Washington is never short on scandal, but one of the latest developments surprised half the nation. Bernie Sanders and his wife, Jane, have come under fire. In fact, there is a formal investigation aimed at determining whether the Sanders’ behaved in an illegal or corrupt manner as far back as 2010. The whole story is packed with damaging facts and the potential for legal action. So, let’s get into the details and see what this story means for the Sanders, Washington and the nation at large.
Overview
The crux of the investigation revolves around a deal brokered by Jane Sanders in 2010. At the time, she was the president of Burlington College. In an attempt to boost enrollment, she had the college purchase a 32-acre plot of land on Lake Champlain for $10 million. It included 77,000 square feet in facilities that had been used by neighboring Roman Catholic Church. Sander’s promise on securing the deal was that it would triple enrollment (from 180 to over 500 students) and secure around $3 million in donations. Neither of these things happened, and the college closed its doors for good in 2016.
So far, this could just be counted as poor management. The legal issues are centered around the loan itself. Allegations suggest that Bernie Sander’s used his political standing to put pressure on the bank to approve a loan that couldn’t realistically be paid. The inevitable loan default is why the college closed in the first place.
Additional Allegations
There is more dirt surrounding these events. For starters, Sanders pushed the land deal because she knew the dioceses in possession of the land needed money to pay legal settlements. Some priests were accused of sexual abuse, and the church essentially needed hush money. Sanders was happy to provide this in order to get a competitive deal on the land.
She took scandal a step farther after the purchase was completed. Among the 77,000 square foot facilities was a housing unit for disabled residents. Included in the purchase was a stipulation that Sanders and the college assist these 16 residents in relocation. Within a month of ownership, she abandoned that promise and simply evicted them. She used legal loopholes to push the evictions under the premise that it was unfair for her college to accept the financial burden of housing handicapped persons.
Neither of these additional scandals are expressly illegal, but they certainly add to the poor image that is developing. No matter the outcome of the investigation, her reputation has suffered irreparable damage.
Good Ol’ Bernie
How has the progressive’s champion handled the situation? He has accused Republicans of pushing this investigation as a form of political bullying. He claims he and his wife are inculpable and that the whole story is false. Sound familiar? It should, because his response is almost word-for-word identical to every other politician in history. As much as the far left would like him to prove different from the typical Washington swamp monster, recent events have shattered that delusion.
If the scandal wasn’t bad enough, the story also runs counter to Sander’s political stances on corporate greed and education costs. Jane’s tenure at Burlington culminated in wildly inflated tuition and a complete loss for all of the currently enrolled students when it closed. On top of all of that, she accepted a substantial severance package when she left the college in 2011. To put it in more obvious language, she pushed a bad deal for a college that couldn’t afford it. It led to the bankruptcy of that college, but before they went completely under, she abandoned her mistake and took a large chunk of money from an institution that couldn’t afford to give it to her. This is particularly damaging for Bernie since he still hasn’t abandoned the notion of running for President in 2020.
There are easy lessons here. The left’s cleanest, favorite politician is proving to be just as corrupt as the rest of Washington. Bernie Sanders is further proof that Trump was right all along. The swamp does need draining, and political outsiders are America’s only hope of breaking a decades-long cycle of political corruption. It should be no surprise that Bernie will have to suffer backlash in the process of making America great again.
~ American Liberty Report
