Jane Sanders, wife of Vermont senator and 2016 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, has been cleared after an investigation of a land deal at Burlington College during her time as school president, which precipitated its closure in May of 2016.
For some background, here’s an excerpt from a post I wrote in May of 2016:
A major pillar of the Bernie Sanders 2016 campaign is free college. In perhaps the most tragically ironic political metaphor of this election, Burlington College, a small privately owned school in Vermont is now going out of business, largely due to decisions made by Bernie Sanders’ wife, Jane, who served as the college’s president for seven years.When Jane Sanders was hired by Burlington College in 2004, the school was already facing financial problems but was able to maintain day to day operations for several years.Things began to change in 2010, when Jane Sanders led the school to a financial decision which would forever alter the school’s destiny.Under her leadership, Burlington College purchased a lakefront property from the Catholic Diocese of Burlington for $10 million dollars with the goal of expanding the school’s campus…Coupled with the continuing bad financial news for Burlington College, came allegations from the Catholic Diocese of Burlington, which in April of this year announced they wanted Jane Sanders investigated for fraud.
According to Michael Stratford of Politico, the investigation is now over and Jane Sanders will not be charged:
No charges in land deal led by Bernie Sanders’ wife, aide saysFederal prosecutors have ended an investigation into a land deal overseen by Jane Sanders, wife of Sen. Bernie Sanders, without bringing any charges, an aide said Tuesday.Investigators had been looking into a $10 million real estate deal that Jane Sanders led when she was president of the now-defunct Burlington College between 2004 and 2011.“Jane Sanders has been informed that the U.S. Attorney in Vermont has closed its investigation of the Burlington College land deal and has decided not to bring charges of any kind,” Jeff Weaver, a Sanders adviser, said in a statement.
Elizabeth Landers of CNN has more and provides a refreshing level of scrutiny:
Adviser says Bernie Sanders’ wife cleared in college land deal investigationA top adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders said Tuesday that the Vermont independent’s wife, Jane Sanders, has been recently told by the US attorney in Vermont that they have closed an investigation into a land deal involving Burlington College during Jane Sanders’ presidency…”Jane is grateful the investigation has come to an end. She has said from the beginning that she did nothing wrong and she is pleased that the matter has come to a conclusion,” Weaver said.Jane Sanders was the president of Burlington College from 2004 to 2011. The college announced its closure in 2016 due to debt it had taken on from a real estate deal the school made during her tenure. CNN reviewed the loan application for the deal, which was signed by Jane Sanders. The loan application stated the college would take in millions of dollars’ worth of pledged donations, many of which never materialized.
This quote from Bernie Sanders drips with irony:
“I think it’s fairly pathetic that when people are involved in public life, it’s not only that they get attacked, but it’s their wives and their families that get attacked,” said Bernie Sanders, who said his wife had left the college “in better shape than it had ever been.”
How nice of Bernie to stick up for the wives and children of public figures. He may want to relay that message to some of his comrades on the left. I’m sure Tucker Carlson and his family would appreciate it.
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