By Luke Rosiak
Three brothers who managed office information technology for members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and other lawmakers were abruptly relieved of their duties on suspicion that they accessed congressional computers without permission.
Brothers Abid, Imran, and Jamal Awan [Ed: Militant Quakers, no doubt] were barred from computer networks at the House of Representatives Thursday, The Daily Caller News Foundation Investigative Group has learned.
Three members of the intelligence panel and five members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs were among the dozens of members who employed the suspects on a shared basis. The two committees deal with many of the nation’s most sensitive issues and documents, including those related to the war on terrorism.
Also among those whose computer systems may have been compromised is Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Florida Democrat who was previously the target of a disastrous email hack when she served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 campaign.
The brothers are suspected of serious violations, including accessing members’ computer networks without their knowledge and stealing equipment from Congress.
Jamal handled IT for Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Texas Democrat who serves on both the intelligence and foreign affairs panels.
“As of 2/2, his employment with our office has been terminated,” Castro spokeswoman Erin Hatch told TheDCNF Friday.
Jamal also worked for Louisiana Democrat Rep. Cedric Richmond, who is on the Committee on Homeland Security.
Imran worked for Reps. Andre Carson, an Indiana Democrat, and Jackie Speier, a California Democrat. Both are members of the intelligence committee, and their spokesmen did not respond to TheDCNF’s requests for comment. Imran also worked for the House office of Wasserman Schultz.
Then-Rep. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, employed Abid for IT work in 2016. She was a member of House committees dealing with the armed services, oversight, and Benghazi. Duckworth was elected to the Senate in November, 2016. Abid has a prior criminal record and a bankruptcy.
Abid also worked for Rep. Lois Frankel, a Florida Democrat who is member of the foreign affairs committee.
The three men are “shared employees,” meaning they are hired by multiple offices, which split their salaries and use them as needed for IT services. It is up to each member to fire them.
A criminal investigation into five unnamed people began late last year related to serious and potentially illegal violations of House IT policies, Politico reported Thursday. Chiefs of staff for the members were briefed Thursday by the Sergeant-at-Arms.
Capitol Police spokeswoman Eva Malecki said the investigation was still ongoing, and arrests have not been made but staff were “asked to update their security settings.”
Buzzfeed reported that the Sergeant-at-Arms told staff that the subjects were four men who were brothers and one woman. It did not name them. It quoted one of the affected members as saying “they said it was some sort of procurement scam, but now I’m concerned that they may have stolen data from us, emails, who knows.”
Jamal did not return a request for comment from TheDCNF at a personal email address, while emails to House addresses in the three men’s names bounced back Friday.
Another man, Omar Awan, is a senior IT specialist for the House’s Chief Administrative Officer. An email to his House address did not bounce back Friday, but did not receive a response.
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.
Alvi, who did not respond to TheDCNF’s request for comment, has taken multiple second mortgages.
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.
Jack Langer, spokesman for the intelligence committee, said the committee office has its own IT staff and security measures and classified information from the panel is not allowed to be sent to members’ personal offices.
Read more Daily Caller
Another take at josh's favorite site (HA!): The Conservative Treehouse
UPDATE It would be imprudent of CTH not to point out the “TIMING” here. By nature of the relationship to the G08 oversight aspect – the recently authorized Trump operation in Yemen would have been a part of the advance briefing to this very select oversight committee. The exact same oversight committee these three brothers worked in the IT department for….
? Does the firing have any potential attachment to the outcome in Yemen?
? Exactly like Benghazi, the Washington DC cover your ass machine would never, ever allow sunlight upon such a consequential intelligence compromise. They would never allow, nor even launch, an investigation in that regard. Too dangerous.
So you decide.
The Rock
Congress IT Probe Suspects Had Massive Debts, Years Of Suspicious Activity
Via Daily Caller:
Four people who worked for the House of Representatives have a history of massive debts and bankruptcy, a fondness for fast cars and real estate, and unusually complicated webs of intertwined finances.
The three brothers and a wife of one of them are under criminal investigation into sensitive congressional information security.
Chiefs of staff for dozens of Democratic lawmakers who employed the four were informed last week that a criminal probe was underway into their use of congressional information technology systems, including the existence of an external server to which House data was being funneled, and into the theft of and overbilling for computer equipment.
Brothers Imran, Abid, and Jamal Awan and Hina Alvi, Imran’s wife, each made $160,000 a year as information technology workers for the House. Their salaries and time were shared among dozens of Democratic members, including former Democratic National Committee Chairman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida. The lawmakers also include members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Democrats/incompetence/money/crime: a mixture for FAIL
State Senator seeks to legalize identity theft and social security fraud by illegals in California
Bring those plates up kids!
