Jane is not the only one culpable. The College's board, of Trustees, the Bank's loan committee and the State's Bond Bank all had the opportunity to review and approve or deny this project. It was a stretch, at best and everything had to align with the stars for it to come to fruition. This was a large project for a small place like Burlington, VT. The property was a prized piece of lake front property in the City of Burlington owned by the Catholic Church forever. It was a fire sale compared to the development opportunities for the land. Jane was not solely responsible for what happened. There were plenty of opportunities for other people to say "no , this does not make sense". The fact is no one did.
9
THREE houses? This "man of the people," championing the working men and women of America, shouting about our miserable, bankruptcy-inducing health care system, people working 2-3 jobs 7 days a week and they still can't pay all their bills - THIS guy, with three houses, speaks for us?
He is cooked, in any case.
He will remain part of the public discourse, his opinions will be listened to, but Presidential timber? That ship has sailed.
10
I have never been a fan of Bernie and his wife. They have a history of strange behavior, statements and actions that run counter to the political messaging they claim.
A message by the way that government has to give stuff to people but people don't have to support the government.
Bernie's campaign is Trumpian but from an extreme left wing bias.
That said, what does dredging up these claims prove?
The bigger issue in today's Democratic Party composition is all the 'perpetual victimhood' proponents. The same class of people as Trump, who constantly whine they they are somehow a victim and the "system" has to twist itself into a pretzel to give them something.
Something they have not earned and are not owed. Something other people have to pay for. Something they want as a "freebie" paid for by others.
For me, Bernie is the only Democratic candidate for President that I will have to hold my nose to vote for. I will hold my nose if he is the candidate, but I won't be real happy to have to do that.
Trump has to go as does Mitch.
Put your money into the races to defeat both those people and others of the facetiously named "Freedom Caucus". The only "freedom" those folks want is the freedom to rape and pillage regular Americans and their civil rights.
9
Why is this article even being published? If there was ever a Justice Department in the history of this country that would have tried and convicted Mrs. Sanders for her alleged wrongdoing, surely it would be this administration's corrupt, right wing Justice Department, who we know has no qualms about using the facade of the law to advance Mr. Trump's political standing. The fact that even Trump's lackeys couldn't build a case against Mr. Sanders' wife, which would have been a political boon for Republicans in 2020, speaks volumes more than this New York Times hit piece ever will. Give the biased, negative Sanders coverage a rest!
266
@John Louis
And why shouldn't it be published??
With so much scrutiny and access to information, this was bound to come out sooner or later, and it's no more of an attack on Jane Sanders than anything else being published on every other presidential candidate.
Another thing.
It's not a "hit piece" if it's the truth.
57
@N. Smith
Break down the NYTime's coverage of the Democratic candidates into two buckets, positive and negative articles, and a glaring pattern emerges.
28
@Sam
Please. No more Bernie-as-victim comments.
We already have enough self-pity from Donald Trump.
43
Jane Sanders is a nun compared to Trumps who have elevated grift to a level never achieved by any other administration- believe me!
252
@Deirdre
Jane Sanders sounds like a perfect fit to fix New Jersey's fiscal woes.
6
@Deirdre
This argument is here a lot. If Sanders were the Democratic nominee, and was comparable to Trump, then yeah. As of now, there are something like 20 people to be compared to, any one of which looks like "a nun" compared to any one Trump.
It's good for a candidate to get the ugliest stuff out as soon as possible. They can deal with it, learn that lesson for the general, and move on. Or die before the good candidates have all dropped out.
I don't want any stupid surprises in the general.
14
Thank you Mr. Hakim for this story. Many of us had wondered about the details of Ms. Sanders tenure at Burlington College.
It is evident that she was well intentioned and had the support of her board. If anything, I would say that the school had a shot at sustainability due to Ms. Sanders efforts. Sadly the board didn't have the fortitude to follow through. It also sounds like the really important investigation should be of the board itself.
Fast forward to Bernie's candidacy now. The fact that Ms. Sanders failed at saving a floundering college is hardly a disqualifier. How many politicians have or have mates that have stumbled in their careers? As with all the great entrepreneurs, there are failures before the memorable success. He who makes no mistakes is not doing enough.
That being said, I would vote for Bernie over Trump. I would vote for anyone over Trump. But my support in the primaries goes elsewhere. I will never forgive Bernie for not immediately endorsing Hillary and getting out the vote for her with his supporters. The bitter Bernistas who did not vote for Hillary in the general, are among those responsible for Trumps presidency.
13
No matter her intentions, which I suspect we're good and it was just a lack of vision on others I didn't allow it to succeed, a political opponent has been a big fighter on this.
Donald Trump has had billions in terrible business deals. the Republicans have no argument to make hair without looking at themselves.
5
I read this article thoroughly and still do not see how this is a scandal. If there was any legal wrongdoing you can be sure that the Sanderses have enough enemies that they would be embroiled in it by now. It sounds as if Jane realized that the college would have to either grow or die; the school might very well have collapsed by now even had it not been for her attempt to build a new campus.
The worst thing you can say is that Jane, like her husband, sounds like someone who’s driven, sure of themselves, and does not suffer fools gladly, which may not be great attributes for either politicians or academic administrators to have. But at least they’re using those attributes to do what they think is best to serve the community and the country.
12
Bernie isn’t even my first pick, but I fail to see how this is related to Sanders, or the larger campaign. It seems like this piece is just a reminder that his Republican opposition, attempted to seed/instigate an investigation, which ended up clearing her.
Where are the articles profiling, let alone critical of other candidates spouses?
10
Interesting to see partisan arguments playing out in the Comments column. As someone who belongs to no political party and is not a Vermont native (but resident here for 15 years), I like to think I can be objective.
I don't think Mrs. Sanders is corrupt. I do think that, like her husband, she has only a fuzzy notion of how the real world works. And, like her husband, she has no qualms about enriching herself while planning to use my money for all sorts of programs that I may not support. Mr. Sanders, who once was so poor that he had to "borrow" electricity from his landlord, is now a millionaire with grand plans and ambitions. Yet he is a party of one in Washington, D.C., and in his many years in the capital has accomplished zero, nothing, other than promoting himself and his agenda. I think his star is setting, but there remains the chance that, like Trump, he will win an improbable victory in 2020 and then run the country into the ground, albeit from the opposite end of the ideological spectrum.
6
I am inclined to think that it was just poor business sense by socialists not fraud. But she could have declined the 200k parachute and the optics of the third 600k house so soon after made me decide he is just another greedy politician.
6
Not sure why you're rehashing this, which was covered numerous times in 2016. There is no clear narrative that proves her guilty of anything.
Is this part of the "Elect Joe Biden" campaign?
9
I don’t love Bernie BUT his wife ain’t running for President, is she? My point: this story doesn’t register on my radar.
12
As this article clearly said, no evidence of a crime was ever found. Bernie has nothing to do with this situation. Why did this up at all? I am a long time New York Times subscriber and I find it petty and vindictive that this article was published.
Better would have been to use this space to report on Bernie and why so many people like me support him and have been doing so since long before his 2016 bid for President.
8
Sent on a search and destroy mission and given lots of column inches to do it, the reporter found a nothing burger. But fear not, the daily slam-Sanders campaign continues on a different page with the ridiculous Alter piece on FDR.
9
If there had been the slightest reason to prosecute Ms. Sanders, then the case would not have been closed without an indictment, especially given the current politicized situation at Trump's DoJ. The self-interest of one of the college's board members alone speaks volumes about the sell-off of the property as well.
On the other hand, there have not been many reports in the NYT on the actual conflicts of interest and financial shenanigans of Elaine Chao, none of which have led to any kind of DoJ investigation for ethics violations. The most recent infrastructure deal in Kentucky that Chao masterminded is likely just the tip of the iceberg. (https://www.newsweek.com/mitch-mcconnell-elaine-chao-conflict-interest-1443148)
This is not "what-about-ism" but a significant contrast to the deeply corrupt Trump administration and Chao's collusion with her husband, Mitch McConnell. Why does the NYT not pay more attention to that, rather than devote their ink to Ms. Sanders' eight-year old supposed "scandal?"
On another note, what is the problem with Mr. Sanders' reliance on his wife for advice and support? There is a tinge of misogyny in that attitude as well.
9
You guys need to give it up. Yes Bernie Sanders is running for President so you’re beating up his wife? For heaven’s sake get over it. I love NY Times. You are my primary news source. But when Sanders’s rallies had thousands and Clinton’s rallies had hundreds where was that reported? Definitely not by you. I personally attended a rally in Birmingham Alabama that had in excess of 8 thousand people. 8 thousand people, 2000 of them outside in the freezing cold watching on a Jumbotron in the Bible Belt.
We’ve got way too many candidates right now. Sone won’t get far. Bernie still has the millennials. They outnumber baby boomers. They are vocal, and in the last presidential primary they showed up to vote. They are still angry about the 2016 Democratic primary and they will show up at the polls. If you value their readership at all you may want to rethink your Bernie bashing trajectory
7
This is a reality check for all those who buy-in the messianic message, others would say siren call, of the socialist fringe of the US Democratic Party. What this article shows is that all professional politicians, Republicans, Democrats, Socialists, etc. share the same obsessive desire for power, and their relatives and associates reap the benefits of elective office. It would be a great story line to investigate the not-so ethical dealings of current politicians, not just Trump and now Sanders.
6
@Mephistopheles
Little bit of a leap here, buddy.
4
Reagan had ketchup as a veggie in schools.
Sanders’ will have Ben & Jerries as a dairy in schools.
You heard it here first.
3
Bernie needs to come clean with all the details about this fraud---I'm tired of this coverup!
4
Why does this article exist? she's not running for office, what is the legitimate public interest?
23
Burlington College alumnus class of '11 and long-time supporter of Bernie Sanders here.
Jane absolutely became the subject of a witch hunt spearheaded by Republicans and encouraged by upset alumni, myself included at times. A higher proportion of anger should have been directed at BC trustees and the US govt for enabling our national collegiate system to break. Ironically, Bernie and Jane boast some of the best solutions for fixing this problem found in American politics today.
