Where does Bernie Sanders get his $700 coat from? His gullible supporters. And his wife's golden parachute from the college she tanked. While the media is careful to keep a lid on it, the Burlington College investigation continues.
Here's a little background.
Jane Sanders, wife of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., overstated donation amounts in a bank application for a $6.7 million loan the college used to purchase a prime 33-acre property on Lake Champlain in 2010.
She told People’s United Bank in 2010 that the college had $2.6 million in pledged donations to support the purchase of the former Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington property.
The college, however, received only $676,000 in actual donations from 2010 through 2014, according to figures provided by Burlington College.
Two people whose pledges are listed as confirmed in the loan agreement told VTDigger that their personal financial records show their pledges were overstated. Neither was aware the pledges were used to secure the loan.
Moore said the focus of the feds' questions was clear: "Was there any collusion between Jane Sanders and the bank?" Moore said, quoting the FBI agent. "Did she falsify records in order to get the loan from the bank?"
The other collusion investigation.
Sanders, the wife of U.S. Sen Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., appears to have counted Maietta’s bequest as a cash gift that was available as collateral to finance the land deal. The 2010 loan agreement says “CBM” pledged $1 million to the school over five years in increments of $150,000, with a final payment of $100,000 in year six.
After writing Sanders a check, Maietta said she offered to leave the college something in her will. “I never told them how much, and I never signed anything. … It was all on my word,” she said.
Jonathan Leopold, who was a Burlington College trustee at the time of the land purchase, said he was told the $1 million donor had a “terminal illness,” which meant the money would be available soon.
“Happily for that person, they lived far beyond the expectations,” Leopold said.
Maietta said she never had a terminal condition and is still in good health.
So it looks bad. And the case is still developing. Now a grand jury heard testimony from the publisher of a lefty website.
The federal probe into a 2010 land deal orchestrated by former Burlington College president Jane Sanders, wife of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has deepened. VTDigger has confirmed that a grand jury has compelled sworn witness testimony in the case.
The Vermont U.S. Attorney’s office has interviewed at least one witness before the grand jury to determine whether indictments should be handed down.
Former Burlington College board member Robin Lloyd says she testified for about an hour on Oct. 26 before a grand jury at the federal courthouse in Burlington.
Lloyd, who is publisher of the progressive website Toward Freedom, kept copious board meeting minutes as the development chair for the college. In the interview with Van de Graaf, Lloyd said he “was focused on what I knew about who had been approached for contributions.”
Lloyd’s appearance is the first public confirmation that the federal government has compelled a grand jury.
The question is, will Bernie Sanders still run in 2020 if his wife gets indicted? It's Vermont, not Detroit. But the Sandernistas don't care. As long as Bernie hates America, they'll support him.