GOOD NEWS: Democrat IT Staffers Now Under Investigation Took $100K From Iraqi "Politician"
By Luke Rosiak
Rogue congressional staffers took $100,000 from an Iraqi politician while they had administrator-level access to the House of Representatives’ computer network, according to court documents examined by The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Investigative Group.
The money was a loan from Dr. Ali al-Attar, an Iraqi political figure, and was funneled through a company with “impossible”-to-decipher financial transactions that the congressional information technology (IT) staffers controlled.
Imran Awan, ringleader of the group that includes his brothers Abid and Jamal, has provided IT services since 2005 for Florida Democrat Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the former Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairwoman. The brothers are from Pakistan.
The trio also worked for dozens of other House Democrats, including members of the intelligence, foreign affairs and homeland security committees. Those positions likely gave them access to congressional emails and other sensitive documents.
The brothers, whose access to House IT networks has been terminated, are under criminal investigation by the U.S. Capitol Police.
Wasserman Schultz resigned from her DNC post following a disastrous email hack during the 2016 campaign. Her House spokesman did not respond to TheDCNF’s question Monday about Imran’s employment status. As of Feb. 6, she had declined to fire Imran.
Investigators found that congressional information was being copied to an off-site server and they suspect the brothers of improperly accessing information and stealing congressional property. Chiefs of staff for the employing Democrats were notified Feb. 2.
Soon after Imran began working for members of Congress, Imran’s and Abid’s wives — Hina Alvi and Natalia Sova — also began receiving congressional paychecks, TheDCNF found. Imran’s employers included two members of the intelligence committee, Indiana Democrat Rep. Andre Carson and California Democrat Rep. Jackie Speier.
By 2009, the family was simultaneously managing a full-time car dealership in Virginia, with Abid running day-to-day operations after contributing $250,000 in startup cash. It was called Cars International A, LLC, referred to as “CIA” in court documents.
Imran boasted unusual clout among House Democrats, and was even pictured conversing with former President Bill Clinton. After Rao Abbas, who was owed money by the dealership, threatened to sue amid allegations of deception and theft, Abbas appeared on the congressional payroll and received $250,000 in taxpayer payments.
Abid had “100% control” of the dealership, a one-time business partner said in court documents, in addition to his $165,000-a-year job working full-time for multiple representatives, including Ohio Democrat Tim Ryan and California Democrat Jim Costa.
“He had the dealer license and sole responsibility of running it. Abid would put cars on the lot, take them in consignment, sell them, do all the title work and get money from the retail sale,” according to court documents. Multiple emails show the Awan brothers conducting business such as attending car auctions on weekdays.
“Imram later acted as owner since CIA was considered family business by the Awans,” Abid’s one-time business partner, Nasir Khattak, said in court documents. The car dealership’s finances consisted of byzantine transfers in which staff and cars were often swapped between it and a dealership next door, Khattak said.
Despite numerous family members making $160,000 congressional salaries, debts went unpaid by the brothers, including to the Congressional Federal Credit Union.
“It was very bad record-keeping in Cars International … it is close to impossible to make any sense out of all the transactions that happened,” Khattak said in court documents.
The $100,000 loan came as the dealership continued to rack up debt, court records show.
“Ali Al-Attar was out of the country as he was involved in politics and the formation of the Iraqi government,” Khattak said in court documents.
In addition to his other jobs, Imran is a real estate agent, and Khattak is also a realtor who obtained the cash from Al-Attar and passed it through bank accounts used for real estate deals in Fairfax County, Va.
“Having lost my and Abid’s collective investment of $500k due to Awan’s mismanagement, [CIA] was further in debt $400k to other creditors,” Khattak said in a lawsuit.
Khattak said Imran masterminded the family’s finances and by late 2010, Imran “was running the business in full control” and “instructed Abid not to even speak to anyone.”
The Iraqi cash disappeared amid a dispute between Khattak and the Awans. Khattak said defaulting on the loan meant Al-Attar now owned the business, but the Awans refused to relinquish control.
In 2012, Abid declared personal bankruptcy listing more than $1 million in liabilities. While debts to others went unpaid, he kept ownership of two houses, and Imran kept his own substantial property, despite his admitted role in the failed business.
Bankruptcy documents listed Abbas as a creditor and said he might sue Abid, but Abbas later took the brothers’ side in a lawsuit against Khattak, who said that the Awans had somehow manipulated him to do so. Not long after, Abbas appeared for the first time on the congressional payroll, and collected $250,000 from taxpayers through the end of last year.
