It's hard to take seriously Bernie Sanders's objections to the first black president's having the temerity to be a historic figure whose prominence and retired politician status have given him a shot at (among other things) recouping the money his wife couldn't make when she put her own career on hold for him over a decade ago. (FLOTUSes get no salary, by the way.)
It's even harder when one realizes that Senator Sanders is attacking a former president for doing what all other former presidents have done without a word of criticism, yet Sanders himself, as an active politician, as a sitting Senator, stands suspected of using his office and influence as a sitting Senator for his and his family's personal gain - and his wife, in whose behalf he acted, has apparently been under active FBI investigation for over a year:
The Justice Department was investigating the activities of the now-defunct Burlington College as recently as February, according to emails obtained through a public records request.
The emails show the U.S. attorney for Vermont and an FBI agent reviewed Burlington College records in the state’s possession earlier this year pursuant to an investigation. Both enforcement agencies declined to comment on the substance of that probe or whether it has been completed.
“It’s typical for us not to comment or to confirm whether or not there’s a current investigation. We would not comment on any active investigation,” said Kraig LaPorte, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office. An FBI spokeswoman cited a similar policy.
This investigation has been going on for over a year. And the loan in question is not the only questionable loan to that now-defunct college that he's been linked to:
People’s United Bank provided a loan for Burlington College to purchase its headquarters building on Burlington’s North Avenue from the Burlington Catholic Diocese. The financing deal was secured when Sen. Sanders’ wife, Jane Sanders, was president of the college.
In a letter to U.S. Attorney Eric Miller, Toensing said that he “was recently approached and informed that Senator Bernard Sanders’s office improperly pressured People’s United Bank to approve the loan application submitted by the Senator’s wife, Ms. Sanders.”
Toensing also called on Sen. Sanders to release any documents related to his involvement in the financing deal.
Ahem.