasserman Schultz said late Tuesday, Awan had been fired but did not return multiple requests for comment asking when he was terminated.

Awan pled not guilty on Tuesday to one count of bank fraud during his arraignment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

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. Those funds were then included as part of a wire transfer to two individuals in Faisalabad, Pakistan.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/25/debbie-wasserman-schultz-aide-arrest-240960

[FM123]

1. Oh boy, Trumpy's going to have a field day with this one....

[Eliot Rosewater]

2. Awan should go to the other side, would be able to get a much bigger loan and

nobody would ever find out.

Unless this is all a lie, who knows.

Notice he was FIRED?

[LiberalArkie]

4. Was fired by other reps a while back, but not by DWS.

A senior House Democratic aide confirmed Awan was still employed by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) as of Tuesday morning

[elehhhhna]

11. Well she would empathize with him, she's the queen of payday lending

[jimmil]

3. The criminally inane don't seem to have a particular party.

I know, however, sometimes it seems that way.

[Mr.Bill]

5. I'm sure Trump

or no one connected to him ever did anything shady with a real estate mortgage loan.

[PoliticAverse]

6. Some backstory on this from Politico in March...

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/house-democrats-it-staffers-hina-alvi-imran-awan-235569

[vkkv]

7. Doesn't sound all that bad, but come on.. DWS, the gift that keeps on giving.. Sheesh!

[ehrnst]

64. Well if bank fraud on the part of staff is harmful to candidates...

And the candidate keeps that staff on board, then DWS isn't the only candidate that's under that cloud.

[lapucelle]

80. Interesting point. n/t

[Red Mountain]

8. Law and order

Democrats should be vocal supporters.

[DK504]

9. DWS, the gift that keeps on giving.

These are the things that make me want to put my fist through a wall. Now the wall to wall coverage will be how f-ing stupid DWS is for employing a criminal to begin with. Thanks Debbie, you guys are making our attempts to regain the Congress, the country back into reach.

[still_one]

10. you guys? Who is this "you guys", and just how are "these guys" destroying our

are chance to take back the House?

Is it the same "you guys" who lost the race for every Democrat running for Senate in those critical swing states against those establishment, incumbent, republicans, and most of those Democrats were quite progress, because frankly I don't get what you are trying to say.

A representative, in Florida's 23rd district f**ked up, so does that somehow interpolate to losing the house of representatives?

and while this may get wall to wall coverage on fox news, frankly, with all the bullshit that trump and the republicans have and are doing, I don't agree with your implied analysis.

As for Schultz, if people in Schultz's district are pissed off about this, and they have a reason to be, then she will be challenged in 2018 by another Democrat.

The 23rd district has been Democratic since at least 1993, and all indications are that it will remain in Democratic hands.

[yallerdawg]

13. Google it and it comes up Fox News, Fox Nation, Breitbart News...

Daily Mail, Washington Free Beacon, Washington Examiner - the usual suspects on a rightwing-generated conspiracy.

Weird how some Democrats just plain hate DWS.

[Sunlei]

16. RW always try to make one aid trying to get a loan on a rent house tar a thousand people.

it's their way.

[displacedtexan]

32. And Dems always end up hating the party leader. Howard, Terry, Debbie, etc.

Republicans giggle when one obscure Dem aide does something slightly wrong compared to their party bigwigs.

Politico, BTW, was introduced to the public by none other than GWBush. So there's that.

[still_one]

20. Interesting. When I was younger there was the John Birch Society, whcih believed there

was a communist under ever bed. Ironically, today there may be some merit to that

[tazkcmo]

26. It's not so weird.

There's quite a bit not to like.

[yallerdawg]

27. Russians really hate her!

Or maybe it's just the ones they colluded with?

Or targeted?

[MosheFeingold]

35. "Weird how some Democrats just plain hate DWS"

Well, DWS and the usual elites did their best to fix the primary. That's pretty crappy and undemocratic.

[yallerdawg]

38. Did you get that from your social media feeds...

and the M$M promoting the Russian interference in our elections with the intent of destroying Democratic Party unity and electing the 'useful idiot' who pledged a reversal of American/Russian relations, not to mention money-generating TV ratings?

Everything you think you know about the DNC and 'the usual elites' was fed to you by Vladimir Putin.

Have you not been paying attention?

[yallerdawg]

45. "They fed debate questions to Hillary."

This was a WikiLeaks "revelation" instigated by the DNC email chat hacks by Russians - by one person at CNN who may have passed on a heads up.