Four out of the six Democrats he worked for also employed Imran. His employers included a member of the intelligence committee, Patrick Murphy of Florida; a member of the foreign affairs committee, Theodore Deutch of Florida; and Brad Ashford of Nebraska, who is on the armed services committee.
Abbas’ congressional email was cut off in early February, around the time the Capitol Police revealed that they had uncovered a scheme involving a network of IT aides. The Awans’ access has also been cut off. Reached at a personal email address, Abbas did not respond to repeated questions from TheDCNF.
Abid claimed the Iraqi doctor may never have existed. “If as suspected, all of this is a charade, particularly if it is learned the mysterious Dr. Al-Attar doesn’t exist or didn’t sign the documents, then the whole matter rises to a higher level,” he said in court documents.
The youngest Awan brother, Jamal, was also placed on the House payroll at 20 years of age and makes $160,000, far higher than others in similar jobs.
TheDCNF was the first to identify the brothers and Alvi, and now, Sova and Abbas.
They are working with the secular Progressive Socialists to bring down not merely President Donald Trump, but our nation
Disastrous National Security Breach in U.S. Congress
Unless you’re plugged in to the independent media, there’s a good chance that you’ve not yet heard of one of the largest and arguably most important cases of government infiltration in recent history.
On February 2, 2017, three Pakistani brothers with top access to the computer systems inside the U.S. House of Representatives containing some of the nation’s most sensitive information were removed from their positions by U.S. Capitol Police.
The three brothers who are the target of a criminal probe, deliberately understated as a “procurement scam” include Imran Awan, Abid Awan and Jamal Moiz Awan, each who were the “shared employees” of at least 31 Democratic Congressional Representatives. But the case itself and potential damage is much, much worse than is being reported, if it’s being reported at all.
While the corporate media is obviously more intent to prove some nebulous cyber connection between President Donald Trump and the Russians, they have yet to pay even the most basic lip service to this case of apparent espionage that has taken place at the highest levels of our government.
The Amal brothers had complete and direct access to information of three extremely sensitive committees: The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Homeland Security Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The access to the information they had, along with their known or suspected affiliations to such groups as Hezbollah and the Muslim Brotherhood, has “shaken” government insiders with knowledge about the case.
Imran Awan has been identified as the group’s leader, initially providing computer services for Florida Democrat and former Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairman Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Recall that it was Schultz’s email which was “hacked” during the 2016 election when she served as DNC Chairman.
Among the House members who presently employed the services of ring leader Imran Awan were Andre Carson, the second Muslim member of the House of Representatives, as did Congresswoman Jackie Speier. On March 22, 2016, it was Jackie Speier, one of eight House members who asked for additional funding so that the Awan clan could secure Top Secret/SCI level clearance.
Additionally, it was revealed that these employees were paid more than three times the salary of a “normal” IT worker, grossing upwards of $4 million dollars combined during their tenure as IT professionals. While the average government IT professional earns about $55,000 per year, Imran Awan was being paid $165,130, Abid Awan grossed $164,980 per annum, and Jamal Awan $157,577 according to government records.
Further investigation, however, found that the three brothers were merely the “core” infiltrators. Also on the government payroll were Hina R. Alvi, wife of Imran Awan, who was paid $168,300 per year and Natalia Sova, wife of Abid Awan, who was paid a meager $34,854.
And, it gets worse.
Investigators determined that not only did the Awan clan have access to highly sensitive information, they set up an external server and copied information from Congressional computers to their off-site server, reportedly stealing documents, records, emails and other sensitive and classified information to the server under their sole control.
Much More than a “Procurement Scam”
Notably in 2009, the Awan brothers opened a car dealership in Virginia identified as Cars International A, LLC, interestingly referred to as “CIA” in court documents. Information contained in several well-researched and comprehensive investigative reports by The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit and George Webb, a guest on The Hagmann & Hagmann Report, details the mysterious car dealership and notes that the Awan brothers were also the recipient of a $100,000 “loan” made by Iraqi politician and disgraced “doctor” Ali al-Attar, who has reportedly fled to Iraq and has ties to various Muslim groups, including Hezbollah.
Ali al-Attar was born in Baghdad to Iranian parents. He was indicted by the U.S. government in 2012 for tax fraud that reportedly involved diverting a half-million dollars from his medical offices into his personal account. Such actions appeared to be international in scope as it is suspected but not proven that he also diverted money to the accounts of others in the Middle East.
According to a source in contact with this writer, the potential damage to our national security is “incalculable.” This source is also questioning why an investigation of this magnitude has not been handed off to the FBI for investigation, rather than keeping it assigned to the Capitol Police. “That itself should raise a lot of flags,” stated this source who declined to be named for this report.