With that said, this article does not discuss the atmosphere at BC during Jane's tenure. I saw her as a good person with a bad habit of bulldozing her ideas through. Her implementation of serious changes to the program I was enrolled in without requesting student feedback was upsetting (there were only 20 of us). My understanding is that several long-serving and well-respected professors and staffers resigned because of the direction Jane was taking the school. I also believe the school would likely still exist if it had simply stayed in its cramped old campus, which I personally loved. So resentment towards Jane had been building for long before the school closed or even moved. Perhaps it would have survived if Jane had been able to see out her "hail mary," but that does not erase her poor decision making and leadership that contributed to a tragic and potentially hurtful situation for current students and alumni.
39
The final point in all of this is the erosion of small colleges across the country, not the decisions of a single small college president. In Vermont, the least-populated state in the country, Burlington is only one of at least four small colleges that have closed in the past decade, and several others are barely surviving. This literally results in life being sucked out of already marginalized communities. For this reason, politically, I still stand behind Bernie and Jane.
They are the ones who saw the big picture decades ago, never wavering from an intelligent and pragmatic progressive outlook that's come into fashion only very recently. To me, how Burlington College was managed does not change that point of view. Plus, "bulldozing" is a quality I hope for in a progressive White House.
15
All this article shows is incompetence at every level of this college, as well as Goddard and a few others in Vermont who underpay staff, rely on part-time students and have incestuous Boards that include some people with wrong motives.
Nothing new here; except she and her husband are running for the highest office in our country and I feel we deserve someone who can run something larger...like the country, with a bit more competence.
I have met Mr. Sanders. He can be rude, dismissive and condescending; exactly as described in his defensive response included in this article. He may be a fine elder statesman, but he will never win against Trump.
77
@H.A. Hyde Trump inherited 200 million. He is a failure as a businessman. Sanders is honest and decent. Sanders is self-made, unlike Trump.
13
@H.A. Hyde
Who, pray tell, will win against Trump? Biden? Might as well check your insurance policies. Warren? There's a thought.
The political center and soft left have been hollowed out for a reason. If Sanders is going to lose and indeed, if he loses, I fear electoral politics has exhausted what it has to offer.
8
@H.A. Hyde
Bernie Sanders is out best hope to beat Donald Trump. The 2016 election was for an outsider to win....and look who we got. 2020 has the same dynamic. The middle class is being hollowed out - the working class has already been sold down the river. And then there are the poor - over half a million homeless. Sanders is the only one who can possibly address this downward spiral.
7
She committed fraud to get a loan.
10
You forgot to mention the $25 million fraud settlement.... oh, wait, that was Trump University...
33
Burlington College is just one of several small private colleges that have had to close their doors in the past several years due to financial struggles and declining enrollment.
Sanders failed at her attempts to save little Burlington College. The demise was a mess. Investigations into it were appropriate, but also driven by a partisan energy. In the end, so far as I have seen, no charges were or will be brought.
Makes for good political fodder, though, eh?
20
The Sanders are like the Clintons in that their moment has passed. Its kind of sad in a way, but they need to step aside now.
12
@Angel B Torres
The only passing that needs to be called for is "trump's"/
10
I feel the same way about the DNC leadership.
9
Bernie should just rip a page out of the Trump playbook and deny the allegations, then say that even if they’re true there was no collision, then admit there was collusion but nothing criminal, then say everyone does it, and then obstruct the inquiry, and when finally federal investigators issue their report, hold a press conference and exonerate himself.
7
I wonder what Giuliani and Trump is promising what foreign country for this dirt?
5
This article is old news- recycled from the 2016 primaries. In a way it's kind of reassuring that this is the sum total of " scandal" that can be found on the Sanders. I'm sure there's been oodles of digging...now let's see what the NYT finds on all the other candidates
24
The New York Times, favoring corporate Democrats, picks up where it left off in 2016, with attacks on Bernie.
33
I couldn’t think less of Bernie Sanders and his wife, but can’t say they are stupid. They have made lack of accomplishment and downright failure a lucrative family business. Bernie and Trump have some commonalities, one of which is that even if they gunned down someone on fifth avenue, in broad daylight, with hundreds of witnesses, their supporters would just shrug their shoulders and continue to support them. Americans apparently love con men no matter which end of the political spectrum they come from. Come on, wake up! We can do better!
18
For those yammering on here about the 'corrupt Jane Sanders and Bernie's support of his wife', lets not forget, the great Obama was squeaky clean. What exactlyy did you all get out of that in 8 years? The 1% got plenty didn't they? His man friday Eric Holder at Justice never prosecuted ANYONE and made a new policy of mere fines for White Collar crime. Is that better than Jane's seemingly bad decision on buying a piece of land for an educational institution? I would say Obama was more corrupt than even the great Bill Clinton.
15
@Paul Art
Fine. You don't even have enough facts straight to recognize what Obama, as the first African-American President of this country, had to go through and endure in order to achieve what he has.
And what did anyone get from his 8 years in office besides having to face Mitch McConnell and a obstructive Republican Senate? -- I suggest you do the research to answer that for yourself.
As for White Collar crime -- no one excels at that more than Donald Trump.
13
@Paul Art. What you say is heresy...but you are absolutely right! Obama was no different than any other politician in power, he made all decisions based on political self interest which has benefitted the Democratic Party, not the vast majority of working class Americans. And that's why we got Trump, and might get him four more years.
10
@Paul Art
Well he has cashed in on being an Ex.; increasing his/their wealth over 500%, earning over $20mil. and counting. Care to guess who's paying him $500K per speech?
Of course they have a long way to go to match the Clintons. They've amassed an estimated $240 million+ since Bill Clinton left office in 2001.
Corruption?! I'm sure corp./banks just want to be inspired.
6
I would have hoped that the New York Times would have learned about its role to report news -- not old news that has great political implications. This was reported on during Bernie's last run. What's the point of rehashing it now if not to distract from the Democrats. Go ahead with these articles and you will force a re-election of Trump!!
27
@Robin
Problem is that establishment types from the DNC and those running the show at the NYT would rather see Trump reelected than a President Bernie Sanders. The rich and powerful, regardless of party, are heavily invested in the status quo. The DNC will always back corporate-owned Dems like Hillary, Biden, Booker...... and never a true progressive. That is unfortunately the way of the world in this year of our Lord 2019 in these United States of Trump's America.
7
Hard to sort through. However, she appears to have given a contract (500 k) to her daughter. That certainly makes one wonder.
11
@Robert
Yes, she certainly did. And her son, another Driscoll, ran The Sanders Institute. The political non-profit took in less than a million dollars, did very little with that sum, and he earned $100,000 per year. Just ridiculous stuff.
13
The more the media and DNC attack Bernie the more I like him! Proof that he’s on the right path.
24
@Akahl
By faulting the DNC, you seem to forget that Sanders is running as a Democrat.
No problem -- so has he.
3
@N. Smith
'Running as a Democrat' didn't shield Bernie four years ago from the machinations and manipulations of the DNC. They did everything possible to squelch Bernie's candidacy and promote that of the corrupt and compromised Hillary Clinton. A candidate so unlikeable she lost to Donald Trump!
4
Mistakes that Jane Sanders made at Burlington could be forgiven. Everyone makes mistakes but the nepotism, the $400,000 salary her daughter made for the woodworking position? That is Sanders taking advantage of her office and no way, no how, can that be explained away. If she did nothing else wrong during her time there, that alone should have gotten her fired.
A person of true character would not do that.
14
I'm not a huge Bernie fan, but I did want to add a point about Bernie's socialism, or for that matter most people's socialism. People think it's hypocritical for Bernie to be wealthy. But we really need to stop equating socialism with Gandhianism. Socialists are trying to make sure there's a good standard of living for all. Gandhi also wanted equality but felt we should shun materialism and worldly pursuits, Socialists don't believe that. Socialists want to have a robust capitalism with wealth that is distributed equitably. They want the people actually doing the work to control their work lives and the profits that come from their labor. Gandhi didn't think industrialism and capitalism would bring joy or peace or justice. Socialists think you can live comfortably and that everyone should. Bernie is a socialist, not a Gandhian. And by the way, a lot of socialism is at odds with environmentalism. If you really want a greener world, go Gandhian,
7
Bernie isn't a Socialist. He labels himself a Democratic Socialist but even that is a misnomer. Many scholars have pointed out that a more accurate label would be a Social Democrat. Like you said he is for a mixed capitalist economy with a robust social safety net. That is not Socialism. Socialism and Capitalism are mutually exclusive and cannot coexist.
6
Green Mountain College, College of Saint Joseph and Southern Vermont College all closed this year. Mount Ida College and Newbury College, in Massachusetts, closed in recent years. Demand for these (mostly) quirky, small, cozy and presumably expensive learning institutions is falling. At Burlington College it was indeed a Hail Mary that failed. End of story.
18
@Tara
Quite a bit more to the story. Details count.
6
How refreshing that the biggest scandal about a presidential candidate's family involves a sincere but failed attempt to improve a college for students rather than the lining of their own pockets will ill-begotten cash (Trump, Clintons, Biden et al). Go Bernie!
25
@Jane
Except you forgot that Bernie and his wife are also members of the same 1% wealthy Club that Trump, the Clintons and Joe Biden is.
6
Next; where are the stories and photos of Mrs. Trump's nude modeling days?Since Mrs. Sanders- the presidential candidate's spouse is being obliterated by the NYT then there must be equal coverage given to Mrs. Trump.
25
I thank Senator Sanders for bringing important ideas to the discussion...however, i prefer other candidates and don’t believe that this story affects my opinion of Sanders one way or the other.
17
The all out turning over every rock trying to dig anything up on the Democrat candidates is to be expected. Let's get something straight, Bernie Sanders is not a criminal unlike our current POTUS. Nor is he accused of treason like our current POTUS is when siding with Putin live on tv. Nor is he caught on tape mocking women, veterans and the disabled like the current POTUS.
So dig as deep as you can but let's keep it real.
39
Meanwhile EMOLUMENTS.
Just THINK of the juicy articles you should be writing!
25
Loving the whataboutism from the pro Bernie crowd.
