Wasserman Schultz defends having IT aide on payroll during inquiry

U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said Tuesday that nothing has happened to change her belief that she did the right thing by keeping an information technology aide on the payroll long after other members of Congress fired him when they learned he was under investigation.

Imran Awan and his wife, Hina Alvi, were indicted last week, in Washington, D.C., on four counts of bank fraud and unlawful monetary transactions.

“He’s not my staffer. He no longer works for me. And when he was arrested, I terminated him,” she said. “I kept him on the payroll during the time that he was not arrested and not charged with anything. And that was because, as I said, that I was concerned about the violation of his due process rights and also that there were racial and ethnic profiling concerns as well.”

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This story was originally published August 23, 2017 at 8:52 AM with the headline "Wasserman Schultz defends having IT aide on payroll during inquiry."