At this point, the weight of evidence strongly suggests that the United States House of Representatives computer systems, including and especially the documents and emails to and from top Representatives on the most sensitive committees including but not limited to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Homeland Security Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee has been compromised from within.
Consider the above in the context of the raid in Yemen on January 29, 2017 when a U.S. Navy Seal was killed. Just four days later, the Awan brothers were banned from the premises of the U.S. Capitol. A coincidence? I think not. According to my DC source, it was not a coincidence.
More investigative results about the level of Muslim infiltration into the most sensitive areas of our nation’s infrastructure will be published in the coming days. They are working with the secular Progressive Socialists to bring down not merely President Donald Trump, but our nation.
It will shock even the most hardened among us. Stay tuned.
Notes/Sources:
Letter: https://fas.org/irp/congress/2016_cr/hpsci-hac.pdf http://congressional-staff.insidegov.com/l/22830/Imran-Awan http://congressional-staff.insidegov.com/l/43573/Jamal-M-Awan http://congressional-staff.insidegov.com/l/13821/Abid-A-Awan http://dailycaller.com/2017/02/20/exclusive-house-dem-it-guys-in-security-probe-secretly-took-100k-in-iraqi-money/#ixzz4ZrAPrvYV http://dailycaller.com/2017/02/04/exclusive-house-intelligence-it-staffers-fired-in-computer-security-probe/#ixzz4bZswXalZ http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2017/02/meet-3-non-russian-hackers-behind-hacks-brothers-abid-imran-jamal-awan/ http://dailycaller.com/2017/03/13/house-hacking-suspects-could-read-every-email-dozens-of-congressmen-sent-and-received/#ixzz4bRpO0AYG
Government May Shaft Public Workers on Student Loans
That which Big Government gives, Big Government can take away. Likewise, that which Big Government promises, it might refuse to give in the first place. Looks like some activists will receive an unsurprising reward for putting their trust in the Leviathan:
More than 550,000 people have signed up for a federal program that promises to repay their remaining student loans after they work 10 years in a public service job.
But now, some of those workers are left to wonder if the government will hold up its end of the bargain — or leave them stuck with thousands of dollars in debt that they thought would be eliminated.
In a legal filing submitted last week, the Education Department suggested that borrowers could not rely on the program’s administrator to say accurately whether they qualify for debt forgiveness. The thousands of approval letters that have been sent by the administrator, FedLoan Servicing, are not binding and can be rescinded at any time, the agency said.
Imagine running up an extravagant tab for a degree in Social Justice, being told you could stick taxpayers with the bill by working as an activist, and then being told years later, Just kidding, you have to pay the debt yourself. The heart bleeds.
Less hilarious is that 25% of the U.S. workforce may qualify for this program — if the government chooses to honor it.
It should be noted that some who are getting shafted by the government on this promise do constructive work, like helping veterans. But it should also be noted that taxpayers don’t like getting shafted either.
Bribery: New Documents Show IRS Targeting Scandal Was More Expansive
New documents obtained by government watchdog group Judicial Watch show the IRS targeting scandal was more expansive than previously known and show IRS officials admitting the tactics used to hinder conservative groups were inappropriate. The documents, which total 695 pages, were previously withheld by the Obama administration from Congress and were not included in the Congressional investigation into IRS abuse.
"In an August 9, 2013, memo, Schiller admitted the IRS used political labels in targeting the groups for special scrutiny and possible audit and that, going forward, the agency would screen organizations based only on their activities, 'not words' or 'labels of any kind,'" Judicial Watch found after issuing a FOIA lawsuit against the agency.
Further, the documents show IRS officials essentially bribed groups and offered tax exempt status in exchange for limited political activity. In other words, limiting opposition to President Obama's agenda.
“No wonder the Obama IRS has been hiding these records. The new smoking-gun documents contain admissions by the Obama IRS that it inappropriately targeted conservative groups,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement. “But the records also show that the abuse continued – as the Obama IRS tried to force conservative applicants to give up their First Amendment rights in order to finally get their applications granted.”
IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, who covered up many aspects of the IRS targeting scandal on behalf of former IRS official Lois Lerner, is still in charge of the agency.
One would think that even the dimmest here on the CF can see a pattern from the minions of Obama... Whether done on his order or not, as President, he ultimately is responsible.
itshot's Link
is everybody a g.d. activist now?
the leftists call the guv'ner decision a "gross abuse of his power", offer only crickets WRT the one actually abusing power....so typical of the left
Anony Mouse's Link