This is an example of the Russian interference in our elections.

[MosheFeingold]

49. Actually

It's from Podesta's emails. Podesta had a gmail account and the password was "password." Some 14 year old kid hacked him.

But the admissions on which I relay were from Donna Brazile who reluctantly admitted she was in the can for Hillary. Saw and heard her say it with my own eyes and ears. She lost her job at CNN over her improper help for Hillary.

And yes, before you ask, I am a vaguely bitter Bernie supporter, but one who gladly supported Hillary over The Orange Won.

The Russian interference (that I know about) was they exfiltrated voter registration files from counties where Hillary got upwards of 95%+ voting. Nothing was changed and voters not added. But files copied. The purpose of this is unclear. But it didn't have to do with debate questions being given to Hillary.

The other hacking we know about is -- somewhere along the line between the State Department and Hillary's server and forwarding the emails to Huma Abedine and then forwarding again to Anthony Weiner for printing, some emails got copied, probably several times. By whom, it's unclear. Probably the Russians and a lot of other countries, from the USA, to Israel, to England, to China. That's a long chain with a lot of weak links, specifically including Carlos Danger himself.

There were also files taken from the DNC by someone in the DNC. Done, according to reports, by sticking a thumb drive into the computer and copying. Could be these Pakistani guys. Could be a pissed-off Bernie supporter. Could be a Russian mole (or CIA, NSA, Israel, England, China, or anybody else).

[yallerdawg]

50. I'm astounded.

And just going to move on now.

[populistdriven]

71. Good since you were clearly baiting people and opening up old wounds. nt

[yallerdawg]

73. I'm not bashing a Democrat.

I'm supporting a Democrat.

If that's baiting people, then I'm really confused.

[populistdriven]

79. Their mistake was conflating DWS with Imran Awan's legal troubles

DWS has nothing to do with his legal troubles, so far as we know and there is no reason to think otherwise. Yes you are correct the usual suspects are running with this.

None of us have to blindly support any Democrat and what DWS is a problem. We can support each other and our common goals by admitting that someone's statement may be factually correct while explaining that those facts are also clearly being manipulated against us. In particular, yes, call out the "talking points" phrases that ALL of us at times have mistakenly repeated while not using a scorched earth approach to put them on the defensive.

They Learn More That Way!

[ehrnst]

76. No - he wasn't the one doing that. (nt)

[populistdriven]

81. well, perpetuated it andtossed in the RW elites meme nt

[leftynyc]

66. That story about

Podesta's password has been debunked for almost a year already.

[ehrnst]

69. Now you're peddling debunked RW conspiracy theories? Really? (nt)

[ehrnst]

62. Oh yes, that.

A woman from Flint was going to ask about the water.

And a few sentences on how awful things were at the time for Flint residents.

No one could POSSIBLY have seen THAT coming...



Again with the re-hashing of the primary...

[ehrnst]

68. She said it in context of the horrible conditions that she found.

And yes, the subject did matter - it wasn't a gotcha question. FFS - the primary is over.

If you think that a question that everyone knew would come up was somehow a "screw Bernie" tactic, then you are just looking for reasons to hate Democrats.

No, that email was a mistake, a well meaning mistake, and not "corruption" or a "betrayal of their responsibilities to us."

And I would think that you would want to be better than the alt right....

[populistdriven]

72. Just for clarity:

FALSE NEWS:
http://www.snopes.com/clinton-received-debate-questions-week-before-debate/

TRUE NEWS:
http://www.snopes.com/donna-brazile-leaves-cnn/

[ehrnst]

75. Not sure what that "clarifies" that my post didn't.

[populistdriven]

74. You are correct, but avoid using RNC talking points like "Democratic Elites" because to DU'rs that

comes across as spreading the RNC propaganda

[ehrnst]

77. Correct in what way? (nt)

[LisaM]

78. Actually, I believe they said that they gave one question to Hillary's staff

Besides, with the way the "debates" (if you can call them that) were set up, the "questions" weren't exactly secrets. They each had topics laid out in advance.

Hillary was well prepared for every debate she was in and I hardly think this matters in the scheme of things. There's no evidence she even took the information.

That said, I had enough of Donna Brazile back in 2000. Her continued influence is a mystery to me.

[populistdriven]

82. Thanks this helps! nt

[ehrnst]

85. Thank you. (nt)

[ehrnst]

67. Just keep on re-fighting the primary, with false claims about Democratic leadership...

that's not only pretty crappy and undemocratic, it shows an affinity for "alternate facts."

