JW Inside Report: The Awan Bros/DNC IT Scandal Featuring Luke Rosiak

In this edition of "JW Inside Report," host Jerry Dunleavy joins Luke Rosiak, an investigative reporter for The Daily Caller's to discuss the cybersecurity scandal involving multiple members of Congress, including Debbie Wasserman Shultz. A Democratic IT staffer named Imran Awan was arrested last July on charges of bank fraud. He was employed by Shultz and other congressional members. He is also a suspect in a cybersecurity investigation, having been banned from congressional networks in February. In addition, his relatives, also government IT employees, are currently being investigated for alleged involvement in defrauding the federal government as well as compromising sensitive information from congressional servers.

americanthinker.com

Democrat Cong Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s curious relationship with Pakistani Imran Awan was well-hidden. Awan was D/W/S's top IT aide. He was arrested while absconding to Pakistan after a wire-transfer there of almost $300,000. Daily Caller's ace reporter, Luke Rosiak, uncovered that the Awan clan were paid $4 million tax dollars since 2010, apparently facilitated by D/W/S.

Wasserman Schultz has been especially uncooperative. She refused to fire Awan until after he was arrested, even though Capitol Police had already revoked Awans’ access to the congressional IT system in February in relation to a major security breach.” The federal bank fraud case against Imran Awan,IT administrator for dozens of House Democrats, was delayed again for the 7th time.

Many of the legal delays appear to be related to a laptop Awan left in a decommissioned phone booth in a House building in April last year. The laptop, w/ username “RepDWS,” was accompanied by several copies of ID cards belonging to Awan and a letter he wrote to prosecutors. Awan had been employed by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) -- whose initials (RepDWS) were on the laptop -- since 2005.

The unvetted Awan and his clan worked IT for 40, perhaps more, House Democrats:

<><> got complete access to House servers;

<><> the clan looted servers of files and ostensibly classified intel;

<><> they participated in theft of govt-issue congressional equipment,

<><> coordinated massive data breaches of House Democrats' emails,

<><> espionage also looms largely.

Keep in mind that as the Awan clan worked Democrats' intel, D/W/S was a big shot, riding on AF One with Obama---heading the DNC----who mentored the Awan clan and facilitated huge paychecks for them....a group that was not particularly trained in IT.

A huge mystery is how the shady Pakis got visas to abscond----did "someone" with a lot of pull facilitate the visas to help them abscond? Some say the Pakis traveled on WH visas.

==============================================

The mounting catalogue of allegations against D/W/S's protege include:

(A) leaving a laptop with the username RepDWS (Debbie Wasserman Schultz) in a phone booth after he was banned from the House network;

(B) an arrest at Dulles airport with a suitcase full of cash.

(D) hundreds of “Suspicious Activity Reports” detailing unusual transfers from Imran’s numerous bank accounts.

(E) “unauthorized access” to House servers,

(F) falsifying congressional financial records,

(G) running a theft ring from Cong Xavier Becerra's House Democratic Caucus.

Why did the Awan clan have security clearances after several bankruptcies and financial misdealings?
One high-paid Democrat IT's previous work experience consisted of getting fired from fast foodie McDonald's.

=======================================

HOW MANY US GOVT CHECKS WERE THE AWANS CASHING?
Imran did not live at one of the many rental houses he owned, but his tenant confirmed he used the address to receive personal mail there.......
mail that was often addressed to other names....the names of different aliases he employed.

Still to be ascertained is how many US govt checks the Paki criminal clan were actually cashing at any given time.

ITEM--Imran told people his name was "Alec."

ITEM--Although he lived elsewhere, Imran used one of his rental houses as a mail drop.

ITEM--A renter of the property said Imran received mail at that address under several different names.

ITEM--Some have observed that "Awan" seems to be a made-up name used frequently as an alias.

===========================================

NOTE--It is very common among economic refugees, immigrants and illegals to use several identities to ride the US gravy train. It's a very lucrative endeavor.