15
Hindsight is always 20/20. In the 90’s, Burlington College needed an expansive vision to survive,and students were projected as being attracted to a smaller school as an alternative to the large University of Vermont. Distance learning and exciting technologies as well as the state’s scenic beauty and funky college town atmosphere made the investment in the former church property plausible- and even reasonable for an alternative school emphasizing critical and creative pedagogy using contemporary learning technologies.It was a mistake in retrospect- financing such an enterprise would probably never have been persuasive to investors, especially as small colleges have struggled to stay afloat in the past decade.Implying that Jane Sanders is corrupt or avaricious is unfair, though. It is too bad the school has not thrived. Also, buying a lakeside property in Vermont for the price they paid was a smart move and a great deal for their family. Good for them!
14
What has not been reported is that during Sander's tenure, Burlington College created a Woodworking degree. The courses were offered by Jane Sanders' daughter at her woodworking school several towns away from Burlington. This effectively boosted her daughter's income at the expense of the college.
This was on top of the corruption surrounding the ridiculous purchase of the Burlington property during Sanders tenure as president of the school, a position she was woefully qualified for.
20
@VT Hiker: You imply that the degree was implemented because Jane Sanders’ daughter needed a job? And Jane Sanders’ daughter should have worked for free and the Burlington College board hired an unqualified person? Can you provide any evidence to support your claims?
5
Small colleges are closing left and right. Sometimes it is declining enrollment. Other times it is competition from more nationally known institutions with an endowment.
Was there possibly an error in judgment? Maybe. Was there corruption or malfeasance? Not likely. Was the plan taken in earnest given the situation? Likely.
Should we confuse a bad outcome with a decision made in good faith but no knowledge of the future?
Has this been investigated with no charges put forward?
Why is this a story? Why is this a story now?
17
Looking forward to reading the NYT's coverage of all 20+ candidates' partners and their minor fracas.
26
@Area Man
Stay tuned, it's coming -- And after having someone like having Donald Trump in the White House with his near maniacal penchant for secrecy, it's no surprise that Americans want to know a bit more about who's running.
It's only a "fracas" when they try to cover it up.
Since 2015, there have been warnings from Moodys and others that small private universities will have increased rates of closures and mergers. While New England had an abundance of theses institutions, the rest of the country will also see the closures, mergers and of course real estate grabs. Smug people throw stones, smart people check out what's happening in their own neighborhood.
9
@Tom
Agreed. Given the state of higher education for small, private, liberal arts colleges, particularly in the northeast where the college-bound demographic is declining, this was an effort that was destined to fail. Either in 2016, or a presumably a much higher cost in 2020 or 2025...
4
The collapse of Burlington College seems about as relevant as the Clintons' Whitewater land deal--which is to say, not relevant whatsoever.
19
The reality distortion machine continues to hum along. Jane tried to save a college, Trump started a fake university. A fake university. Let me say that one more time, a fake university.
26
If one were honest they would acknowledge that Burlington College was no less a “fake” university.
7
I have a feeling that Ms. Sanders was actually trying to do good. I have no idea how much her part led to the schools demise, but I am sure it is a drop in the bucket compared to the criminal dealings by Donald Trump and I'm disappointed that the New York Times put this garbage out. It just gives Trump more ammo for his evil plan to rule the world.
19
The article is fair as it simply reports the facts and leaves it to the reader to come to their own conclusions. Ironically, comments questioning the motive of the article reflect reader's own cognitive biases. In my opinion, the NYTimes article treats Jane Sanders with kids gloves, as it does not provide the full unflattering details of the controversial real estate transaction. A more detailed account can be found at Burlington Free Press https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/local/2017/08/11/discrepancies-emerge-burlington-college-donor-list/548380001/ The local paper establishes that Mrs. Sanders had potentially committed fraud by stating that the college had $2.67 million in pledged donations in order to obtain a $6.7 million tax free bond, when a number of donors had stated that their pledge amounts were either inflated or were to be bequeathed upon their death. Given that the Sanders closed the Sanders Institute think tank earlier this year over the issue of it doing very little other than paying their son a $100,000 salary, I think its fair to scrutinize the Sander's for potentially having a pattern of nepotism, cronyism, and financial malfeasance. For those that disagree, I would recommend you either read or reread George Orwell's "Animal Farm".
17
And you are the one person in the world without bias?
9
@Maria Holland We all have biases that we should be mindful of when making choices, or when taking action that affect others.
4
She was going to save the college but then ended up bankrupting it.
Just like Bernie is going to save the country....
20
@Amy
And here is an example of critical thinking. Sigh. We are doomed.
12
@Amy
How is Bernie going to "save the country" when he can't even get the Black and Latino vote???
1
Old story, previously and thoroughly covered. Oddly timed repeat, IMO, of old, previously published content (regardless of 6/21 new pub date). Anything new here? In line with the anti-Bernie tilt. Tell the news. Avoiding the appearance of taking sides seems like a good approach.
14
Anything new here? Probably not for those in Burlington. But for the country at large, most enlightening.
3
Given the notoriety of Senator Sanders, and the power of "opposition research" in the political world, I strongly doubt whether there was malfeasance on the part of Mrs. Sanders.
What there was likely, however, was Mrs. Sanders trying to work way above her pay-grade. Having been involved with a college campus myself for a modest amount of time, I can say that it's unlikely that someone like her, albeit with a socialist reformer mentality, had any chance at all of knowing what she was doing. Clearly, she got this high position because of the prominence of her husband in Vermont--which should not have happened. As with most professions, university administration is not a place for amateur efforts.
Furthermore, the entire utopian zeal with which this college expansion project was undertaken, a project no doubt run past her husband, Bernie, for his opinion may indicate that a lot of the Sanders' other plans--such as medicare for all, a higher minimum wage nationally instead of locally, and perhaps most pointedly free college tuition--are equally poorly thought through. It is of this that we voters may need to be concerned.
14
There are so many small and poor quality colleges. So many were started by religious congregations for very good reasons st the time.
Experts believe that one third of these now need to close down on their own decision.
7
Bernie and Jane have stepped into the spotlight (again) and deserve public scrutiny. Oh shucks, never mind. It's just good ole' Bernie and Jane for gosh sakes. Don't worry about how they got their millions.
17
What millions?
5
A $200,000 golden parachute is an oxymoron
10
@mkc
Welp, no, it's just a parachute that's not going to open very big. And may not open at all.
4
Excuse me but Goddard College College started in 1863 and took on the name Goddard in 1938, hardly experimental. And wait a minute Bernie Sanders and his wife disclosed their income tax records, trump still hasn't shown his and in fact many of his enterprises went bankrupt while he reaped a fortune. This story is a political smear of Sanders and his wife, shame on you!
34
These whitewash investigations -- remember the Boston Globe article that "proved" that Elizabeth Warren never traded on her phony Native American identity for personal gain, and never actually signed anything where she claimed to be Native American? Till, of course, that annoying driver's license showed up a few months later...
BTW, speaking of Vermont Democrats and their vast administrative capabilities, wasn't there a plan a few years ago, about the same time as Ms. Sanders was running this little place into the ground, that ended up costing Vermont taxpayers many many millions, for the first single-payer health insurance system in the country? That they finally had to abandon as being a complete catastrophe a few years later, after, as I say, sinking huge sums into it? Who knows? Maybe Ms. Sanders -- or Mr., for that matter -- take their "bold visions for the future" from such boondoggles. Something in the otherwise lovely Vermont air...
11
@BostonReader
Gee, that would be false, also known as a lie, or we can politely say a mistake.
Vermont never implemented it.
https://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2017/sep/20/sean-duffy/vermont-single-payer-was-scrapped-because-it-was-g/
2
Sanders is not a viable candidate and what she did belongs to the courts, and should be tried if the allegations are true.
7
We read all about this--at great length--in 2015-16.
16
what I read is that Jane was on the path of making the college successful when she was dismissed. the board bankrupted the college after Jane was gone.
and that has nothing to do with Bernie.
Meanwhile, Donnie personally defrauded the veterans administration, defaulted on billions of dollars in loans, failed to honor countless contracts, evaded taxes, and everything he did and is doing is unethical and of criminal intent.
27
@Howard64
Provide some credible support for your claims in your first paragraph.
9
@Pecan If you read the article, you'll find the info there.
5
Surely, Jane O’Meara Sanders should have managed Burlington College like Donnie ran Trump University.
9
A very fitting example of what happens when you run out of other peoples money. And very appropriate as it indicates what may happen to the US if Bernie Sanders become President.
11
Is Ms. Sanders running for President. Has Bernie Sanders been implicated in any impropriety in this matter? Is this meaningful to the Democratic Presidential nomination? I don't thinks so . I'm not really a Bernie supporter, but I do not see the point of this article other than to try and tarnish him by association - and Mrs. Sanders has not been charged with any wrong-doing from what I can determine. Other than trying to cast a negative light on Mr. Sanders what was the purpose of this article? It means nothing to me. Please focus on serious issues that are meaningful to the voter.
30
Sanders is finding things a little tougher the second time around, isn't he?
15
so what? Trump had more than 3 corporate bankruptcies and a loan from. his father disguised as casino chip purchases. not an issue for him, so what is the big deal about this in this era of “ethics doesn’t matter, only winnkng does?”
7
Something about Senators Warren & Sanders- they both rail against the cost of colleges and student debt, yet Ms Sanders bankrupted a college (which was barely an actual institution of higher education) and took 100,000s of thousands of dollars on her way out the door.
Ms Warren got paid 345,000 ( plus interest free loans to buy her mansion) to teach 1 class at HLS.
Neither of them should ever get near the Oval Office.
At least Trump isn’t a hypocrite he owns his faults
5
@stan
Really? Trump owns up to be a lying conniving ignorant mean spirited fool? Funny, haven't heard that once, I've only heard, from his mouth, how he is the greatest president of all time, the smartest, with the biggest crowds.
14
I'm waiting for the article that Bernie colluded with the Russians as mayor of Burlington or that he's a distant relative of the Rosenberg' or that the USCIS made a serious error my allowing his parents to immigrate, or ....
8
@diderot
And if he did -- it will eventually be revealed.
Just like everything else.
3
Sick of one-note Bernie and his cultish base. We already have a cult leader and his moron followers, certainly don't need that equivalent on the far-left. And like Trump, Bernie is a con man as well--a millionaire funded by billionaires and whiny little babies.
23
Thanks for your sophisticated, thoughful comment.
13
A small college with 200 students. As president, she managed to increase fund-raising by - alas - $300k. With small budget, small endowment, and questionable pledges of donations, she committed the college to $10m.
