Federal Court Orders Snap Hearing on Awan Brothers Democrat IT Scandal: Judicial Watch

A federal court this week ordered a snap hearing on the Congressional IT scandal involving the Awan brothers and their Pakistani spy ring.

Conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch filed multiple FOIA lawsuits seeking documents related to the Imran Awan Democrat IT scandal and just last month the DOJ responded by saying they couldn’t produce any documents related to Awan due to “technical difficulties.”

A hearing was ordered following the Court’s demand to know why no records were produced in the Awan case after the DOJ filed documents under seal.

The hearing is scheduled for (tomorrow) January 15 at 10 AM ET.

Judicial Watch reported:

Judicial Watch announced today that a federal court yesterday ordered a snap hearing after the Justice Department submitted information under seal on Friday following the court’s demand for an explanation of why no records have been produced in the ongoing legal battle for documents about the Congressional Democrat IT (information technology) scandal involving the Awan brothers. The hearing is set for tomorrow, January 15, at 10 am.

In a joint status report filed on December 5, 2019, Judicial Watch reported to the court that the DOJ claimed in a phone call that it was now unable to produce any records to either of the FOIA requests “because the agency was waiting for some unspecified action by Judge [Tanya S.] Chutkan in some other matter so as to avoid having to produce records in this case.” In that same report the DOJ told the court that Judge Chutkan is “presiding over a related sealed criminal matter” that prohibits the government from releasing the requested FOIA information.

In a hearing last month, U.S. District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta expressed frustration and ordered the Justice Department to explain its failure to produce records by January 10 and to provide Judicial Watch some details about the delay. Instead, the Justice Department made its filing under seal and has yet to provide Judicial Watch with any details about its failure to produce records as promised to the court.

“The cover-up of the Awan Brothers Democratic IT scandal shows the FBI and DOJ’s penchant for dishonesty isn’t just limited to FISA abuse,” stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “The DOJ’s handling of the Awan Brothers case has long been an issue of concern and now we are expected believe some secret investigation prevents the public from knowing the full truth about this scandal. We are skeptical.”

-REWIND-

Imran and his two Pakistani brothers were paid millions of dollars for managing 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 Capitol Police tried to retrieve computer networks from the House Democrats but Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) threatened the Capitol Police with ‘consequences’ if they took any evidence into custody.

In July of 2018, the DOJ agreed NOT to prosecute Imran Awan, but Judicial Watch kept pressing forward with its lawsuits in its pursuit of bringing this criminal cabal to justice.

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