Here Comes the (Worst) Judge
22nd October 2024
Frontpage has proclaimed Tanya S. Chutkan number one in their series on the ten worst judges in America. An Obama pick for the DC District Court, Chutkan goes easy on Islamic terrorists and violent criminals but cracks down hard on the January 6 defendants. Her handling of the Imran Awan case failed to get the attention it deserved.
Of all the IT people in all the IT firms in all the world, House Democrats thought Awan was best man for the job. Sometimes working from his native Pakistan, Awan and his family team accessed the computers of some 40 Democrats, including those on the intelligence and foreign affairs committees. Without their consent, Awan and his team stashed the Democrats’ data on a server controlled by Xavier Becerra, chair of the House Democratic Caucus. Capitol Police sought a copy of the server but were handed a fake.
In February, 2017, Awan and his team got booted off the House computer network, but Becerra had already fled to California where Gov. Jerry Brown made him state attorney general. In July of 2017, Awan attempted to flee the country but the authorities busted him for bank fraud. For Andrew McCarthy, who prosecuted “Blind Sheik” Omar Abdel-Rahman, “this appears to be a real conspiracy, aimed at undermining American national security.” Some in Congress agreed but the IT man had his defenders.