Sure, everyone can dream big. I dream of buying up that island called Manhattan some day too, and I fully and truly "believe" in that dream. The only thing that's standing in the way between me and my dream, is the inconvenience posed by reality. Damn it, why can't anyone just give me a chance? For crying out loud, if only Deutsch Bank would just give me a few billions the same way they would loan to Trump (who has - alas - a few bankruptcy under his belt while my record is totally clean!), I'm damn sure I can pull this off.
Which, I'm sure, is the line of reasoning of Jan Sanders. All she needs to do, is to blame others for having cold feet. Meantime, she and her husband enjoys their book royalty and inheritance, who cares about Burlington College or its students.
Which also gets me thinking: Is that how Bernie Sanders intends to run the country, should he get the chance? Big dreams notwithstanding, it's scary thoughts indeed.
11
@tiddle
Oh my. Compared to how scary it is to have "trump" "running" the "country"?
I might be able to sleep at night again.
3
As with most scandals, the first question to ask is whether it was criminal or just stupidity. This looks like a big case of bad business judgment, which is why politicians and academics shouldn't make business decisions (and business people shouldn't be in politics)
7
Interesting article, and I make no judgments on Ms Sanders or on Bernie. Besides, they are fellow Brooklyn-ites, and that counts for something with me.
I have been a resident of Vermont for 13 years and been very involved in community and state organizations/initiatives and served on a number of not-for-profit boards in this state ( and elsewhere). I find that many such boards here are well-intentioned, but their members often lack the skills to understand the financial impact of plans they make and likelihood of success.
Vermont has perhaps a higher number of not-for-profits than many other states, and I find that many are "seat-of-the-pants" operations, and trustees do not yet grasp the fiduciary responsibility they take on and the risk of litigation if even the best intentions go "ka-blooey."
18
Back to 2016!
5
This may be a Sanders modus operandi. Present something as a necessary Hail Mary, without addressing the risks. Medicare for all, for example. Like this hugely expensive land purchase, a hugely expensive solution. Simple comparisons that don't sustain analysis. Other colleges had campuses. Other countries have universal coverage. Those other colleges were bigger, different. Those other countries are much smaller, different. Sanders sounds great. Maybe he'd be Churchillian in a crisis. But like Churchill, he stumbles with policy.
6
Compared to Trump the "developer" this is swatting at a no-see-em. Perhaps it's good that the paper of record has laid this out for us again pre-emptively. Hey, did Donny ever fix Atlantic City. Thought we were gonna "see what those racket boys could do" (apologies to Mr Springsteen)
7
Who cares. It’s just money and debt. Move along.
2
@Shamrock
So, you think it's just about "money and debt".
Whatever ever happened to truth and integrity??
Sorry to say you're missing the point.
6
@N. Smith
Pretty sure you and Shamrock could have a back-slapping beer together.
2
@Matthew
Just in case you haven't noticed -- Neither Shamrock or myself are running for President.
Stay on point.
It's Vermont.... and so are they....
1
@EEE
Patriots?
Maple syrup farmers?
1
I love investigative pieces on public figures, but I don't understand why there's a piece on a candidate's spouse. Will there be other articles on the spouses of the other 20-sh Democratic candidates as well?
26
ha! a trump campaign official filed a complaint about this? that's rich!
15
Right, Biden is in trouble so time for the hit piece on Bernie.
21
@theresa
They're both mutually exclusive.
And this Bernie-as-victim- yarn is growing tiresome.
13
@N. Smith Trump got elected because people don't trust the mainstream media.
4
@John
Trump got elected because of the Electoral College, an uninformed electorate, FOX news, Citizen's United, Republican gerrymandering, Facebook and other social media platforms, white nationalists and Russian interference.
There. Fixed that. You're welcome.
4
Oh come on, another ridiculous hit piece on Bernie? At least make the Republicans pay for this ad. I guess the DNC is going to try its tricks again with sidelining any progressive.
24
Hey, it was a bad real estate deal. 45 specializes in them. Back off, America.
9
Really? You dug this up again? You do know that there were at least 3 presidents between when she stepped down & the closing of the school.
18
This is the biggest non-story ever. At worst, Jane Sanders promoted a failed idea to rescue Burlington College. How does this in any way relate to Bernie Sanders’ eligibility as a candidate for President?
It’s telling that this apparently above-the-fold news piece is the most “dirt” the NYT can dish out (again) on Bernie’s campaign.
In obvious contrast to any day in Trumpworld, Bernie and Jane Sanders embody the utmost in both ethical behavior and civic leadership.
- former resident of Burlington, VT
33
@Richard Hull
No. Old Bernie and "Doctor" Jane do not "embody" what their fans wish they embodied. Their behavior and history deserve in-depth investigation and reporting.
12
Ok Times just stop the Bernie bashing now. You folks are partly responsible for the mess we’ve got in the White House. You enable his re-election and you will not be forgiven. Ever. So just stop.
31
@Anderson O’Mealy
Just as "Doctor" Jane does not accept responsibility for her shady stewardship of Burlington College, Old Bernie and his bros discount his failure to do his utmost to assist Hillary in the last weeks of the 2016 campaign.
"You will not be forgiven. Ever. So just stop."
8
@Pecan
You mean setting a record for the most stump rallies for a nominee by a former candidate isn't doing the utmost?! Really?!
Sanders did 40 appearances and rallies all across the US after the primary on Clintons behalf. More that she did for herself in that time period.
To put that in perspective, Clinton did 5 for Pres. O.
Lies are poor look.
4
Thank you NY Times for another Bernie Sanders hit piece. I've lost count, but I know this won't be the last.
25
Oh come on Danny Hakim and the New York Times. What is the purpose of this piece? It is weak, outdated, and reads as a kind of spousal smear.
As university faculty I contend daily with administrators, vice-presidents, deans, and executive officers far more egregious than Jane O'Meara Sanders. She tried to save a failing college. It didn't work. More colleges are failing as I type.
24
This article is great!
8
Here is what socialists like Bernie Sanders do not get. The economy creates winners and losers all the time. This includes Businesses, Industry, Colleges, Hospitals, Retail and Individuals. Sometimes entire industries become outdated and are wiped out. The solution is not to go on clinging to the past and giving everyone a handout, the solution is for the affected individuals to retrain for other professions and sometimes move to where the jobs are. The internet is destroying industries at a record pace. The local newspapers are almost gone, but Facebook and Google are far superior employers than the local newspapers ever were. Amazon is killing local retail, again Amazon gives benefits to employees that retail could never afford. The bells are tolling for Public Libraries, Colleges etc.. The sectors that are in a mess are there because the Government has too many fingers in them and the providers all figure out ways to game the system. Healthcare is a mess because the government is the biggest buyer of healthcare. Higher Ed is a mess because the Government is the biggest financier (through Student Loans). Housing is a mess because the Government finances most housing purchases (through loan Guarantees). Amazon killing off retail is doing far more for living wages than legislation or unions ever could.
3
So... the point of this piece is that Bernie Sanders can't be trusted to manage the federal budget? That his wife took calculated risks and failed? That she's dishonest?
6
$600,000 for a beach house? So what? That's a steal. Here in Southern California that won't even get you a shoddy 2-bedroom condo with nowhere to park.
21
If ever a marriage were made in heaven, this one was! How two such kooks would find each other is unreal. They have even managed to become quite rich while staying true to their hippie selves! Of all the many candidates, Bernie is the one I would NEVER vote for. Guess I am just not big on offbeat the crazy. Wonder how the "real" folks in VT feel about Jane, the supposed savior of the college.
11
@mfiori: Trump supporters have no credibility whatsoever criticizing the Sanders.
6
@mfiori
Did the victims ever get their transcripts, diplomas, etc.?
5
@Pecan: There was a teachout agreement that allowed students at Burlington College to continue their studies at nearby Goddard College with their credits from Burlington all being accepted. That is common practice in accredited colleges that face closure. Goddard is also accredited.
1
Wait, what?! How can this reporter tell readers “There is little question the school’s 2016 demise can be traced to Sanders’....[land-buying effort],” while at the same time the reporter states that: (1) when she was hired in 2004 the college was already in severe trouble, (2) she left within a year of 2010 (thus, apparently 2011); (3) the follow-through on her plan was abandoned after her departure, and (4) the college’s finances worsened in the years after she left?
Anyone who knows anything about small liberal arts colleges knows that many have gone under, over the past few decades, and those that didn’t were barely able to survive by making desperate gamblers involving greater fund-raising and debt than ever before, in order to either expand or otherwise make themselves more desperately attractive.
Many tried. Many failed. Some barely succeeded.
At least Sanders tried.
23
This must be investigated further. This conduct by Sanders and lack of consequences simply reinforces the perception of unequal justice when it comes to Democrats like Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. If this were Michael Cohen, Paul Manafort or someone connected with Trump or the GOP, they would already be sitting in solitary confinement.
3
@johnny: The article states clearly that if Jane Sanders had not taken a risk (with the approval of her board), the college would have gone under anyway. The land acquisition didn't save the college. Nothing untoward happened, things just didn't work out. No mistresses were paid off just before elections, no obstruction of justice took place, there were no lies under oath to the FBI, no malversations whatsoever. Try again.
8
How does this compare to bankrupting three casinos and ruining dozens, if not hundreds of small businesses?
28
@Metrognome
Good point! "Doctor" Jane and Crooked Donald have a LOT in common.
Trump University and Burlington College is just example.
7
It may not compare in scale, but why should it get a pass?
8
@Betty Boop
1) Jane is not running for president. and
2) Jane is not running for president.
Finally, let me point out, Jane is is not running for president. As to "comparison", ok, it's like "rolled through a stop sign at 2 MPH and gave a dirty look at the police officer" and "existential threat to the planet in myriad ways". Does that help?
3
No worries. Bernie will never get the nomination anyway.
13
@Ted
But if he does we are ALL voting for him, agreed?
3
I thought Jane was busy doing Bernie's taxes, that was his favorite excuse for not releasing them earlier.
20
The Times will continue to try to bring him down, but if you love Bernie, this article changes nothing and if you hate Bernie, this article changes nothing. Tens of millions of people continue to lack adequate health insurance. Diabetics ration insulin. College students continue to be shackled with debt. The injustice Bernie has railed against for decades continues. Going back to what we had will only lead to another Trump. We have a chance for real change and hopefully we won't blow it.