<><> They were certainly clever enough to claim "asylum" from a terrorist country like Pakistan, and may have falsified apps that trigger hefty monthly SS checks.

<><> Not to mention SSI, disability, UI, EBT cards, and other welfare benefits.

<><> Imran has as many as 22 properties: he may have received multiple HUD Section 8 assistance and tax-paid utility subsidies.

<><> The FCC should have info on whether they had free Obamaphones.

<><> How the clan got those high paying jobs might pertain to their SS numbers being coded to give them job preference over Americans.

==============================================

NEED TO KNOW---Imran Awan owned properties that he rented out. Did he apply for federal and state assistance for his properties?

<><> financial help for home repairs or modifications is through home improvement loans programs backed by the government.

<><> Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) provides low-income households with free weatherization services, such as improvements for heating and cooling systems, electrical systems, and electricity consuming appliances.

<><> govt assistance with repairing or making home improvements.

<><> govt Help with Home Repairs and Modifications

<><> financial Help with Home Energy Bill

<><> 203(k) Rehabilitation Mortgage Insurance Program. This type of mortgage covers the cost of purchasing or refinancing and rehabilitating a home that is at least a year old.

<><> tax credits and rebates for energy efficiency home improvements.

<><> The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) may be able to help w/ heating or cooling bills

<><> A person participating in certain other benefit programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF or welfare),may be automatically eligible.

ACT NOW: Congress needs to look into this...and publicize its findings.

CONTACT CONGRESS: Capitol Switchboard 1-866-220-0044

Call President Trump: Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414

FBI TIPS PAGE-----https://tips.fbi.gov

They come here penniless, from places where they crap in a hole in the ground---and suddenly they're in the money.

====================================

THE US GOVT CASH HAUL IS HUGE cashing multiple US govt checks under several identities in all off these categories:

UI, SSI, Workmen's Comp,

TANF (temporary assistance to needy families),

WICS (food assistance),

Subsidized Section 8 shelter,

ObamaPhone subsidies,

Utility Assistance subsidies,

School breakfasts/lunches/snacks subsidies,

$5000 a year EITC checks per identity.

Not to mention falsifying EBT apps claiming "need"---buying non-food items w/ tax dollars.

Falsifying sub-prime mtg apps---flipping the houses among themselves for a big profit---then skipping town---leaving the banks holding the bag.

And on and on and on...ad infinitum, ad nauseaum.

Democrat Cong Becerra Says He Tried To Block Server After Ntl Security Warnings, But the Paki Logins Continued Unabated
Daily Caller ^ | 12/11/2017 | Luke Rosiak / FR Posted by mojito

Democrat Cong Xavier Becerra, then chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, barely reacted when he learned the caucus server had been infiltrated in 2016, although earlier, he had loudly decried the hack of the DNC server that happened around that same time....

The then-congressman, who is now California’s AG, refused to articulate details of the cyber breach at a Cali press conference, and would not say whether he’s seeking criminal charges against longtime IT aide Imran Awan and his family.....

Becerra's reaction is odd given Democrats’ vocal abhorrence of the breach of the DNC resulting in the publication of its emails by Wikileaks....

Early signs of that breach were treated casually by the DNC---then headed by D/W/S ----when first detected: A tech manager said he was too busy with other matters to chase down leads, the FBI’s calls weren’t returned, the DNC delayed a response to focus on the primaries, and Donna Brazile said when DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz finally relayed the news of the breach to officers weeks later, her tone was “casual.”

But even after the Wikileaks publication of DNC emails, Becerra never publicly acknowledged nor demanded consequences for the cyber breach on the server of a group similar in nature to the DNC.

Almost two years later, none of the Pakis has been charged or disciplined for the breach, which is perhaps not surprising since the victims don’t appear to be asking for it. (Democrats have apparently taken the Oath of Omerta.)

