More Evidence of a Political Cover-up in Dem IT Security Scandal
More evidence has surfaced about the disturbing political coverup of grave national security violations committed by the Pakistani who ran House Democrats’ information technology. His name is Imran Awan and last year he was arrested on bank-fraud charges at Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C. while trying to flee to his native Pakistan.
Even after getting fired by some members of Congress for stealing computers and data systems, Florida’s Debbie Wasserman Schultz, then Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair, kept him and let him have access to her emails and files as well as the password to the electronic device she used for DNC business.
At one point, Awan had access to the computers of dozens of members of Congress, including those on the House Intelligence and Foreign Affairs committees. Judicial Watch has launched an investigation and is pursuing public records.
The government’s bizarre failure to prosecute Awan for the national security violations he appears to have committed points to a political coverup that’s dangerous, craven and borders on traitorous. A House Office of Inspector General investigation determined earlier this year that Awan and his relatives committed numerous violations of House security policies, including logging into the House Democratic Caucus server thousands of times without authorization.
The same news agency that reported that story published alarming new revelations in the case this month, concluding that “Democrats appear to want to keep the case out of court” because “a trial could expose their reckless IT practices.”
It turns out that, not only has Capitol Police failed to make any arrests, it inadvertently gave evidence to defense attorneys that was supposed to go to prosecutors. It gets better; prosecutors appear to be sharing information with someone on Capitol Hill who in turn is leaking it to Awan’s lawyer.
Here is an excerpt from the news article published just a few days ago: “The Capitol Police turned over a trove of evidence in the alleged Imran Awan House cyberbreach and theft case to the defense attorneys when they were supposed to deliver it to prosecutors instead, according to court documents and a source.” Someone inside government apparently tipped off Awan’s lawyer, Chris Gowen, that a reporter was digging around for information on the Capitol Police’s suspicious mistake involving the mishandling of evidence.
Gowen, a former public defender in Miami Florida, worked for Bill Clinton and on Hillary Clinton’s failed 2008 presidential campaign. The exchange of information (known as discovery) in a federal criminal case occurs between prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and defense lawyers by either registered mail or a third-party copy service. Law enforcement is never involved, according to federal law enforcement sources contacted by Judicial Watch.
Legal experts and veteran federal agents contacted by Judicial Watch say something smells rotten in this case. The so-called inadvertent disclosure to Awan’s defense team by Capitol Police was intentional for one of two reasons, the experts assert. Perhaps the prosecution is alerting the defense of particular facts of the case to generate cooperation and further the probe into political figures.
“This is possible because prosecutors are always gun shy when it comes to prosecuting political figures, especially the figures who may be culpable in the case,” said a longtime Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) official who has worked on similar cases. “They do not want to go to trial for a number of reasons, so they are showing their hand to induce a plea with cooperation.”
The second reason, according to Judicial Watch’s sources, is that there is corruption and the inadvertent disclosure was purposeful to help bolster the defense without being obvious and backing down in court. “Either way, something is up,” a longtime federal agent told Judicial Watch.
“I have never heard of anyone at the federal level inadvertently handing over documents to the defense en mass like this, never happens.” Chris Farrell, Judicial Watch’s Director of Investigations and Research, maintains that “the Awan case has all the characteristics of a major national security crime, specifically, 18 USC Sec 793(f),” which carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison. A former military intelligence officer specializing in counterintelligence and human intelligence, Farrell added that treating the Awan case as anything less than a major national security crime is either negligence or complicity. “The bungled handling of evidence is disgraceful and amateurish,” Farrell said, adding that “the effort to bury, constrain and minimize the Awan case is deeply disturbing, and points to the need for a legitimate, full investigation by a competent law enforcement agency with substantial experience in counterintelligence and cyber-crime arenas.”
Salt Lake City, UT (May 29, 2018) — Earlier today, the Lt. Governor issued formal certification of the Utah Medical Cannabis Act for November's ballot. The following statement was subsequently issued by Connor Boyack, president of Libertas Institute:
"Today's announcement is victory for patients and their supporters—including our organization—who have worked hard for years to make sure Utah law does not treat patients as criminals.
"While the Legislature has only been willing to support incremental steps that help few patients, the public has consistently been willing to support a broader program that helps thousands of sick and suffering Utahns find the relief they and their physicians believe cannabis might offer.
"We are pleased to learn that our opposition's shady tactics to remove signatures and mislead the public about what's in the Utah Medical Cannabis Act were unsuccessful. We respect those with differing opinions, but believe it's time for Utah voters to take the issue into their own hands and change this unjust law that criminalizes our loved ones and neighbors."
Libertas Institute has been intimately involved in medical cannabis policy in Utah since before the Legislature first considered "Charlee's Law" in 2014, which legalized CBD oil for certain epileptic patients.
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About Libertas Institute
Libertas Institute is a free market think tank in Utah that employs strategy and persuasive communication to inform the public and educate elected officials, helping generate the political will to reduce taxes, repeal unnecessary laws, and eliminate regulatory burdens that put obstacles in the path of hard-working Utahns. We collaborate with a diverse group of organizations and allies to create a freer Utah, effecting change through legal research, public advocacy and advertising, lawsuits against the government, events, publications, and more.
Contact:
Nichelle Aiden, Director of Communications
801.897.6983
nichelle@libertasutah.org
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Panetta: GOP should denounce lawmaker's words
Source: CNN
Former CIA Director Leon Panetta defended special counsel Robert Mueller after Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) told Judicial Watch that Mueller has "protected radical Islamists for his whole career."
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ERIC ELIASON: DEMOCRATIC DEBATE SHOWS THE SYSTEM IS BROKEN
United Utah Party congressional candidate in First District offers a fresh alternative
Eric Eliason, the United Utah Party candidate in the First Congressional District, watched today’s debate between the two Democrats vying for the nomination to compete against Eliason and Rep. Rob Bishop in the November general election.
“They talked about the importance of finding non-partisan solutions, but I didn’t hear any real specifics,” Eliason said. “And it’s a lot harder for anyone within the broken two-party system to fix it. A real solution needs to come from outside.”
Eliason agreed with both candidates that it’s time for a fresh face to replace Rob Bishop, and he offered himself as the best opportunity to do that.
“The two-party system is fundamentally broken, and we have a real shot to change that in November,” Eliason said. “We have the resources and the momentum necessary to win this race.”
More information is available at eliasonforcongress.com.
Weber County, Utah - Bear River Service Area is hosting their 9th annual multi-county training with Rich County, Cache County, Box Elder County and Weber County. This training is especially important as it prepares our firefighter's to fight fires in the wildlands which make up most of northern Utah.
The training will include live recreations of emergency situations and will involve 80 firefighters training together for a potential large-scale emergency. Breakout sessions will include protecting structures, triage, and communication protocols.
The following dates and times will be available for the press to record the trainings and interview the firefighters.
