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WASHINGTON - The Department of Justice’s indictment on Friday that accused 12 Russian military officials of directly meddling in the 2016 election has myriad connections to South Florida, where stolen emails eventually brought down Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, stolen internal documents aired unflattering details about a Democratic primary race and a Florida-based provocateur with connections to President Donald Trump was in contact with the hackers. Special Counsel Robert Mueller charged 12 Russian military officials with engaging in cyber operations that involved releases of stolen documents from the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, the DNC and the Democratic Congressional...

Kurt Smolek, a Diplomatic Security special agent with the State Department and Dayton Police Academy graduate, was found dead in the Potomac River on Wednesday and the cause is listed as undetermined pending an autopsy. We're hearing tonight that Smolek, 45, is a 1998 academy graduate and one of his assignments as a special agent was as a member of Condoleezza Rice's security team. According to DC Metro police, Smolek was last seen Monday, Aug. 28, in the 600 block of Water Street, Southwest, about 10 p.m. A missing persons bulletin described hims as white with graying brown hair, brown...

OK, I think this is a genius move by Jeff Sessions. The supposed DOJ Awan case 'cover up' has upset many. But when you read the fine print, the plea only applies to DC (thread at link).

Imran Awan, the former IT aide to congressional Democrats whose federal court case has drawn the interest of President Trump and other Republicans, pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal bank fraud in a plea deal as prosecutors said they "uncovered no evidence" that Awan "violated federal law with respect to the House computer systems." During a hearing before U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan in Washington, Awan pleaded guilty to making a false statement on a loan application. As part of the deal, the prosecution dropped fraud charges against Awan's wife, Hina Alvi. The case has generated interest from Republicans on...

Rep. Yvette Clarke’s deputy chief of staff came into the office on a Saturday in December 2015 and caught the New York Democrat’s part-time IT aide, Abid Awan, rummaging through the congresswoman’s work area with new iPods and other equipment strewn around the room, according to a House document and interviews with Hill staff. Wendy Anderson told Abid to get out of the office, the document said. She told Capitol Hill investigators that she soon suspected Clarke’s chief of staff, Shelley Davis, was working with Abid on a theft scheme, multiple House staffers with knowledge of the situation told The...

Democratic IT aide Imran Awan solicited a bribe from an IT vendor in exchange for contracting opportunities with the office of then-Rep. Gwen Graham, the vendor alleged to The Daily Caller News Foundation, adding that Imran spoke to him in detail about his alleged financial fraud schemes in the House. The Department of Justice knows of the source — the longtime owner of a major House IT company — and what he is prepared to testify, a high-level official in Jeff Sessions’ DOJ with knowledge of the investigation confirmed. But the vendor said no law enforcement ever even tried to...

Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Caller News Foundation, Chris Bedford, shed light on a hacking scandal Wednesday surrounding Democratic Rep. Yvette Clarke and her possible ties to Pakistan. “These allegations bring a new kind of allegation to the whole Awan case. So far we’ve really been dealing with hacking and unauthorized access to networks, possibly ferreting information back to Pakistan,” Bedford said on Fox Business’ “Mornings With Maria.” “Now we actually have people who are implicating a chief of staff for a congresswoman, Yvette Clarke. Chief of staff Shelley Davis.”

It’s the Washington conspiracy that barely speaks its name. And unlike the incandescent “Russian interference” scandal dominating the news for well over a year, this one has the potential to cause grave harm to our national security. **SNIP** How did Imran Awan come to be represented by a lawyer who is close to both Bill and Hillary Clinton? Mr. Awan, so far as one knows, does not know the Clintons personally. But his chief protector, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, certainly does. The Florida congresswoman was an outspoken ally of Hillary Clinton during her 2008 and 2016 presidential runs. And Awan’s attorney,...

The Daily Caller investigative reporter Luke Rosiak on the controversy surrounding Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.) and her former IT aide Imran Awan.

snip -- While the focus in Washington, D.C. remains centered on the Mueller Russia probe, we cannot lose sight of another ongoing investigation on Capitol Hill. At the center of this developing scandal are the nefarious actions of a former Democratic congressional IT aide indicted last year on bank fraud charges, who at the time was being paid by a high-profile member of Congress although he was barred from the House computer systems. While the case has not received a lot of mainstream media attention, the details are sordid. Not only does the case raise serious national security and obstruction...

