"More specifically, the Government agrees that the public allegations that your client stole U.S. No wrongdoing was found, despite the numerous - and often thinly sourced - stories alleging possible criminal activity by Awan and Alvi published by conservative media outlets. The plea agreement states that DOJ went to great lengths to investigative Awan, Alvi and other family members. But Awan continued to be employed by Wasserman Schultz, although it’s unclear what his job duties were, given the fact that he had been barred from accessing the House IT system for months. Most Democratic lawmakers cut their ties with Awan and his family after the criminal investigation became public in early 2017. While the extended family was implicated in the probe, no charges were filed beyond the bank fraud indictment of Awan and Alvi. Several of his family members, including Alvi, were also IT staffers. Those funds were then included as part of a wire transfer to two individuals in Faisalabad, Pakistan, according to the indictment filed against Awan.Īwan, a longtime IT staffer who worked for more than two dozen House Democrats, became the focus of a lengthy criminal investigation on Capitol Hill related to allegations of procurement theft. Alvi later returned to the United States after Awan's arrest.Īt the time of his arrest, Awan was 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. When interviewed by federal agents at the airport, Alvi had more than $12,000 cash in her luggage. He had wiped his cellphones of any data, and federal agents found a résumé in the name of "Andrew Awan," which they said suggested Awan planned to leave the country permanently, according to court documents.Īlvi had abruptly pulled her three children out of school and left the United States four months earlier, an FBI agent said in an affidavit. citizen of Pakistani heritage, Awan was arrested in July 2017 at Dulles International Airport in Virginia, as he tried to board a flight to Lahore, Pakistan. "That role is even more important at a time when Donald Trump and his allies spread dangerous distortions with the intent of falsely smearing his political opponents.”Ī 38-year-old U.S. "We rely on our justice system to produce a fair result, after a considered, objective review," said David Damron, Wasserman Schultz's spokesman. Awan, who was once employed by Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), also met eight times with FBI agents and other federal investigators.Īn aide to Wasserman Schultz accused Trump and House Republicans of cynically using the case to attack Democrats. Where is Server? Really bad!”Īt the time of Trump’s tweet, DOJ already had the House Democratic server in its possession. They want to make a “plea deal” to hide what is on their Server. scandal is a key to much of the corruption we see today. Trump tweeted last month, “Our Justice Department must not let Awan & Debbie Wasserman Schultz off the hook. Just weeks ago, the President of the United States tweeted again alleging that Imran was responsible for a missing Democratic Party server.” And yes, this repugnant behavior went straight to the top. “This was all made up, for purposes of clickbait, Fox News stories, and political opportunism. “My client is not a ‘spy,’ nor part of a ‘spy ring.’ There has never been any missing server, smashed hard drives, blackmailed members of Congress, or breach of classified information,” he added. Today’s plea deal resolves, in black and white, any question that any of the coordinated allegations were true,” Gowen said in a statement. “For the past 19 months my client, Imran Awan, has been the target of a coordinated effort by House Republicans, the President, and right-wing ‘media’ in an effort to destroy the reputation of a dedicated public servant for political purposes. This sign-up form is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.Īwan’s lawyer, Christopher Gowen, lashed out at Trump and House Republicans for spreading false allegations against his client.
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