Ex-Dem IT staffer slammed by Trump pleads guilty to bank fraud
By JOHN BRESNAHAN
07/03/2018 11:55 AM EDT
Updated 07/03/2018 01:23 PM EDT
Imran Awan — the former House Democratic IT consultant at the center of conservative conspiracy theories that were even promoted by President Donald Trump — pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one felony count of federal bank fraud.
Criminal charges against his wife, Hina Alvi, will be dropped as part of the plea deal between Awan and the Justice Department.
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Awan's attorney and DOJ agreed to a recommendation of probation for Awan, although that will not be final until U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan sentences him on Aug. 21.
Despite an extensive investigation by federal agents, Awan and Alvi were not found to have any ties to a foreign intelligence agency targeting Congress or to be involved in a criminal ring that stole equipment from Democratic lawmakers.
There had been numerous stories in conservative publications over the past two years suggesting Awan, Alvi and other family members who worked with his IT firm engaged in a host of potentially illegal activities. But no such charges were ever filed against him or his family members, the Justice Department acknowledged in the plea agreement.
Awan’s lawyer, Christopher Gowen, lashed out at Trump and House Republicans for spreading false allegations against his client.
“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. Today’s plea deal resolves, in black and white, any question that any of the coordinated allegations were true,” Gowen said in a statement.
“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. “This was all made up, for purposes of clickbait, Fox News stories, and political opportunism. And yes, this repugnant behavior went straight to the top. Just weeks ago, the President of the United States tweeted again alleging that Imran was responsible for a missing Democratic Party server.”
Trump tweeted last month, “Our Justice Department must not let Awan & Debbie Wasserman Schultz off the hook. The Democrat I.T. scandal is a key to much of the corruption we see today. They want to make a “plea deal” to hide what is on their Server. Where is Server? Really bad!”
At the time of Trump’s tweet, DOJ already had the House Democratic server in its possession. Awan, who was once employed by Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), also met eight times with FBI agents and other federal investigators.
