A government accountability watchdog accused Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) of an “apparent and serious breach of House Ethics Rules” by paying an unqualified “ghost employee” for work he didn’t do — and for allowing indicted IT aide Imran Awan to control his congressional servers.
“According to his own statements, Cleaver accepted IT services from Imran Awan, who Cleaver did not employ and who has since been banned from the House IT system and is currently facing bank fraud charges,” Kendra Arnold, executive director of the Foundation for Accountability & Civic Trust (FACT), said in a complaint filed Wednesday with the House Office of Congressional Ethics.
“Cleaver, however, employed and paid over $60,000 of taxpayer funds to an IT staffer, Rao Abbas, who Cleaver did not know and apparently did not perform IT work for Cleaver,” the complaint continued.
Abbas is an Awan friend with no formal IT training and who reportedly worked at a McDonald’s prior to his link with Cleaver’s office. The Pakistani-born Awan worked for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and dozens of other House Democrats, including members of the House intelligence and homeland security committees. Awan was indicted on four counts in 2017, including federal bank fraud and conspiracy. – READ MORE
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