Arrested Feeling The Country
Imran Awan, a House staffer at the center of a criminal investigation potentially impacting dozens of Democratic lawmakers, has been arrested on bank fraud and is prevented from leaving the country while the charges are pending.
David Dameron, a spokesman for US Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz -- one of the lawmakers who employed Awan -- said late Tuesday Awan had been fired.
When the mainstream media was ignoring the national security issue of Imran Awan's possible criminal ties to at least 20 House members, IVN.us stayed focused on the story.
Awan was arrested at Dulles Airport Monday night before boarding a flight to Lahore, Pakistan. His wife, Hina Alvi, has already left the country for Pakistan along with their children. Federal agents do not believe Alvi has any intention of returning to the US, according to a court document.
Awan is accused of attempting to defraud the Congressional Federal Credit Union by obtaining a $165,000 home equity loan for a rental property, which is against the credit union’s policies since it is not the owner's primary residence. Those funds were then included as part of a wire transfer to two individuals in Faisalabad, Pakistan.
McCain Makes a Difference for GOP on Health Care
Prodded by President Trump, a bitterly divided Senate voted Tuesday to move forward with the Republicans' legislation to repeal and replace "Obamacare."
The vote brought high drama as Sen. John McCain returned to the Capitol for the first time after being diagnosed with brain cancer to cast a decisive "yes" vote.
The final tally was 51-50, with Vice President Mike Pence breaking the tie after two Republicans joined all 48 Democrats in voting "no."
The Senate rejected one proposal to repeal-and-replace late Tuesday, and it doesn't appear Republicans have the votes necessary to overhaul Obamacare. This begs the question, does President Trump have a plan to engage Senate Democrats?
Congress will once again resume discussions today on health care reform legislation.
Leak Announcements: Trump Prodding Attorney General Sessions Into Action
Most observers have found President Trump's social media attacks on Jeff Sessions distasteful and unbecoming of the presidency. But if Trump has taught us anything, life on Pennsylvania Avenue isn't business as usual.
So, in the coming days, Attorney General Jeff Sessions will make an announcement about several criminal leak investigations.
The investigations will be centered around news reports containing sensitive material about intelligence, the report said.
The news comes as newly-appointed White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci publicly decried leaks coming from within the West Wing in his first week on the job and vowed to fire staffers who continue talking to reporters.
The impending announcement also comes as Trump grows publicly unhappy with Sessions. Last week he criticized the attorney general for recusing himself from the Russia investigation.
Trump has repeatedly slammed leaks and has called for a crackdown on information flowing to reporters.