[lapucelle]

83. Sean Hannity is covering it as well.

Because the arrest serves an agenda, the usual suspects will be milking their guilt by association claims to hurt Democrats.

[Sunlei]

17. Get off her back, please. she always votes with Ds and we need to support all our elected Ds.

Thank you.

[hedda_foil]

19. It's a heavily Democratic district. She can safely be primaried.

[still_one]

21. That is true hedda, but the insinuation by some that her poor judgement in her staff

hiring will somehow make it more difficult to win the midterms is not a valid argument

especially given the fact you pointed out it has been a Democratic district since 1993, and probably before that

[Sunlei]

22. like with hillary, the little cuts carry water for the RWingers. Not good for D party.

[ehrnst]

63. And neither are candidates like Canova. (nt)

[emulatorloo]

29. True. However Tan Canova is as nuts as that guy challenging Bernie in Vermont.

Seems to believe the DNC sent a signal to fry his surge protector? Bernie's disavowed this guy.

[geek tragedy]

44. hard to believe there isn't a sane, competent Democrat in that

district to replace her. Canova is beyond the pale but DWS is a walking train wreck.

[obamanut2012]

47. Her constitutents of both parties like ehr, because she takes care of them

DWS isn't going anywhere until she wants to retire.

Canova is a CT wingnut jerk, with no experience.

I live here, just as an FYI.

[ehrnst]

61. No one has come forward to challenge her but Canova. (nt)

[obamanut2012]

48. DWS will not be replaced until she wants to retire

I live here. Her constituents love her because she takes care of them. She is well liked her, and has strong roots in the community.

Money and time are better spent challenging GOP incumbents.

[obamanut2012]

46. Just stop it

[Ilsa]

12. Decent people turned bad, aren't they?

Although I'm not sure how they earned salaries that big.

Trumpies are claiming they were a security risk. Ha. Nothing compared to Blabbermouth Don.

[Still In Wisconsin]

14. Can Debbie just be gone already?

She is not helping. Not at all.

[still_one]

23. That is up to her district I would think, just like Ryan, Walker, and Johnson are up to the folks

in Wisconsin.

[Demsrule86]

36. No and this has nothing to do with her...she was elected...read TOS.

[Still In Wisconsin]

57. Awesome! She can do ANYTHING and we're not allowed to criticize because she's a Dem.

Everyone else fired this individual. Debbie did not. She hurts the party- as others have said she's the gift that keeps on giving (to the Republicans).

Enough with the fucking self-inflicted wounds.

[Demsrule86]

58. She is a Democrat and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing on her part and the article makes a

number of allegations against Democrats in general as well...I fail to understand in this age of Trump, some continue to go out of their way to run Democrats down...

[Still In Wisconsin]

60. Wrongdoing? Legally, no. Incompetence? Yes.

If we want to win elections we (speaking generally) have got to stop doing the Republicans' jobs FOR them. Of course, the people of Wasserman-Schultz's district have every right to elect her but jeez- she really gives the other side ammo, and this is not anywhere NEAR the first time.


Incompetent Democrats like DWS are not to be protected and revered simply because Trump is President and they have a D in front of their name.

[Sunlei]

15. wow how did he manage to get a165k "home equity loan for a rental property"?

or did he not actually get the money?

[PoliticAverse]

18. The criminal complaint has specific details...

See: http://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000015d-7bbc-deb9-af7d-7bbcb6c30002

The closing for the HELOC loan occurred on or about January 12, 2017.

[7962]

24. I've gotten a line of credit on a rental property before. Its still active.

Seems this guys problem is that he said he was going to live in it, which changes the terms of the loan. You pay a lower rate for those.

[Sunlei]

30. some banker must have messed up. I don't think he owned the home- he was a renter?

If he actually owned the home, then the bank can take the home if he doesn't pay back the loan or keep up the homes insurance.

[karynnj]

31. More likely he did own the property, but rented it out

The problem is that he may have said he lived there.

[geek tragedy]

42. that's what it is, bank had a "owner occupied only" rule so he lied to get around it (allegedly) nt

[Sunlei]

51. ok, thanks. Ds employees have to be very careful to stay legal on bank apps because Rs search hard

Rs search hard to discredit our party elected.

D party should do much more of this kind of digging into Rs investments, homes owned and side business deals. This tactic does make easy headlines and 'uneasy' supporters.