According to the House Investigative Report:

ITEM---The Awan clan was logging in to Becerra’s server w/ 17 different accounts belonging to those whose data had no connection to Becerra's Democratic Caucus.

ITEM--- The patterns were consistent with data being funneled onto Becerra’s server from other members of Congress.

ITEM---House Democrats said Becerra never alerted them of any aberrations.

ITEM---Apparently Becerra never tried to determine where the funneled data eventually landed.

(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...

HAT TIP LUKE ROSIAK, Daily Caller Investigative Reporter

House investigators concluded that Paki Democratic IT aides made unauthorized access to congressional servers in 2016, allegedly accessing the data of members for whom they did not work, logging in as members of Congress themselves, and covering their tracks, according to a presentation summarizing the findings of a four-month internal probe.

Their behavior mirrored a “classic method for insiders to exfiltrate data from an organization,” and they continued even after orders to stop, the briefing materials allege. There are indications that numerous members’ data may have been secretly residing not on their designated servers, but instead aggregated onto one server, according to the briefing and other sources. Authorities said that the entire server was then physically stolen.

When acting on the findings, Democratic leadership appear to have misrepresented the issue to their own members as solely a matter of theft, a comparison of the investigators’ findings with Democrats’ recollections and a committee’s public statement shows, leading 44 Democrats to not conduct protective measures typically taken after a breach — including informing constituents whose personal information may have been exposed. (A list of the involved members is below.)

The presentation, written by the House’s Office of the Inspector General, reported under the bold heading “UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS” that “5 shared employee system administrators have collectively logged into 15 member offices and the Democratic Caucus although they were not employed by the offices they accessed.”

It found indications that a House “server is being used for nefarious purposes and elevated the risk that individuals could be reading and/or removing information” and “could be used to store documents taken from other offices.” The server was that of the House Democratic Caucus, a sister group of the DNC that was run at the time by then-Rep. Xavier Becerra.

The aides named are Imran Awan, his wife Hina Alvi, his brothers Abid and Jamal, and his friend Rao Abbas, Pakistani-born aides whose lives are filled with reason for concern. Abid’s Ukranian wife Natalia Sova and Haseeb Rana were also involved in the Awans’ activities but departed the House payroll prior to the investigation.

One systems administrator “logged into a member’s office two months after he was terminated from that office,” the investigative summary says. While the rules could have been violated for some innocuous purpose, the presentation indicates that is unlikely: “This pattern of login activity suggests steps are being taken to conceal their activity.” A second presentation shows that shortly before the election, their alleged behavior got even worse. “

During September 2016, The Awans continued to use Democratic Caucus computers in anomalous ways:

<><> Logged onto laptop as system administrator
<><> Changes of identity
<><> logging onto Becerra’s Democratic Caucus server using 17 different user account credentials
<><> Some of the credentials belonged to Members
<><> The shared employee did not work for 9 of the 17 offices to which these user accounts belonged.”
<><> The investigation found “possible storage of sensitive House information outside the House
<><> Dropbox is installed on two Caucus computers used by the shared employees.
<><> Two user accounts had thousands of files in their Dropbox folder on each computer.”
<><> Using Dropbox is against House rules because it uploads files offsite.
<><> The Wash/Po reported “Based on the file names, some of the information is likely sensitive.”
<><> clean up post-Awans discovered many computers were set up to be nothing more than “thin clients” that were portals to an outside computer.
<><> The Awans were using terminal servers from a computer in a different location.
<><>Virtual Private Networks can also make a server’s hard drive appear to be local to a computer.
<><> remote sessions remained active for months at a time.
<><> data was always out of [the members’] possession
<><> the Awans were using the House Democratic Caucus as their central service warehouse.
<><> the Awan clan collectively logged onto Becerra’s Caucus system 5,735 times, some 27 times per day
<><> other Democrat offices were accessed in total less than 60 times.
<><> the pattern of login activity suggests steps were taken to conceal their activity
<><>aggregation of multiple members’ data would mean all that data was absconded with
<><> authorities said that Becerra’s entire Democratic Caucus server physically disappeared as it was being monitored by L/E.
<><> no scenario exists where the Awan clan’s access was appropriate
<><> House members are not allowed to accept services from people not on their payroll
<><> House employees are not permitted to log in to servers of members for whom they do not work.
<><> House policies are codified by law.