**SNIP** Awan was a congressional IT staffer. Numerous members of his family joined him on the congressional payroll. Now he is awaiting trial for bank fraud. What started in 2016 as an investigation into equipment and data theft has evolved into a case about falsely obtaining home equity loans and sending money to Pakistan. As the probe evolves, there have been dozens of shocking reports about the family’s activities and access. The plot twists have spawned numerous conspiracy theories. Awan’s lawyer Christopher Gowen says that all these reports are complicating the trial. “Every time we think it’s done, Johnny-on-the-spot over...

Imran Awan, the former IT aide to congressional Democrats whose federal court case has drawn the interest of President Trump, is poised to strike a plea deal with prosecutors, court filings indicate. A Tuesday filing said a plea agreement hearing for Awan and his wife Hina Alvi has been set for July 3 before U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan in Washington. The filing did not reveal any details about the terms of the apparent agreement. But in court documents last month, prosecutors hinted that a deal could be in the works. “The parties are currently exploring a possible resolution...

Now this… The Awan brothers’ server with much of the key evidence to the case has gone missing. The Epoch Times reported: In a behind-closed-door briefing to the House leadership in September 2016, the inspector general said their activity was suspicious in part because the IT workers had taken steps to conceal their identities. “Excessive logons are an indication that the server is being used for nefarious purposes and elevated the risk that individuals could be reading and/or removing information,” reads a presentation by the inspector general that was not released to the public. The inspector general also warned of...

Imran and his two Pakistani brothers managed the IT affairs for several Democratic government officials. They were relieved of their duties in February 2017 on suspicion that they accessed specific computer networks without permission, also known as hacking. Abid, Imran, and Jamal Awan were barred from computer networks at the House of Representatives in February 2017. Imran Awan was married to two women at once, including his first cousin, as is his country’s custom. Imran Awan and his wife Alvi reportedly struck a plea deal this week. Daily Caller investigative journalist Luke Rosiak joined Lou Dobbs on Wednesday to discuss...

Shortebed title. Full title: KEY EVIDENCE GOES MISSING: Server Belonging to Wasserman Shultz IT Worker Imran Awan Is Physically Stolen from Congress Imran Awan worked for Debbie Wasserman Schultz for thirteen years since she came into office in 2004 as a Florida representative. Imran and his two Pakistani brothers managed the IT affairs for several Democratic government officials. They were relieved of their duties in February 2017 on suspicion that they accessed specific computer networks without permission, also known as hacking. Abid, Imran, and Jamal Awan were barred from computer networks at the House of Representatives in February 2017.

The curious case of Imran Awan, which sounds like an international spy thriller, is entering its third act. Awan was a congressional IT aide to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., and he was finally fired just after he was arrested trying to fly to Pakistan last summer. Awan and his wife, Hina Alvi, were charged last summer with bank fraud. They now appear poised to strike a plea deal with the Department of Justice. A plea agreement hearing is set for July 3 before U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan in Washington, Fox News reported Wednesday.

FULL TITLE: VIDEO: Imran Awan’s Attorney’s Epic Meltdown: Slams Trump, Offers to Sell Case Evidence to Reporter for Cash, Calls Marine a Criminal Imran Awan’s attorney Chris Gowen is not the brightest bulb in the shed. The attorney snapped Thursday, unleashed an epic meltdown that could jeopardize his client’s scheduled plea hearing on July 3. Unglued is not a strong enough word to describe Gowen’s rant, triggered by Crowdsource the Truth editor Jason Goodman who recorded the phone call. Gowen likely crossed the legal line, offering to sell Goodman evidence in the Awan case for $1,000. That offer came after...

The Fraternal Order of Police district that includes Broward County has dropped U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, from its endorsements. Instead, the big police union said it’s endorsing Carlos Reyes, one of three Republicans seeking his party’s nomination to challenge Wasserman Schultz in the Broward/Miami-Dade County 23rd Congressional District. ...the FOP district said it endorses “people who have supported or will support the FOP and its mission. Both parties have endorsements along with non-partisan” contests. Others use it as a different kind of guide, which one reader posted on the FOP’s Facebook page: “Pretty easy for me. Vote against...

<p>Wasserman Schultz cornered House Chief Administrative Officer Phil Kiko and called him a “fucking Islamophobe,” saying “you will not so much as take away their parking spots,” the two House employees said Kiko told them.</p>

Alex Pappas: "NEW: It appears ex-Dem IT aide Imran Awan and his wife Hina Alvi have struck a deal with prosecutors: court filing says a plea agreement hearing has been set for July 3."