[geek tragedy]

53. this guy is pretty much bad news--had already been fired from most Democratic offices

why DWS kept him on the payroll--despite his being banned from doing work for her office by the House IT administrators--is a very valid question

[Sunlei]

55. may be hard to get rid of a employee fast.If he sent the money, the loaner will take the home.

[7962]

34. It would be nice if banks made sense like you do!

Like you said, if I dont pay they take the home. If the home is worth 120K & my line of credit is 60k, they should HOPE i dont pay.
but noooooo, they have to make it harder than t needs to be. the '08 crash was partly fueled by loaning 100% of a homes value, in some cases more. And in MANY cases, the homes value had been inflated
But loaning 50-60% of a homes value should be a no brainer

[geek tragedy]

90. banks don't want to have to foreclose--they still lose money on foreclosures, generally.

And it turns out that people who live in the house pay the mortgage more faithfully than those who don't live in the house but rather rent it out to someone else.

[geek tragedy]

41. the old-fashioned way, by lying on the mortgage application nt

[Not Ruth]

25. Awan doing nothing 😂

[sharedvalues]

28. Some from both sides are going down in this dark money / laundering stuff

Foreign entities contributed to campaigns not just on the right but also on the left, I think we'll learn.

[MineralMan]

33. Maybe I'm missing something, but what did DWS have to do with this loan?

Did she facilitate it? Did she even know about it?

[geek tragedy]

43. She kept the guy on the payroll after everyone else had fired him and after

he physically lost the ability to perform IT work for her office because he had been banned due to his criminal background.

There's something fishy.

[Not Ruth]

52. An affair perhaps

[geek tragedy]

54. Ewww. nt

[Not Ruth]

56. It is a cliche, but a LOT more common than blackmail, money laundering for the Mafia or CT options

[lapucelle]

84. He has a criminal background?

The Politico story only says that "Most Democratic lawmakers cut ties with Awan and his family after the criminal investigation came to light in early February."

[geek tragedy]

86. okay, after it came to light that he was likely involved in a criminal enterprise

and was banned from working on Congressional IT systems.

It is awfully peculiar that she'd keep on her Congressional payroll an IT specialist who had been banned from working on Congressional IT systems, no?

[lapucelle]

88. She kept him on the payroll

while he was being investigated for bank fraud.

Do I find that peculiar? Not any more so than when other politicians don't immediately create distance between themselves and staff or close advisors who are revealed to be under investigation.

[geek tragedy]

89. he was suspected for a lot more:

Five House staffers are accused of stealing equipment from members’ offices without their knowledge and committing serious, potentially illegal, violations on the House IT network, according to multiple sources briefed on the investigation

He had been banned from IT network for the House of Representatives--and he was an IT specialist!
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/house-staff-criminal-investigation-234714

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/house-staffers-investigation-equipment-234586

5 months ago!

[lapucelle]

91. I think that anyone willing

to employ "guilt by association" standards to one politician should be willing to apply those standards to all politicians.

Similarly, if you expect one politician to cut ties with staff or advisors who are under investigation, you should demand the same thing of all.

[Demsrule86]

37. You kind of made this misleading...Why would you do that?

The insinuation is that somehow Democrats are in trouble and that is not the case...


"Awan, a longtime IT staffer who worked for more than two dozen House Democrats, has been at the center of a criminal investigation on Capitol Hill for months related to procurement theft. Several of his family members, also IT staffers at the time, were implicated in the ongoing investigation.

Most Democratic lawmakers cut ties with Awan and his family after the criminal investigation came to light in early February. But Awan has continued to be employed by Wasserman Schultz, although it’s unclear what his job duties are given he has been barred from accessing the House IT system for months.

Alvi, another House staff member involved in the Capitol Hill investigation, left the country with their three daughters, headed for Pakistan in March, according to an affidavit filed in the Awan case. Alvi had “numerous pieces of luggage” and more than $12,000 in cash, FBI agent Brandon Merriman wrote in the affidavit."

[geek tragedy]

40. It's suspicious that DWS didn't fire this guy and his band of thieves.

Either she's even more inept than we suspected (no mean feat) or there's something troubling going on.

[Demsrule86]

59. I have no idea...but it is not about her doing anything wrong.

I think this sort of attacks on Democrats needs to stop...unless you want to elect GOP types forever.

[geek tragedy]

87. We don't know what the story is.

Does it not strike you as odd that she's keep a man under criminal investigation on her payroll to do a job which he was legally banned from doing?

[demmiblue]

70. I am shocked. n/t