Bernie has a problem, a big problem. In fact, it is such a big problem that it is likely to have already cost him the nomination. His problem, in a nutshell, is that it turns out that his brand of “Democratic Socialism” has a familiar ring to it — it’s called political graft, channeling money to family and friends. Vanity Fair:
Sanders’ spouse of 27 years, Jane O’Meara Sanders, and his stepdaughter, Carina Driscoll, both drew sizable salaries from Sanders’ House campaigns between 2000 and 2004. Public records reportedly show O’Meara Sanders was paid “more than $90,000 for consulting and ad placement services” between 2002 and 2004, while Driscoll received $65,000 from the campaign over the course of four years.
But while it’s not unheard of for campaigns to bring family members on board, Sanders’s wife’s tenure as the president of Burlington College will certainly raise eyebrows. During her time there, the college paid nearly $500,000 to the Vermont Woodworking School, run by Driscoll, for classes. The college also paid tens of thousands of dollars to an all-inclusive Caribbean resort run by Jonathan Leopold, the son of a family friend, for a study-abroad program. Between 2009 and 2011, when O’Meara Sanders stepped down, Burlington College paid around $68,000 to the resort. The payments to both the woodworking school and the resort stopped soon after she left.
And yes, while diverting campaign funds to family members for “consulting” and “ad placement” is unfortunately not unheard of, it does appear highly suspect for the “clean, honest” politics Sanders claims to support. It’s sounds a lot more like the good old boy “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours”. And, wait, what? While Jane O’Meara Sanders was President of Burlington College it paid nearly half a million dollars to a woodworking school run by her daughter, Bernie’s step-daughter? It must have been one damn fine woodworking school! Well, it turns out it’s only 30 miles away from Burlington College — the college couldn’t have it’s own woodworking facility? Maybe they did, because the year after Jane O’Meara Sanders left Burlington College the half million bucks paid to the school run by her daughter magically stopped.
And that “study-abroad” program? From 2009 through 2011, when O’Meara Sanders stepped down as President of Burlington College the school paid a small, exclusive resort in the Bahamas around $68,000, according to annual tax filings. Again, the payments magically stopped the year after O’Meara Sanders left her position as school President. “Study abroad” at a resort in the Bahamas? The major in scuba diving is awesome, bro!!! And the resort? It was owned by Jonathon Leopold Jr., the son of Jonathan Leopold. The elder Leopold served with Sanders in the Burlington city government—as mayor, Sanders appointed Leopold city treasurer. Leopold became Burlington’s Chief Administrative Officer. Leopold came embroiled in controversy in 2009 after revealing that under his direction the city had loaned $17 million to prop up struggling Burlington Telecom — a violation of the utility's "certificate of public good" issued by the state. He resigned in 2011. Sen. Sanders has described Leopold as so close a friend as to be considered “family.”
Finally, Jane O’Meara Sanders' departure from Burlington College was mired in controversy. She reportedly overstated pledged contributions to the school in order to secure a loan from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington. The diocese lost between $1.5 million and $2 million on the deal, according to local reports.
Vanity Fair picked up its report from The Washington Free Beacon. Whaaat??? You shout? The Washington Free Beacon is a known right wing website! Yes, it is. And their article is well documented. And Vanity Fair thought it worthwhile enough to pick up the story. And other portions, such as details of Bernie’s “close friend” Jonathon Leopold and Catholic Diocese loan to Burlington College, is from my own research. I think it’s only fair that voters be made aware of this highly questionable channeling of funds to family and friends before primary voting begins. Because should Bernie Sanders become the nominee, you can be damn sure the Republicans will hit Bernie squarely on the head with this and much more in many millions of dollars in attack ads. And Republicans have already signaled that attacks on candidates’ spouses are fair game.
Please proceed . . . . .