31
I am a Warren supporter, but come on NYT, can you try not to put the spoke in for the DNC this time around too? If you have to go after a politician's family to discredit them, then you have already lost.
Please let the primary run it's course. We can't afford to lose to Trump again. The nation can't take it.
48
@Michael
Old Bernie and "Doctor" Jane discredited themselves. Should voters pretend otherwise?
7
If elected President, an enormously unlikely event, Sanders' appointees, like his wife, will be wildly idealistic and inept in real world decisions to be made.
17
I love the comments saying this is not news. Anyone Trump has ever associated with is attacked for anything they have ever done. If that is news, a major candidate's wife committing financial crimes is also news.
14
what are the financial crimes you speak of that the federal prosecutors missed? The same ones this article misleads you into but actually says are nonexistent?
11
@Jake
The reason why this is "not news", is because it was already a known and established fact during Sanders' campaign run in 2016.
11
@Jake: Jane Sanders did not commit any financial crimes.
5
She's accomplished more than her husband.
9
I do not understand how this is 'news' again. This was covered during the 2016 election as well. I am curious to see if the NYTimes will seek out any mistakes amongst the spouses of the other Democratic contenders.
Also, of note 10 years of tax filings for the Sanders have made public for transparency so it shouldn't be touched upon like it's some big secret of where their money comes from.
18
Seems it's easy to blow up a college with a vanity project.
My own Alma Mater, venerable Cooper Union, was started by an idealist who believed in Tuition Free technical college for all regardless of class. It ran that way from 1859 to 2014 when it fell into a financial crisis due to mismanagement by its board.
Cooper's crisis was fueled in large part by its ego when it constructed a hideous visual assault of a postmodern, already dated architectural disaster at 41 Cooper Square, at a cost of some $150,000,000.
Cooper Union would've been far better off buying that same acreage in VT & constructing a humble pastoral alternate second-campus for a few $Million of reclaimed timber-framed barns, where its students could retreat, work & escape the warzone of 2nd Ave.
But seriously, NYT: This Jane Sanders college story is what you come up with when there was the simultaneous grift, graft & fraud by Trump University?
17
Sure a college was destroyed under her tenure, but the good news is she walked away with a nice severance package. Got to love being on the top of the socialism pyramid.
27
@Brad: Read the article. That's not what happened.
6
As a reporter for the local paper, I wrote about Burlington College from time to time during the Sanders presidency.
Sanders was always congenial when we spoke, though she was firmly opaque about the school's finances.
The purchase of the Diocese lakefront land never made sense given the school's tiny enrollment and the massive expenditures beyond the cost of the land to fit the old church buildings into classrooms, dorms and administrative offices.
As a school, Burlington College was not impressive, relying on distance learning and offering substantial credits toward a degree for "life" experiences. The faculty were mostly adjunct, poorly paid and often with thin academic credentials.
I didn't cover the collapse (my local paper having collapsed by then), but from a distance, given what I knew, it seemed not a criminal fraud of some kind but an inevitable result of an overly expensive gamble by Jane Sanders and her board.
231
@John Briggs
No offense. But if you were a reporter, then you must surely know there was no such thing as a "Sanders presidency".
4
@N. Smith
He's talking about Burlington College during the tenure of Jane Sanders' presidency. I do not understand your comment.
36
@N. Smith
Mr. Briggs is referring to Jane Sanders' presidency of Burlington College, not a Bernie Sanders' presidency.
21
Many small (often quirky) colleges are on the brink of closing. It's probably a disservice to other institutions of higher learning that these quirky colleges offer degrees that in no way resemble higher education. Yes, the world needs basket weavers and ceramic crafters. But a college degree that is assembled like a menu at a Chinese restaurant isn't a "real" college degree. Sorry.....that's just the world we live in.
10
The $200,000 severance package may be what higher ups can expect when a company they work for goes bust, but what about the secretaries and maintenance people? Not to mention the professors and other faculty?
For a couple that prides itself on being "anti-establishment", it seems hypocritical that they didn't share that big chunk of cash with the employees. Instead, they took it all for themselves.
Looks like they were "capitalizing" on the demise of the college -- not something you'd expect out of a Socialist.
24
@Barbara T
Seeing as the college continued on for another 5 yrs. after she left, maybe you should take it up with the last president and administration.
3
Apologizing for grifters. Not prosecuted, but not exonerated, either. Sound familiar? And no mention of the daughter's $300k contract to teach - woodworking - a university-worthy subject further questioning their judgment.
28
@Robert L Smalser
Yes. Nepotism is another area where "Doctor" Jane and Crooked Donald overlap.
7
You leave out very important facts about "the top Trump campaign official in Vermont [that] filed a complaint". Brady Toensing has made a habit of claiming falsities about many public officials, all democrats or non-GOP'ers. His false claims have cost VT taxpayers untold sums in investigations all of which have led NOWHERE. No crimes, No wrongdoing. No indictments. You shouldn't gloss over information like this in this type of story.
33
Bad timing but good intentions
At least she didn’t bring chaos to the Middle East or start unfunded wars or increase the deficit or bankrupt the free world....
21
Nope, just her little part of it
5
Not an excuse.
2
Articles like this reinforce the image of “limousine liberal”, which Trump campaign will have a field day with (and which resonates among moderate voters.) Yet another reason the Dems must get real and stop dreaming about Warren, Sanders and assorted AOC-wannabes ... or prepare for 4 more years of Trump.
17
@Chuck
Dems don't need to prepare for 4 more years of Trump.
They just need to get their message together.
6
@Chuck
Such are the narcotic dreams of the lefties. It’s just too addictive and soothing to dream of income equality and free everything, and too upsetting to face one’s own libidinous, envious, acquisitive and feral nature. Much too upsetting.
6
Colleges - especially small colleges - are rapidly on their way to obsolescence. People are wising up that even with a degree there is no way to recoup their investment because there aren't enough full time jobs to go around. All the "safe" fields are rapidly becoming automated: X-ray technician, lawyer, accountant, bank tellers, baristas, truck drivers. My prediction: In 10 years, we'll all be home aides. At least until the robots come along.
So this is minor news. Makes it sound like Mrs. Sanders should have worked for free. As if altruism put food in her mouth.
6
I was beginning to wonder how long it would take before this story came to light -- especially since his wife's involvement with that Vermint college has been known since the 2016 campaign.
But then again, maybe that explains why Bernie Sanders was so reluctant to make public his tax returns back then because it would fly in the face of his socialist schtick by showing him to be part of the wealthy 1% while he bashed Clinton, Obama and everyone else for it.
There's something fundamentally wrong with this picture.
21
@N. Smith He wrote a book. It sold well because he's nationally known. He made a million bucks. He used some of this money to buy a lake-front home where he can, in his old age, go and find some peace. He earned it. He deserves it. There is nothing wrong with this picture.
23
@Barry Schreibman
I disagree. When you're standing on top of the hill, yet preaching about the evils of being on it -- there's something wrong with the picture.
14
@N. Smith: He's not a billionnare health insurance CEO or Big Pharma Oxycontin dealer raking it in over the backs of the sick and depressed. He still belongs to the 95%. He's not standing at the bottom of the hill, that's all.
6
Great try, Jane Sanders. None of the dishonesty of Trump's failures or the catering to the rich of the Goldman speeches.
3
It's a lot worse than the school simply funding a boondoggle program that was headed by her daughter. The $400,000 woodworking curriculum (woodworking? Really???) was a major drain on the school's finances and was an important contributor to its demise. By all accounts, the program was poorly managed -- not managed, to be specific -- while her daughter was pulling in a six-figure stipend.
24
This episode in the life of the Sanders family reinforces why I do not want to vote for Bernie Sanders. His closest adviser is his wife, and I do not think that either of them has the management skills to successfully the run the business that is the United States. He certainly does not appear to have the necessary people skills as evidenced by his irritability whenever he is asked something he doesn't like. I will vote for the nominee of the Democratic Party, but I really hope it is not Bernie Sanders.
250
@Robin Our country is not a business. When people finally wake up to that fact, maybe we'll make some progress.
36
@Ross A "business", the term encompasses a huge range of different working, collaborative bodies that need to get things done and strive for efficiency and success - with the triple bottom line businesses being the best. Bernie is an activist and he has found his niche but running a country like the US is another, very distinct endeavor. What can he show as to actual achievement? I don't see it even in education or work before the Senate. After Trump, I am done with experimentation and it does not help that he had a big part in Clinton's loss. A true stellar Presidential type would not have bernie bros, period.
43
@Robin, I agree....Sanders reminds me of Trump in that he is all about rhetoric but has a lifetime of poor management of his personal and professional life.
40
I've given my vote to Bernie 12 times, so I'm no right-winger, but I've long felt that if I did what Jane did on a major loan application I'd be prosecuted for it. Even in Vermont there's a privileged class, and the rest of us.
35
I lived in Vermont at the time and was politically active. The college had no future and, as the article says, the purchase of the diocese's campus was a Hail Mary pass. It didn't connect. The college failed, as it was doomed to do. I never saw any legitimate reason to blame Jane Sanders. She gave it her best, it wasn't enough. Nobody else around in Vermont could have saved Burlington College. Sometimes the patient dies.
36
This article is clearly much ado about nothing. An event that has become politicized by the Republican Party and Trump and Vermont Republicans and that has been thoroughly investigated is being raised as an effort to undermine Mr. Sanders and his campaign for the nomination of the Democratic Party.
25
@dan
Sometimes "investigative reporting" is just reporting. This story has not been reported anywhere else.
5
Yes, it has. The Boston Globe did a sizable piece on it last year. Look it up.
8
I really want Sanders to go away but this story was thoroughly covered during the last election. Why is it being trotted out again now?
34
@DR
Where, and on what date?
1
Her plan probably could have worked. It’s too bad people got cold feet. People are quick to say something will not work until it does. I find if you listen to those naysayers, you will never do anything.
She wanted to save a college, not line her pockets. Her expectations of pay for work is political. Being Left does not mean you do not understand the value of work and that work should not be paid for; indeed, it means that you understand that there people and corporations who want people to work for free or close to it. She did what she expected and works for: an agreed to contract for work and it’s terms fulfilled.