The House commonly uses Citrix remote sessions that allow someone’s computer screen to show the contents of a different computer, but its security precautions ordinarily cause them to disconnect after just a few minutes. A House committee staffer close to the probe told TheDCNF that “the data was always out of [the members’] possession. It was a breach. “ That may imply that dozens of members’ data was all in one place — on Becerra’s Democratic Caucus server instead of in House members’ possession. The apparently constant access by the entire crew, even their friend Rao Abbas, also doesn’t jive with The Washington Post’s claim that they were using it as a family computer for homework and photos.

In early February, House Sergeant-At-Arms Paul Irving, Chief Administrative Officer Phil Kiko, and Jamie Fleet, the Democratic staff director of the Committee on House Administration, summoned affected chiefs of staff to a meeting to announce that the family was being banned from the network. Republican staff was not present, and the briefers omitted all mention of the cybersecurity component that appears to comprise the most dangerous part of the findings, according to numerous Democrats’ accounts.

On Feb. 3, 2017, Committee on House Administration Chairman Gregg Harper and Ranking Member Robert Brady issued the sole official statement about what they called “the ongoing House theft investigation.” “House Officials became aware of suspicious activity and alleged theft committed by certain House IT support staff,” the statement read. “An internal investigation determined that a number of House policies and procedures had been violated. This information was turned over to the United States Capitol Police and their investigation is ongoing. These employees have also been blocked from accessing House systems. All offices impacted have been contacted. No further comment will be issued until the investigation is complete.”

But that internal investigation’s most notable findings — in fact, the second presentation didn’t even mention theft — concerned credible evidence of a cyber-breach, and at the time of the announcement, the most recent incident of theft consisted of the disappearance of Becerra’s House Democratic Caucus server that was evidence in a cybersecurity probe, several authorities said.

HAT TIP LUKE ROSIAK, Daily Caller Investigative Reporter

There are strong indications that many of the 44 Democrat members’ data — including personal information of constituents seeking help — was entirely out of those Democrat members’ possession, and instead was stored on the House Democratic Caucus server. With the basics of the probe hidden from members, Democrats appear to have vocally painted an inaccurate picture of what the report alleges occurred, pointing to the current criminal charges instead of the House’s investigation while not taking any steps to protect potentially compromised data.

Rep. Ted Lieu, Democrat of California, who employed Abid Awan and is a member of the House foreign affairs committee, said as far as he was concerned it was a simple issue of bank fraud.“The staffer that I used, there was no allegation,” he told a TV station. “If you look at the charge of the brother, he was charged with bank fraud… that has nothing to do with national security.”

Prosecutors contend in court filings that they committed bank fraud and tried to flee because they found out about the already-existing investigation into their House activities.

Becerra’s House Democratic Caucus knew about problems and tried to stop them, according to the presentation, but the suspect defied him. Based on other Democrat members’ accounts, Becerra does not appear to have warned other offices that might have been affected“ (nor did Democrats advise constituents that their personal information may have been compromised-—includes Social Security numbers a constituent has to supply to a member).

Possibly as a ploy to placate L/E, Becerra’s Chief of Staff requested one of the shared employees to not provide IT services or access their computers,” the investigative briefing reads. Then, as police monitored Becerra’s Democratic Caucus server, labeling it as a primary piece of evidence, they discovered in January that it was taken from under their noses from Becerra’s House Democratic Caucus and replaced with a different computer.

