"knowing as she does"

[Unregistered008]

(1)Miss Biaocci would, I am sure, be a real asset to your organisation, knowing as she does a great deal about the way a company such as yours operates.
(2)Knowing as she does that I dislike him, she will suspect me, and think that I want to ruin her match. I simply don't know what to make of such a thing. I ...
I learned from some native speakers that 'knowing as she does' is perfectly acceptable in formal writing. I have two questions about it:
Qutestion one: Is "knowing as she does" a present participle phrase?
Does "as she does" modify "knowing"?
Question two: Can we express almost the same meaning if we omit "as she does", only say:
(1)Miss Biaocci would, I am sure, be a real asset to your organisation, knowing a great deal about the way a company such as yours operates.
(2)Knowing that I dislike him, she will suspect me, and think that I want to ruin her match. I simply don't know what to make of such a thing. I ...
Thanks in advance:)

[tom slocombe]

knowing as she does --- is a very formal and emphatic way of saying because she knows