She’s definitely a women of vision with strong nerves. She seems to have a clear idea of what money should be used for. This idea that politicians of the left should never make any mistakes is silly, particularly when compared to those politicians of the right. Just saying.
24
To read this article, one would think that Vermont and the city of Burlington really needed this "college" to provide venues for public concerts, lectures, etc. The University of Vermont (one of the oldest land grant universities in the US) is located in Burlington. It provides public concerts, lectures , etc. as well as degrees in marketable disciplines. How many publicly bond financed "alternative" educational institutions does a small city in a small state need?
I note that the U of Vermont still charges tuition. Guess Bernie et uxor couldn't sell the free tuition at public universities even at home. And that's not what she was trying to do anyway. None of this compares, of course, to Trump's $25 million fraud (determined to be so by the courts) thru Trump University. It does explain however why Bernie didn't release his tax returns in 2016 thereby giving cover to Trump to not release his. That's why I'm not voting for Bernie in the primaries.
9
And the reason for this story, in regards to Mr. Sanders run for President is?
She isn't running for office, he is.
47
@mjbarr
trump ran for office and his family also got elected and hold high positions in our government only because they are family.
8
@mjbarr
Everybody knows that. Don't run from the truth.
2
This is a big nothing, except for the familiar, but still delicious irony of Trumpsters accusing Mrs. Sanders of taking part in a real estate scandal.
45
This "poor" press for Bernie will not dissuade my support for him and his patriotic message for our struggling country. In fact, I am going to donate $100 to Bernie for each NYT article I see that attempts to sully the Sanders name.
41
@Lawren
Me too. And there's two hit pieces in today's paper!
9
@Lawren
I’m with you.
Sending Sanders $100 tonight
9
@Lawren
You're so sensitive: this is just reporting, not an attempt "to sully the Sanders name."
4
I voted for Clinton but this is ridiculous. As the ex-wife of a university dean, I know firsthand the uncertain complexities of planning for the future of a college, of fundraising, land acquisition, building campus structures, and managing donors. Wishful thinking, donor misunderstandings, and bad deals happen but it doesn’t mean crimes are committed. If we as a nation can give a pass to the predatory banking industry for destroying the lives of millions of homeowners, then we can easily forgive Jane Sanders for trying to save a college.
With the changing eductional landscape, a successful college does need either a physical campus or an outstanding online program. The instinct of Ms. Sanders was absolutely right and the ensuing mess sounds more like faulty collective decision-making involving board members, a wishful local community, and the bad luck plaguing many small colleges these days.
This is a non-issue created and hyped by a Trump campaign operative, feigning “outrage” over a measly $200,000 severance while Trump and his cronies have routinely ripped off millions from everyone including contractors at Trump properties to the taxpayers funding all-expense paid vacations for family members. Where’s the outrage over those millions?
Please, fellow progressives, direct your ire to the real scoundrels in the Republican Party and consider the source and context of these “stories” before forming the circular firing squad, yet again!
67
I'm probably late to the party but - Bernie Sanders and his wife own 3 homes? Isn't that approximately two too many?
The hypocrisy is astounding.
Also wondering how you go from being a student at a school (Goddard) to being its interim president??
Qualifications??
Barring any disasters, I'm voting for Elizabeth Warren.
34
@Me
It took approximately 10 seconds to find this information with google and Wikipedia:
BA in Social Work, Goddard College, ~1980
PhD in Leadership Studies in Politics and Education, Union Institute & University, 1996
Seems like a fitting educational background for somebody working in Higher-Ed Administration.
1) their original VT house
2) a flat Washington, DC suburbs where Sanders has worked for 30 years
3) a vacation/retirement home purchased relatively recently. Not even a fancy house or unexpected given a congressperson's 30 year salary.
None of that is hypocritical or astounding. The fact people can't differentiate a person who saved and purchased those things on an upper-middle class household salary and best-selling book from plutocrats earning 8+ figure annual income is quite astounding.
23
@Me
Agreed.
And, purely based on their respective stated policies and politics, I prefer Gillibrand or Klobuchar but would vote for Warren.
@WallaWalla, with all due respect I doubt if you will find anyone running a "real" college with an on-line graduate degree. Having spent 30+ years in academe, most higher level administrators have BA, MA, PhD degrees from well-known universities and have labored in the trenches as a professor, chair, dean, and provost. Thus, they have 20+ years experience before assuming the reins. I could care less about her husband running for office and no doubt the school was looking for a savior, but IMHO Mrs. Sanders was not qualified academically to run a college.
14
Having lived in Vermont for 5 years during the time of Ms Sanders tenure at this so called college and being myself in academics for over 20 years, I can tell you it involves much more than what newspapers portray.
The land grab was unrealistic for an institution in such early years. While many like to fantasize that it was part of the presidents plan to save a failing institution, the mere suggestion of such reflects the inexperience of these folks. Not to mention both board and president were in over their head— something that Vermont has a lot of if you look past its beauty and friendly folk.
For those wondering if it all suggests that Mr. Sanders is unqualified to be our president— that may not be such a wild thought if one looks at the fact that much of the state level policies have maintained Vermont deeply in debt with a local older population that is leaving the state. See a trend? Mr. Sanders, of course, is not responsible for all of Vermonts woes, but make no mistake, it should make one pause regarding his ability to run a country. Seriously.
114
I totally hear ya, and can't agree with you more.
4
@No One
So how does Vermont's debt compare to your current state? Compared to other NE states, Ma. in particular, Vermont is doing fairly well. Guess you aren't promoting Ms. Warren either. Right?!
Boy, from this viewpoint, maybe we shouldn't be running any of these candidates. Hmm...
https://ballotpedia.org/Vermont_state_debt
3
More broadly, I am worried by the following fact: Most of the main candidates--wherever their placement on the political spectrum--are quite wealthy people compared to the average American. This says something bad about our politics and political system.
21
@Richard people capable of running the country will be successful in their chosen professions and paid well. It’s a feature not a bug.
4
This reflects very poorly on Bernie Sanders. I'm in shock reading through this. This plan to expand the college had basically zero chance of success. Hard not to see that Bernie's political clout, whether he used it or not, was a large reason the bank would approve such a large loan to an institution that would have almost no way of making it work.
Someone needs to dig into this more.
67
You mean like the federal inquiry that found nothing ?
10
@John Ho:
"This reflects very poorly on Bernie Sanders. I'm in shock reading through this."
How so?
"Hard not to see that Bernie's political clout, whether he used it or not, was a large reason the bank would approve such a large loan to an institution that would have almost no way of making it work."
You've confirmed this where?
"Someone needs to dig into this more."
Someone needs to learn the difference between speculation (your approach) and finding out facts, which have been publicly known for more than a couple of years.
Submitted June 21st 5:30 PM eastern
5
@John Ho The FBI did and nothing happened.
7
As usual, putting something of value in the hands of a professed "socialist" usually means its destruction and devaluation. As we used to say in "socialist" Poland, if the Communists ran the Sahara, it would be depleted of sand.
66
@JOHN No she had an idea to rescue a resource in decline but it looks like it was sabotaged to cash in for real estate value - the biggest crisis of land use in America now.
27
@JOHN More than the incompetence, it is the hypocrisy of the socialists that I find revulsive. I cannot hold the senator responsible for the recklessness of his wife but someone who did not have a full time job until the age of 40 years and used free market means to make millions is disqualified to lecture us on socialism.
12
@Richard The Left is always "sabotaged." It's never a function of their economic incompetence.
2
The two of them will bankrupt this country.
63
@Driven No they won't bankrupt this country, thankfully. He will not be the president because he will not be the Democratic nominee.
8
@Driven
oh, I’m pretty sure your current President will do that.
It’s weird how Republicans claim that they are the sensible party where money is concerned but it’s the Democrats who wind up having to fix the economic fiascos created by the Republicans.
People around the world cringe when a Republican President is voted in.
28
@Driven Speaking of bankruptcy: now the US national debt has gone from $19.9 trillion to $22 trillion, an increase of $2 trillion during in Trump's first 2 years in office.
8
I have to say a $200,000 pension for a college president who worked there for 5 years is not too excessive these days.
53
@Will Tong...a college with 200 students? Huh? This like $1000 per student and paid for leading it into bankruptcy?
22
@Will Tong
If "a $200,000 pension for a college president who worked there for 5 years is not too excessive these days," something is seriously wrong with American higher education and the crippling debt it forces far too many good young men and women to assume.
14
@Will Tong the college had around 200 students. IN light of that, yes, $200,000 is way too much for a tiny college to pay out.
18
Mrs. Sanders is not running for President.
54
@Marshall None of the Trump children were either, but the left had no problem attacking them during the last campaign. Be consistent.
11
@Marshall
maybe not, but she is a very strong influence.
13
@Marshall
In this context, I don't necessarily care about your comment, but as a wider theme, this one is getting old. Historically, all Presidents have run with their spouse (in one case a daughter, and one bachelor) as inherent counterparts. They are a team. That's why they get an office in the White House. A whole wing, in fact.
Not surprising when a job is in your house and becomes your life. Of course a supportive spouse would be a huge voice. Unless you are saying that they don't have a respectful marriage and he'd just ignore her. I don't think you are.
6
I'm not voting for Sanders, but it has nothing to do with his marriage. What's the point of this article, exactly?
111
@Elizabeth
FAMILY influence!
Look at how trumps family has impacted his actions.
5
@Elizabeth What is the point of this article? That's easy. It's a newspapers job to scrutinize presidential candidates, including their closest advisors and confidantes. This is a valuable article.
17
Birds of a feather flock together. What she did to the college is a micro example of what he’d do to the country.
7
A similar article ran in July, 2017 in this paper. Whats the big deal? It's over.
Trump has had six bankruptcies , and their well into the billions of dollars, now that's something to write about.
And then there's son-law Jared buying 666 5th for $1.8 billion and has been trying for 10 years to bail it out. Just another white elephant purchase by the best business men, NOT, on the planet.
160
I’m no Trump apologist but only one of those bankruptcies was due to poorly managed projects that ran out of money. The others were a common business tactic to cut the final cost of a project to increase the bottom line. It’s done all the time; see Toys R Us, Sports Authority and Fortunoff (not once but twice).
6
@From Where I Sit
Interestingly, Sen. Michael Bennett (CO) has a similar issue. And a similar excuse. I'm not a business expert, so I'm not able to discuss the merits, but it's going to be interesting to see how his supporters handle that parallel.
