Rep. Ron DeSantis Monday called for answers from former Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz about her decision to keep tech expert Imran Awan on her payroll for months after he was accused of bank fraud in February.
"It wasn't just him that was busted in February," the Florida Republican told Fox News' "Fox & Friends" program.
"He had family members, a couple of friends, all these guys, although they weren't qualified. They made over $4 million from Democratic members of the House of Representatives since 2009."
Last Tuesday, Wasserman Schultz, also a representative from Florida, fired Awan, one day after he was arrested at Dulles International Airport while trying to flee the United States. Awan, 37, faces bank fraud charges for allegedly trying to get a loan from the Congressional Federal Union by claiming a rental property as his primary residence.
Awan and four other IT staffers, all of whom were accused of theft of computers and data systems in February, were employed by more than two dozen congressional Democrats, but Wasserman Schultz was the only lawmaker to keep Anwan on the payroll.
"I think it's questionable what they were doing during that time," DeSantis said of the experts' work over the past eight years. "We would have to investigate that. Of course, they had access to intelligence and House Foreign Affairs Committee members' personal email and IT accounts. There is some very sensitive information on there. This could be a significant security breach."
DeSantis agreed that Wasserman Schultz should be required to testify before Congress about her decision to keep paying Awan, as there will "obviously be financial crimes here that will be prosecuted criminally . . . What was he doing with this money? He has connections to a Hezbollah-linked character in Iraq. Was he sending money to Pakistan?"
Also on Monday, DeSantis discussed President Donald Trump's tweeted threat to pull insurance company payments from Obamacare, and to stop the subsidy for members of Congress.
"I decline the subsidy," said DeSantis. "It''s not right and I don't take it because I don't think it's lawful. I think the president would be absolutely within his right to cancel the Obamacare rule that conferred this subsidy on Congress. Other Americans who were in these exchanges are not getting employer subsidies. It's illegal."
Further, he said, he believes if Trump follows through, "you would see a lot of these [House] members and senators would want to repeal Obamacare very quickly."