FBI investigating Bernie Sanders, wife over bank loan
MONTPELIER, Vt. — Federal investigators are looking into the finances behind a real estate deal for a now-defunct college put together by the wife of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, and she has hired a lawyer to defend her interests, a family spokesman confirmed on Monday.
The investigation, first reported by the news website Vtdigger.com, is looking into allegations that Jane O’Meara Sanders made fraudulent claims and promises while seeking $10 million in financ- ing for the real estate deal.
The complaint against Jane Sanders was filed in early 2016 by attorney Brady Toensing. In a separate complaint, Toensing alleged that Bernie Sanders’ senatorial office pressured a bank to approve the loan.
Sanders, an independent, ran for president as a Democrat last year but was ousted in the primary by Hillary Clinton, who lost to President Donald Trump in the general election.
Asked about the allegations Monday at a Washington press conference on expanding community health centers, Sanders sought to keep the questions on health care.
“No, that’s not what I’m talking about today,” Sanders said when an Associated Press reporter attempted to ask him about the FBI’s investigation.
Sanders then chided a Fox News reporter also seeking to question him on the issue, saying, “I’m glad that you’re interested in the fact that the Republican leadership is proposing legislation which would throw millions of people off of health insurance and give hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks to the top 1 percent.”
The Sanders’ spokesman, Jeff Weaver, who was the senator’s 2016 presidential campaign manager, said the allegations that prompted the investigation were politically motivated attacks.
Toensing noted that the investigation began during President Barack Obama’s administration under a Democratic attorney general and U.S. attorney for Vermont. He said he’s only looking for a “fair, impartial and thorough investigation.”
THE BACKGROUND
In 2010, Jane Sanders was president of Burlington