Nothing to do with this. Just a thought.
3
@From Where I Sit
Trump is a failure as a business man: if your father gave you $400 million (as Trump's father gave him) you could claim expertise in business too.
5
I've never read an article about this issue, though I've heard about the situation. Jane Sanders sounds like a terrible fundraiser who made (in concern with her board of trustees) a series of bad decisions. But she sounds incompetent, not criminal, which is really sad for that community, those students, and that faculty.
And for the record, I'm nowhere near being a Bernie supporter. At all.
23
@e w On the contrary it appears the board members had vested interests - conflicts of interest- and sabotaged a very constructive plan!
4
@e w There are allegations, which this article doesn't mention, of her misleading the bank to obtain the loans to go along with this real-estate deal. Basically she told the banks that she had a lot of donors' wills lined up to pay for the land deal but those same donors said that they never made those promises.
It's kind of a case of who are you going to believe:
1. The operator whose job would have directly benefitted from her lying to a bank, and who has no documents to support her huge assertion.
2. Or the people she may have lied about, who had no stake in the outcome of Jane's little real-estate scheme, and who would be dead by the time any of it came to fruition anyway.
The irony of Jane's demand that the FBI investigate Hillary Clinton is pretty chilling.
7
Still beating this dead horse? Bernie getting too close to the chosen Corporate Democrats? This belongs in the round file.
122
@Cass It's actually fairly indicative of how effective Bernie has been as a politician. I went to school on the shores of Lake Champlain in the 90s, and Bernie was never seen as anything more than a reflection of the ethos of Burlington, the state's largest city. This doesn't surprise me at all. It also speaks to the falsehood that Trump was not prepared to go all in on opposition research - this could have very well been the Sander's version of Whitewater, which would have been hilarious given his supporters obsession with Clinton corruption. My advise? Back Warren, a real progressive with real legislative chops.
9
No one is “chosen” - there are over 20 people running. Sanders will win or lose on his own merits.
6
@Felipe:
Warren? The long time republican who refuses to support single payer.
Yeah, real "progressive" be she.
Submitted June 21st 5:37 PM
6
Sometime in February the New York Times published a piece that showed that many voters will vote for Elizabeth Warren regardless of the Native-American-Self-Identification debacle. Will the New York Times publish a piece asking voters if this Jane Sanders' story will stop them from voting for Bernie Sanders? If the New York Times did that, I would unhesitatingly call it an unbiased newspaper.
21
Trump is yelling loud and clear, no socialism!
He is not worried about corporate Biden.
In case you haven't noticed it's Bernie that has the
handle of socialist ( NYTimes,Comcast, they gave $ plenty to Biden,as did Walmart) Make Corporations Greater Again!
Sanders/Williamson 2020
12
that whole "honeymoon in Moscow" thing make more sense now ... thanks
15
According to this article, there was a thorough investigation which concluded with no charges against Ms. Sanders
“They did a very thorough job,” said Larry Robbins, one of Ms. Sanders’s lawyers. Before closing the case, “they talked to a bunch of people — they talked to us a couple times, the lawyers — we had two in-person meetings that I can think of, a number of follow-up phone calls.”
Mr. Sanders was outraged when questioned about his wife's involvement.
The investigation was closed and we should accept the results and move on.
Hmmmnnn...
Robert Mueller does an exhaustive 2+ year investigation into President Trump and his campaign, interviews doozens, goes thru hundred of thousands of documents and ends with no charges against our President
Our President is outraged by the attacks against him and his administration.
The investigation was closed by Mr. Mueller and we should accept the result and move on.
Apparently, moving on only applies if you are a Democrat.
Also, the NYT highlights Mr. Toensing and Joseph diGenova as "outspoken supporters of Mr. Trump" but yet, no deeper look into the political leanings of who was on the state board, the agency and the consulting firm which approved the loan to the school (as per the application by Ms. Sanders)
Although the funds for the beach house bought by the Sanders supposedly came from the sale of her parents home and royalties from Mr. Sanders book, I'm sure the $200k package came in handy for decorating the place
30
@DB The Mueller investigation ended with no charges not because there were no chargeable actions, but because of the policy of not charging a sitting president. In other words, the Mueller report is not a "not guilty" report.
33
@DB
One difference: Mueller did not exonerate trump for Obstruction of Justice and specifically said he "couldn't" indict Trump because of a Justice Dept opinion (not a law) that a sitting President couldn't be indicted. Mueller also said that no President should be above the law and Congress could hold Trump accountable. In other words impeachment was the alternative.
23
@DB
Moving on applies only if you're a "real" Democrat. You will not find a single scathing article pontificating on Hunter Biden's dealings with his father.
There is nothing new revealed in this article, and was already pounded to death the last time Sanders had the temerity to run for president.
19
Jane Sanders seems to be a naive idealist, and the college board should have been assessing the last ditch grand plan - but alas, the apparent self-dealing on the board seems to have been glossed over by everyone - including this article. That seems to have been something that the VT agency in charge of non-profits should have been looking at, this apparent gross breach of ethics: no board member should be on the other side of a transaction they're slated to approve - certainly not without abstaining from a vote, and with full transparency to the full board. Even with good ethical behavior from everyone, many small colleges are headed for closure in any case. Ultimately, responsibility is with the board of trustees.
20
“Only a few months after the college closed in the summer of 2016, she and her husband bought their third residence, a $600,000 beach house on the shores of Lake Champlain, to go with homes in Burlington and Washington.”
While Bernie Sanders was running a campaign, in which he constantly railed against the “millionaire and billionaire class,” he happened to possess millions of dollars in material assets.
So much for authenticity.
58
how does that work on a Senators salary?
6
@ubique I'm not a Sanders supporter, but if anything, you're suggesting that his wanting a higher tax rate for the wealthy would impact him. How is that a sign of insincerity? If anything, it's literally putting his money where his mouth is. Warren Buffett - a billionaire - has also called for a more equitable tax rate. The problem is, they seem to be the only two wealthy people doing it. As they would both be significantly impacted by a higher tax rate, I don't understand why Sanders' not being poor somehow undermines his position.
54
@ubique
A permanent residence (home) in Burlington.
A residence in Washington, because, you know, he's been a US congressman or Senator who LIVES AND WORKS in Washington DC for nearly THIRTY YEARS. Did you want him to be staying at the local Howard Johnson's all this time?
And then, after writing a multimillion dollar best-selling book (hey, if that ain't American, get-rich-capitalism, I don't know what is (but wait, I thought he was a SOCIALIST?!) after leading what could aptly be described as a (continually) emerging political revolution, he (gasp) buys a vacation/retirement home?! How dare he?!
600,000 grand won't buy you 2BR apartment on most of the East Coast. And if it his house is indeed anywhere near a beach, we'd be right to imagine it's quite shack-like.
Bernie has never rallied against becoming a success in America. The fact is, he wants everyone to become a success. The further fact is that, despite his incredible privilege (are YOU a 30 year US congressman?), he has continued to live very humbly, and most tellingly, continued to the the most unpopular guy in the room speaking truth to power -- all in the name of fighting for the little people. That's what social democracy is. Making the system work for all of us, not just some.
It's a joke to pillory Sanders for making money. I'm pretty sure that if you looked at the changes of net-worth of the other 99% in the House and Senate, you'd see the stark contrast between changes in net worth...and in integrity.
91
The media (Comcast, MSNBC)=First Choice- Biden
The Media (Comcast,MSNBC) Second Choice-TRUMP
They and all Corporations win, as usual.
20
You gotta love a three home owning “socialist” family.
56
@Chuffy - OMG. Can any commenter look up the definition of democratic socialist, which is what Sanders has always said he is. It's far different from socialist. Words matter, as do definitions.
10
@VB
I looked it up. It says "fraud".
4
@VB
Actions matter. Words really not so much.
3
Several comments think this is an attack on Jane Sanders. I disagree completely. My take on this article is that it is trying to present a fair assessment with facts and viewpoints both for and against, and it leaves plenty of room for readers to conclude Jane Sanders was doing her best to save a very bad situation, a kind of "Hail Mary" pass (as the article says). It's clear her plan was undermined by her dismissal. The sale to members of the college's board could be underhanded exploitation or it could have been a last-ditch attempt to raise some money; it's not possible to tell from the article but I'm suspicious, as the one board member asked about it was cagey, to say the least. On the whole, I interpret the facts as defending Jane Sanders.
94
@Thomas Zaslavsky
Read more facts. She lied about donations, this led to the demise of the school. She gave a $500,000 contract to her daughter (from a tiny stretched-financially school).
27
@Thomas Zaslavsky
It is perceived as an attack on Jane Sanders because there is nothing new in this article from 5 years ago, when Sanders first had the gall to run for president.
You don't dredge up old ground you've already publicized before unless you have an agenda.
Do you envision a similar article about Elizabeth Warre's family, and how they profited from foreclosed homes? How about Hunter Biden, and his extremely dubious dealings exploiting his father's position?
33
@Thomas Zaslavsky
What I find fishy is the fact that the land was purchased by the college's board. Unless a sale of the land is completed and the builders start construction, nobody in the real estate company gets paid and they could have put in years of planning. As the old adage says, "follow the money."
4
This is news and it is relevant. I am a liberal Vermonter, voted many times for Bernie as Senator, and I do not like or trust Jane Sanders based on this debacle, the intriguing details of which were reported on quite well and fairly by vtdigger through the years. She is not trustworthy, did not do well by Vermonters in a number of ways, and Bernie's reaction was always to say how wonderful and trustworthy she is and no one took blame whatsoever, quite the opposite. The facts are the facts, she messed up morally and financially and quite possibly legally. They lost some Vermont support but I think they should lose more. Bernie, in fact, can do wrong. For this reason and others (age as well, an inability to compromise as well), I am not a Bernie fan anymore and while I would surely vote for him if he is the nominee, I sincerely hope it is Warren or Buttigieg.
217
@moosemaps Doesn’t sound at all like she messed up morally. Sound like the self dealing corrupt board pulled the rug from under her.
12
@Justice4America
She lied about finances, lied about donations.
She also gave a $500,000 contract to her daughter.
