Daily Caller: Democratic caucus server was replaced by look-alike (Update: DOJ has 'no evidence' House computer systems were compromised)

The Daily Caller has another development in the Imran Awan story. Last fall the DC reported that when police requested a copy of a Democratic caucus server run by Awan, they were provided with a fake. Today, the DC reports on the contents of a memo from Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving describing the fake server and the disappearance of the real server.

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A secret memo marked “URGENT” detailed how the House Democratic Caucus’s server went “missing” soon after it became evidence in a cybersecurity probe. The secret memo also said more than “40 House offices may have been victims of IT security violations.”…

Rep. Louie Gohmert — a Texas Republican on the House Committee on the Judiciary who has done oversight work on the case — said the missing server contained copies of Congress members’ emails.

“They put 40 members of Congress’s data on one server … That server, with that serial number, has disappeared,” he said.

Multiple sources connected to the investigation told TheDCNF that shortly after an IG report came out identifying the House Democratic Caucus server as key evidence in a criminal probe, the evidence was stolen.

An attorney representing Imran Awan tells the DC that there is no missing server, contrary to the memo from Irving. But the DC notes that the attorney didn’t provide any evidence to back up his claim.

Last year, Imran Awan was arrested at Dulles airport when trying to leave the country. Since then developments on the case have been relatively quiet. Last month Fox News reported that a plea deal might be ready to take place on July 3rd (tomorrow).

A Tuesday filing said a plea agreement hearing for Awan and his wife Hina Alvi has been set for July 3 before U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan in Washington.

The filing did not reveal any details about the terms of the apparent agreement. But in court documents last month, prosecutors hinted that a deal could be in the works…

Reports suggest Awan, who worked for former Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and others, could have been involved in a cyber breach operation, something his legal team vigorously denies.

But the facts of the case on paper are relatively mundane. Awan and his wife are facing allegations they engaged in a conspiracy to obtain home equity lines of credit from the Congressional Federal Credit Union by giving false information about two properties – and sending the proceeds to individuals in Pakistan.

A grand jury in August returned an indictment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia charging Awan and Alvi with a total of four counts pertaining to that alleged scheme, which included federal bank fraud and conspiracy. Awan has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

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So far, nothing related to the possible breach has been charged.

Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz has behaved oddly throughout the investigation. Last month the Daily Caller reported that Wasserman Schulz tried to intervene in the investigation early on, calling House Chief Administrative Officer Phil Kiko a “f***ing Islamophobe.” Last May, before Awan tried to flee the country, Wasserman Schultz demanded that the Capitol Hill police return a laptop used by Awan and when he explained it was evidence she replied there would “be consequences” for saying no. Here’s video of that awkward exchange.

Update: As mentioned above, a plea deal appears is happening today in this case. As part of that plea, the DOJ states that only the financial crimes are at issue and notes that after an investigation no evidence of crimes involving the House computer systems was found (h/t Gabriel Malor):

The Government agrees that, as part of its sentencing allocution, the relevant conduct for purposes of determining your client’s sentence is the conduct described in the Statement of Offense.

More specifically, the Government agrees that the public allegations that your client stole U.S. House of Representatives (“House”) equipment and engaged in unauthorized or illegal
conduct involving House computer systems do not form the basis of any conduct relevant to the determination of the sentence in this case. The Government conducted a thorough investigation of those allegations, including interviewing approximately 40 witnesses; taking custody of the House Democratic Caucus server, along with other computers, hard drives, and electronic devices; examining those devices, including inspecting their physical condition and analyzing log-in and usage data; reviewing electronic communications between pertinent House employees; consulting with the House Office of General Counsel and House information technology personnel to access and/or collect evidence; and questioning your client during numerous voluntary interviews. The Government has uncovered no evidence that your client violated federal law with respect to the House computer systems. Particularly, the Government has found no evidence that your client illegally removed House data from the House network or from House Members’ offices, stole the House Democratic Caucus Server, stole or destroyed House information technology equipment, or improperly accessed or transferred government information, including classified or sensitive information.

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Obviously, the memo reported by the DC yesterday means that at one point last year there was concern about the security of the server, but that concern has apparently been resolved. How that happened hasn’t really been explained yet.

Update: Here’s a response to the plea deal from the Daily Caller. They note that this DOJ statement seems to be at odds with some of the conclusions reached by an IG report as well as the memo reported yesterday.

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