By Michael Bielawski
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is involved in another allegation of misusing political campaign funds. This time the former presidential candidate is accused of funneling tens of thousands from his campaign to his family members’ nonprofit. The news report is based on third-quarter 2023 Federal Election Commission data.
Fox News had the initial report. They found that in August $75,000 was sent from his campaign over to the Sanders Institute which is a left-leaning think tank founded by his wife Jane O’Meara Sanders as well as his stepson David Driscoll.
In August VDC noted numerous other instances of questionable money transfers among Sanders’ family. In one case $200,000 was apparently sent to the same nonprofit institute.
According to a 2020 report appearing in The Atlantic, Sanders’ congressional reelection campaigns paid a stepdaughter of his at least $50,000 over four years. They also report that the same nonprofit has been paying Driscoll a $100,000 salary for years.
There was also a controversy at Burlington College involving Jane Sanders, who worked as president. The school closed in 2016 and its administration cited debt associated with a very large land purchase that she had advocated for.
Social media pundits highlight scandals
The piling on of controversies has garnered the attention of the Vermont GOP. They posted on Tuesday on X:
“First, Jane Sanders plays fast & loose with funding of now-defunct Burlington College. Now Sen. Sanders himself faces scrutiny for questionable campaign finance practices. Were legitimate services provided – or is this just a campaign finance money laundering scheme?”
The post attracted more online commenters including some who expressed frustration that these scandals don’t get attention sooner.
@TheLastLogger posted “One of our Team did Stumble on to Money Laundering in the Becca Blaint Campaign last Night. Republicans need to Stay ahead of the Game and Expose these things in Real time as opposed to After the Fact. Be interesting to see if this is Brought to light in our December Report.”
@Peter_Loomis wrote, “When an organization has a word salad for a mission statement they are in it for the money.”
@TheHolyGhosted7 wrote, “Right because Bernie’s poor as it is. They could use the financial support. Oh and Vermont’s poor are expected to finance his campaign for re-election.”
His past campaign controversies have also been noticed on social media. DC lawyer and conservative policy advocate Brady Toensing posted about the prior $200,000 payment.
“Bernie Sanders funneled $200K in campaign cash to wife and stepson’s nonprofit institute. #BankfraudBernie hates capitalism, but loves $. #vtpoli The story reports the institute produced very little work despite all this salary to family.”
Sanders critical of Israel’s strategy for Gaza
Sanders has recently made public statements regarding the recently escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas.
“For many, it is no secret that Gaza has been an open-air prison, with millions of people struggling to secure basic necessities,” Sanders said in a statement just days after the initial attacks on Israel.
He did condemn the attack by Hamas.
“The gunning down of young Israelis at a music festival is an image the world will not soon forget,” he said.
Sanders has made clear he is not a fan of the recent proposal to spend $105 billion on Ukraine, Israel, and the southern border. He posted on X,
“Congress cannot approve BILLIONS in a supplemental budget that ONLY addresses critical emergencies around the world. We have crises here at home too — child care, health care, housing, opioid addiction — that need major funding NOW and must be included in the supplemental.”
The author is a reporter for the Vermont Daily Chronicle
Categories: Uncategorized
How about the $ Millions of dollars Sanders funneled into the media group run by he and Jane’s best friends in 2016 for campaign advertising?
I thought communists were not “into money, man.”
Bernie is taking a lesson from Jane, another loan deal like the one that came from the defunct Burlington College, also hey, Jane why did you get fired from the Burlington Police Department even when Bernie was Mayor ????
We all have skeletons……………………………..
We all have skeletons, but not all of us are hypocrites, at least not at the lofty level of our senior senator and his family…
You’re so right Rich. I once encouraged a young voter to vote for Bernie’s opponent because of what he (Bernie) stands for. The voter told me he’s voting for Bernie because quote, “Bernie’s from VT so we must support our own”. To that I say, “Voters, open your eyes!”.
Nothing about the Senator from Brooklyn New York surprises me any more . At best, he’s always been a disengenuous carpetbagger.
Bernie and his wife or family for that matter are as corrupt as the day is long.
Sure a rich family for someone who’s never worked a day in his life!
Didn’t like Capitalism but made his Billions from it from day one!
Well at least nobody will be able to accuse Bernie of being sentimentally attached to a Lost Cause, no matter how ardently he supported sending billions of dollars to support the Nazi regime in Ukraine from the beginning before they were reduced to re-enlisting veterans who already lost their limbs, old people, teenagers and women and have nothing left to show on the battlefield but forced suicide attacks.
From FOX news – August 9, 2023: “Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders quietly funneled $200,000 from his campaign’s coffers to his wife’s nonprofit institute, which appears to do very little work and pays six figures’ worth of compensation to her son, Fox News Digital has found.” That’s 200 Grand, not 75 Grand.
And Jim Biden repaid an unregistered $200,000 loan to brother (and President) Joe Biden with money originating in foreign countries.
And Anthony Fauci’s wife, Christine Grady, was the head of National Institutes of Health Ethics Commission while Fauci was taking kickbacks from big pharma.
And Peter Welch’s wife, Maragaret Cheney, is one of Vermont’s three Public Utility Commissioners – even though she has no experience in energy management.
And Hunter Biden was paid 80 grand per month by Ukrainian energy company, Burisma, even though he had no experience in energy management.
And Becca Balint and Peter Welch accepted stolen money from FTX founder Bankman-Fried.
And my Vermont town of Westminster accepted $5000 from a Mark Zuckerberg non-profit (Zuckerbucks) to facilitate universal mail-in balloting in the 2020 election. That’s more than $1 per voter.
What else is new?
they will all get there day whether in this life or the next….
And the band played on…
Who, in this state, is going to step up and challenge this charlatan?
I would absolutely do it…if I didn’t have to deal with politicians…. so, I’m out.
;0]
The anti capitalist has become a multimillionaire by conning the ignorant ill informed masses. They ‘donate’ $20 thinking they’re funding a revolution. What they had actually been doing was placing a bet thinking he would someday have had the authority to steal money from those who earned it and give it to them to subsidize their lives. Much like they want THEIR loans paid for by others.
At their core his donors are selfish individuals who want someone else to be financially responsible for them. They deserve to get ripped off and are so comically stupid they don’t even realize it’s happening.
Ignorant ill-informed masses? Some, perhaps. But most are knowing accomplices, who will persist ‘until lambs become lions’.
Well we’re movin’ on up, to the east side
To a deluxe apartment in the sky
Movin on up
To the east side
We finally got a piece of the pie
Fish don’t fry in the kitchen;
Beans don’t burn on the grill
Took a whole lotta tryin’
Just to get up that hill
Now we’re up in the big leagues
Gettin’ our turn at bat
As long as we live, it’s you and me baby
There ain’t nothin wrong with that
Well we’re movin on up
To the east side
To a deluxe apartment in the sky
Movin on up
To the east side
We finally got a piece of the pie.
Bernie has come a long way from living in the commune.
How about leaching off a commune ? He was to lazy to be accepted even in a 1960s commune !
No honor among thieves. The corrupted criminals, aka “representatives” are all being exposed daily as is their lucrative laundry services – here and abroad.