The statements of numerous Democrats indicate that the Democratic staff of the House Administration Committee and other House officials may have withheld information about cybersecurity breaches from members who employed the suspects, and appear to have misled them about the basic nature of the investigation. “This is the first I’ve heard about that,” said Missouri Democratic Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver — who employed almost every member of the Awan group — of cybersecurity issues. “The only thing I’m aware of is that he’s being charged with bank fraud,” Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro, who employed Jamal and is a member of the intelligence committee, told TheDCNF. “Do you have evidence that there’s anything more than a bank investigation? If someone’s given you a document to that effect, please give it to me.”

It was all sweetness and light back in 2011 when Obama picked Debbie W/S to head the DNC....but now, three years later......

Obama Can't Stand The Leader Of The Democratic Party / by Hunter Walker, Sep. 18, 2014

According to a lengthy feature published in Politico, DNC Chair Was Debbie W/S has a strained relationship with President Barack Obama. The story, by Edward-Isaac Dovere, described several factors leading to a "behind the scenes struggle with the White House." These include a pair of recent gaffes, alleged efforts to get the DNC to pay for her wardrobe, and a perception Wasserman Schultz is more interested in pursuing a potential House leadership bid than supporting the party.

Wasserman Schultz rejected the notion she had focused on her personal ambitions while heading the DNC. She told Politico her time leading at the party was "not about me." According to Dovere, who said he conducted "interviews with three dozen current and former DNC staffers, committee officers, elected officials, state party leaders, and top Democratic operatives," this tension has led toawkward in-person interactions between the president and Wasserman Schultz. The story said Obama and Wasserman Schultz, a Florida congresswoman, have "rarely even talked since 2011," and she attempts to speak with the president by getting on the end of photo lines at events, where he greets her by saying, "You need another picture, Debbie?"

Under Wasserman Schultz's leadership the DNC retired debt incurred during the 2012 election. Dovere described Wasserman Schultz as attempting to tout this achievement on one of the occasions when she approached the president. "I just want you to know, the DNC has retired its debt," she said, according to the story. "Debbie, you think I don't know?" Obama was said to answer, adding, "I'm the president of the United States."

According to Politico, the tension between Obama and Wasserman Schultz got bad enough that his inner circle considered replacing her as head of the DNC. Dovere said this plan was abandoned because "there was nervousness about the optics of Obama dropping a woman from the party leadership."

Wasserman Schultz initially supported Hillary Clinton rather than Obama in the 2008 presidential race. However, Dovere reported that, if Clinton is the Democratic nominee in 2016, she would most likely replace Wasserman Schultz. He attributed this to lasting animosity over the fact Wasserman Schultz allegedly reached out to Obama in 2008 and expressed her willingness to back him before Clinton officially ended her campaign. Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill denied there was an issue between the two. He told Politico that Clinton had the "highest regard" for Wasserman Schultz.

The White House also insisted the reports of a strained relationship between Wasserman Schultz were greatly exaggerated. Deputy White House press secretary Eric Schultz said Obama was "grateful" for her work at the DNC and felt she was doing a "great job" positioning Democrats for this year's midterm elections.

When asked about the Politico story, DNC national press secretary Michael Czin pointed to the party's fundraising success under Wasserman Schultz's leadership and the fact Obama reappointed her after the latest presidential race. "The Chair has worked tirelessly for President Obama and Democrats up and down the ballot in her three and a half years at the helm of the DNC. That's why President Obama reappointed her following his own re-election," Czin said. "The Chair's record and accomplishments at the DNC speaks for themselves. Just this cycle she has traveled to 99 cities and 37 states to participate in hundreds of events in support of Democrats up and down the ticket."

"This cycle the DNC has raised more than $120 million, retired more than $20 million in debt that helped us win in 2012, built a groundbreaking program to expand access to the ballot box while providing campaigns of all size the same data and technology platforms that the Obama campaign pioneered. That's a record anyone would be proud of."

SOURCE http://www.businessinsider.com/report-tensions-between-obama-and-debbie-wasserman-schultz-2014-9

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