Imran Awan applied to the US Diversity Lottery program at age 14. He and his family were chosen. He arrived at age 17, is now age 38. Being "shared" US government employees exempted Awans from usual oversight. For extended periods they worked from their native Pakistan:
Saturday, Sept. 16, 2017, "Federal probe into House technology worker Imran Awan yields intrigue, no evidence of espionage," Washington Post, Shawn Boburg
"Chosen in a lottery"
"Imran Awan, now 38, was a 14-year-old living in Pakistan when he filled out an application for a U.S. program that provides limited green cards through a lottery system, his lawyers said. He and his family were chosen. [Approx. 1993] He arrived at 17, got a job working at a fast-food restaurant and went to community college in Northern Virginia. He transferred to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and earned a degree in information technology.
Awan became a U.S. citizen in 2004, his lawyers said, the same year he was hired for a part-time job as an IT specialist in the office of Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.). Awan had gotten to know some of Wexler’s staffers as an intern for a company that provided services to the office.
As an IT specialist, Awan set up printers and work email accounts for new employees, and did technical troubleshooting. Charismatic and accommodating, he became a popular choice among House Democrats and soon cobbled together more than a dozen part-time jobs as what is known as a “shared employee” on the Hill, floating between offices on an as-needed basis.
Such arrangements came under scrutiny in 2008 when House Inspector General James J. Cornell testified that there was “inadequate oversight” over shared employees.
“In most instances, they have all the freedom of a vendor and all the benefits of an employee without the accountability one would expect with an employee,” Cornell told lawmakers. IT specialists, he noted, “present an additional risk in that they often have access to multiple office’s data outside of both the oversight of congressional office staff and the visibility of House security personnel."
As demand for Awan’s services grew, he began recommending his family members, who had less formal training. His brother Abid, 33, started working on Capitol Hill in 2005. His wife, 33, joined in 2007. A friend, Rao Abbas, 37, who had most recently worked as a manager at a McDonald’s, was hired in 2012. And Imran’s youngest brother, Jamal, 24, started in 2014. Each held part-time jobs in multiple Democratic congressional offices."...
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Added: Diversity Lottery created by US 1990 Immigration Act:
4/4/2011, "The Diversity Visa System: A Fact Sheet," americanimmigrationcouncil.org
"(P.L. 101-649) to stimulate “new seed” immigration from parts of the world that are under-represented in the U.S....To be eligible, applicants must have a high school education or its equivalent, or 2 years experience in an occupation which requires at least 2 years of training or experience, and must be admissible under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The applicant or the applicant’s spouse must be a native of one of the countries that qualify for the diversity visa lottery. Applications must be submitted electronically. Lottery winners are selected randomly by a computer, and the State Department notifies the winners. Winners then have a short time period to file the necessary paperwork demonstrating that they are admissible as legal permanent residents. In person interviews are then scheduled. Lottery winners may also bring their spouses and minor children to the U.S. as derivatives."...
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Added: "Treason" fans suddenly silent on Awan brothers who were invited into US taxpayer funded government offices by members of Congress who allowed them to remain for 12+ years. Awans did much of their US government work from their native Pakistan, being "shared employees" exempted them from usual oversight. GOP "leadership" silent about their Democrat pals who kept Awans around:
10/30/17, "California’s Attorney General Xavier Becerra And The Awan Scandal," Disobedient Media, Kenneth Whittle (Becerra is former US Rep. Xavier Becerra. He's among democrats who first hired Imran Awan in 2004. Becerra remained in congress until Jan. 24, 2017)
"Representatives of the House leadership, who have yet to offer any support for a formal investigation into the ongoing scandal, were absent from hearing when Freedom Caucus members Louie Gohmert (TX), Jim Jordan (OH), Steve King (IA), Ron DeSantis (FL), and Scott Perry (PA), interviewed Luke Rosiak of the Daily Caller and Tom Fitton, President of Judicial Watch.
Rosiak, the journalist responsible for breaking coverage of the Awan scandal, opened the hearing by voicing his concerns regarding the continued silence from Capitol Hill in relation to the unfolding allegations of misconduct. He said that there had been “substantial misinformation put into the public realm about this matter, both maximizing it and minimizing it.”
Rosiak went on to explain that investigators have learned that Imran Awan and his family had not only accessed a congressional server without authorization 5,400 times, but that Imran Awan would conduct House IT work for months at a time while he was located in Pakistan.
Rosiak’s statements were followed by Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton, who added: “The best-case scenario ain’t all that great. You had an ongoing criminal enterprise operating under the noses of 40 House members, and the responsible administrative officials here in the House of Representatives, and put all of the details of his scandal aside, inflammatory details, what is the House doing right now to make sure this isn’t going on right now?”
According to Sara Carter, of Circa, Fitton expressed concern that the Justice Department might not raise these issues for fear of embarrassing members of both parties.
After hearing about Imran’s access to congressional servers while in Pakistan, Rep. Gohmert (TX) responded: “I did not realize that we had someone who would live in Pakistan and get paid the maximum that any House employee could get paid and he was doing his information technology work, his computer work, for the House of Representatives from Pakistan. This is just mind boggling,”
Rep. Perry (PA) also chimed in, voicing concerns regarding an increasingly overt two-tier justice system. Perry explained:..."We have a Justice Department, FBI… the ferocity with which laws are enforced– it’s just not...uniform lately.”
Rep. King (IA) stated, “that Democratic members of Congress who serve on intelligence committees would, by the nature of their work, correspond about sensitive information.” His sentiments refuted claims made by former DNC chairwoman, Rep. Wasserman-Schultz, who argued that the Awans did not have access to any sensitive material.
The concerns expressed at this latest hearing, or the issues surrounding California Attorney General Xavier Beccera, are extremely significant in terms of national security. That the press has shown so little interest in the scandal is alarming. Disobedient Media will continue to report on revelations stemming from the Awan scandal as they unfold."
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Added: Linked above
10/10/17, "House Republicans Hold Discussion On IT Staffer Investigation," Daily Caller, Kerry Picket
"The Washington Post has reported that investigators found that Awan and his relatives made unauthorized access to a congressional server 5,400 times, but Wasserman Schultz has defended Awan calling the entire matter a “right-wing media circus fringe.”...-
Following discussion, Rep. Gohmert spoke to The DC [Daily Caller] and was shocked to learn that Awan would do House IT work months at a time while in Pakistan....
Gohmert continued..."But for a month, two months, three months to be handling that clear across the other side of the world for months at a time — that I had no idea anybody would even think about trying to do something like that.”"...
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