Bernie Sanders’ Wife May Have Defrauded State Agency, Bank

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Until she was forced out by the board, the wife of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Jane O'Meara Sanders, worked at Burlington College. The college was nontraditional and had a rocky history. In 2004, Sanders became president and tried to turn the school around. In 2010, she had a plan to buy the last 33 acres of undeveloped real estate along Lake Champlain from the Roman Catholic Church, which needed the money to settle more than two dozen sexual abuse lawsuits. The agreed on purchase price was $10 million.

The school didn't have $10 million, so it borrowed it. When the first repayment was due, the money wasn't there to pay. The college's board forced her out in 2011. Then things went from bad to worse, and in 2016, the college closed its doors after 44 years of operation.

That isn't the end of the story, though. In 2016, Brady Toensing, an attorney who chaired Donald Trump's campaign in Vermont, wrote a letter to the FBI alleging that Bernie Sanders pressured the bank that made the loan to Burlington College to do so. At the very least, this would be quite unethical, if the charge is true. The FBI is still investigating, but the real crunch will come when Trump nominates a U.S. Attorney for Vermont. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Gov. Phil Scott (R-VT) have recommended that Trump choose Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina Nolan. However, given Trump's strong desire to reward his supporters and punish his enemies, a possible candidate is...Brady Toensing, who would surely have a pretty good idea of the first case he might pursue. Jane Sanders has hired lawyer Rich Cassidy to represent her. Politico has a detailed story on the whole matter.

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/06/22/bernie-sanders-jane-sanders-lawyer-bank-fraud-investigation-burlington-college-215297