Debbie Wasserman-Schultz Under Increasing Pressure to Explain Why She Hired Imran Awan and Why She Kept Him on the Payroll For So Long

Reasonable questions, right?

I'm sure Honest Truth-Teller Jake Tapper will get right on this.

Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is coming under mounting pressure to explain why she kept an IT aide on the payroll for months after a criminal investigation was revealed, facing calls from Republicans to testify as well as a newly filed ethics complaint.

Wasserman Schultz, the Florida congresswoman who led the Democratic National Committee until last year, terminated Imran Awan's "part-time" employment last week, when he was arrested at Dulles International Airport trying to fly to Pakistan. He was charged with a bank fraud count.

Guy was making like $160,000 per year. That's "part-time"?

Maybe part-time for a criminal.

This is very interesting, I think:

The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), run by former U.S. Attorney Matthew G. Whitaker (a George W. Bush appointee), also filed a complaint to the Office of Congressional Ethics on Monday. The complaint urged an investigation, questioning why Schultz kept paying Awan after he was barred from the House computer system, noting "Members are directly responsible for ensuring their staff are only paid for official public work."

"There is something quite amiss as to why Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz continued to use taxpayer funds to employ former technology staff member, Imran Awan, even months after he was barred from accessing the House's computer systems and a number of her colleagues severed ties with Awan," Whitaker said in a statement.

If he wasn't being paid for his IT work -- given he was barred from using House computers -- what the hell was he being paid for?

posted by Ace at 04:15 PM

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