Those are some serious moral misdeeds. And she is Bernie's closest advisor. And neither one will fess up to anything wrong, just do the self-pity number of oh they are after us!
15
I realize Sanders will regard every criticism of St. Bernard as a "hit piece" but I think it would be useful for them to see situations like this through the lens of those less enamored and devout. Hilary Clinton was rightly criticized for allowing foreign contributors to the Clinton foundation access to her while she was SoS. No impropriety was proved but the appearance of the possibility is concerning to people who care about ethics and good governance.
Spouses of powerful people shouldn't be applying to banks for loans, buying up public lands or leaning on people for contributions of money, however worthy the cause. Period. Saying that it doesn't matter her husband is a US Senator is disingenuous at best; at worst it's dishonest. And yes, the NYT should absolutely expend resources investigating the process and her relationships with banks and donors. It's their job. To say otherwise is to not understand the role of a free press in a democratic society.
Sanders' supporters need to get a grip and realize this is part of the process when seeking the highest office. If Bernie and spouse don't wish to endure it, fine. Don't run. Elizabeth Warren is just as progressive and far more personable than that crabby old curmudgeon.
288
@Laurence Bachmann
"Spouses of powerful people shouldn't be applying to banks for loans, buying up public lands or leaning on people for contributions of money, however worthy the cause. Period."
Huh? Since when are spouses of Senators disallowed from conducting business in their professional lives?
55
@Laurence Bachmann. You say, "Spouses of powerful people shouldn't be applying to banks for loans." How would that work, when regular people apply for loans all the time? Are you suggesting that only the powerful people themselves should be doing these things?
The problem with this "process," as you describe it, is that it the press applies it arbitrarily. Sanders described the fascination with HRC's emails as absurd, and this rehashing of innuendo is even more so.
36
@Laurence Bachmann
"Bernie and spouse" are enduring it and not complaining or screaming about Senatorial Harassment and Fake News. Jane Sanders was an idealist but not a good businesswoman - or a criminal. She won't get another opportunity.
36
There's no difference between Bernie Sanders and Trump. Sanders is a left wing populist whose approach to every issue is to demagogue it, while trump is a right wing populist demagogue. Sanders and his wife see people and issues as something to exploit and use to further themselves, just like trump. You only have to look at some of Sanders' "explanations" of the oil markets to recognizes he has the same disrespect for the truth as trump does.
42
@Margaret Where has Sanders been dishonest?
28
Except that Sanders wants to help 99pct of Americans while Trump wants to help himself and give the spoils of war to his cronies and Maralago members
big difference
42
@Margaret. Sanders is likely the poorest senator currently in office. He's released his tax returns. If he were interested in "exploiting people and issues," there were plenty of easier ways to do it, like by taking Wall Street money, which most Democrats do. The idea that Sanders has "the same disrespect for the truth" as the man who's told 10,000 lies since taking office is, well, disrespectful of reality.
35
Why should this be surprising to anyone? The Sanders are avowed anti-capitalists. They don't live in the world of revenues, expenses, payrolls investment, and profit. They don't know what it is like to have to provide value in exchange for money.
The outcome is exactly what one would expect from people with absolutely no experience in running ventures not propped up by government.
31
@Matt Williams
Exactly Matt
4
Actually, I would view them as balanced capitalists, with a view towards keeping capitalism from going off the rails and turning into a true plutocracy. As opposed to total head in the sand capitalists......
7
@Matt Williams
That explicitly false. Sanders is against radical capitalism. If you ever played Monopoly you know that there is only one winner, that is radical capitalism. There is no reason why most Americans cannot also be winners, instead of just the 1%. The latter is what Sanders fights for. It’s not anti-capitalism, it’s anti-monopoly by he 1%.
9
Well, if he wins the next election we can have a nice, long investigation into collusion, or obstruction, or bribery, or simply another politician abusing their position, as they're obviously guilty. We'll get a Mr. Schiff type on it, they can redact, or not redact, dependent on the preferred storyline. Isn't that how it works nowadays?
5
Speaking of buying homes, when Joe Biden was a senator he got a sweetheart mortgage to buy a very large one in Delaware. When it became public that he had gotten a much better rate than was offered to the general public, he claimed that he had no idea what the usual mortgage rate was so had no idea what a good deal he received.
That was a U.S. senator claiming he didn't know about mortgage rates.
And I don't think anyone would think a $600,000 house as the Sanders's did is that big a deal anymore when we have homes in NYC going for over $200 million.
36
In over her head with grand ideas that don’t play out. Overly optimistic financial projections that are divorced from reality. A dire financial situation that is worse after she left it.
I would say that while she wasn’t a crook, her and her husband’s pie-in-the-sky idealism were on full display. A Sanders presidency would end much the same way.
28
Bernie is the only mainstream politician who has consistently spoken honestly and morally, even when it wasn't popular.
28
Readers should google Cooper Union. Once upon a time an elite/free engineering college for over a century. In the early 2000s, financial mismanagement brought it to ruin, its no longer free and not the place once regarded so highly in engineering world. Too bad.
15
So, Ms. Sanders brought down one small liberal arts school.
That’s nothing compared to what will happen to such schools if her husband’s plan to eliminate undergraduate tuition at 4-year public colleges ever gets put into place. Small, private liberal arts colleges, like the one where I teach, will be mowed down.
20
@Johnny Stark. Unlikely. Community college has always been a better financial deal, and even making public institutions tuition-free doesn't mean their capacity is expanded.
5
@Johnny Stark You are part of the bloated educational industrial complex. How surprising you would say something like that?
9
@Johnny Stark
I'm not sure public colleges, whether free tuition or low taxpayer subsidized tuition, are a threat to small, private colleges. The real threat will come if the Federal government (US Department of Education) begins to limit via guarantees, as is proposed, the amount students (and parents i.e. Plus Loans) can borrow. If, or when, the money crunch ensues, the soul searching will begin, particularly if public colleges are faced with needing to turn people away.
1
The fates of small non brand name schools is sealed. The economic realities of higher education are becoming clearer by the date as the cost of colleges continues to balloon.
The top name band schools will continue be secure in their position strictly due to demand and price will be no object. The state schools will become more and more competitive if they can manage the cost/prestige. The small non-elite (expensive!) colleges are an endangered species and wither away.
8
So Jane Sanders made a valiant effort to save the school, but for a host of reasons, it didn't pan out. And she was investigated and never charged with any crime.
Can't believe we're even talking about this.
There's never going to be such a thing as a perfect politician or political spouse who never makes a bad judgement call - cuz no human being is perfect.
(P.S. I'd love to see Sanders and Buttigieg on the same ticket.)
68
@Astrid
Not Buttigieg, he is an establishment corporate candidate. Tulsi Gabbard is great, and she is ignored by the press.
Go Bernie!
12
@Astrid Thankfully, you won't be voting in our primaries, where we need more than images and slogans. Compared to Buttegieg, at least Bernie has indicated any positions. All we know of "Mayor Pete" is that he speaks beautifully, in several languages. I would love to have him at my dinner table - but much like Obama, we're dazzled by his rhetoric and don't really know much about his policies. What scant information we have indicates a much more conservative bent than we think. As for Sanders, he's had four years on the national stage to explain a single one of his policies in detail and how he would enact them. Every time, he sputters and chokes and then claims that the DNC is trying to bring him down. Sanders is the author of his own failures. As a democratic socialist and feminist, I will work very hard for my preferred candidate (neither of which is she).
9
@Astrid Hey I liked your comment til the ps! Buttigieg and Sanders will never be on the same ticket, sorry. Most likely Sanders VP is Nina Turner, and she'll be amazing. Warren will have one of the most powerful roles in his admin, of her choosing.
So , a small college was losing students because it didn't have a campus. Mrs Sanders tries to save the school by buying a campus, school still fails through no fault of her own..No criminal charges ..
Another sad effort by the main stream media and their corporate masters to smear the best candidate this country has seen in decades.
I will still vote for Sanders..he ,not his wife, is running for president.
261
The USA was spending at a rate of approximate $15B/month on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for 9 years. $10M is just about 30 minutes at that rate. The priorities of this nation have been completely perverted. Blood and treasure have been squandered on a scale difficult to imagine, while our infrastructure crumbles, we have zero high speed train lines, healthcare routinely bankrupts Americans, and small colleges are going under almost as fast as small farms. It's unfortunate that Burlington College could not make it but even more so that funds that could support education, clean energy, municipal improvement projects, humanitarian aid to poor countries, support instead a military-industrial complex that threatens us more than our enemies. Jane Sanders and her efforts on behalf of Burlington College are non-news. How anyone aligned with Trump could raise the issue of bank fraud (Hello: Deutsche Bank? Russian money laundering?) is a joke.
131
@Claude G
great comment -
so sadly true
we have poured our blood and coin into the military and become a third world plutocracy
34
@j
Article from 6/20/19
"The retaliation plan was intended as a response to the shooting down of the unmanned, $130 million surveillance drone, which was struck Thursday morning by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, according to a senior administration official who was briefed on the military planning and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential plans."
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/20/world/middleeast/iran-us-drone.html
3
To sound a contrarian note from the previous comments: I was comforted after reading this column.
It showed that there’s no there there.
There’s been enough innuendo around this failed project that it was good of the Times to shine some light on it and put it to bed - once and for all.
Let’s move on from this non-issue.
174
@Patrician
Well said. Unfortunately the headline is extremely sensational and gives the absolute wrong impression. Hopefully this is the last we have to hear about this "scandal".
47
@Patrician
Why bring it up in the first place?
26
@cjonsson
I presume the Times thought it wasn’t a settled issue, given that Trump was having (or trying to have) it investigated...
Here’s my take: Better now, than later.
I read it with interest and believe it cleared all the doubts, whispers and shadows around the project.
(I write that as an Elizabeth Warren supporter, who respects Bernie Sanders. I expect it was a non-issue to Bernie’s supporters. See it in the light that it’s broadly helpful to his case).
9
Bernie the socialist and the lover of Cuba, the old Soviet Union and the Nicaraguan Sandinistas we have long known about. Bernie the millionaire, who knew?
Actually, why is anyone surprised that Bernie is part of the 1%? He and his wife own three homes, including one on the "Vermont Riviera," the shore of Lake Champlain, that cost a bundle. Clearly Bernie and his wife have become accustomed to the upscale lifestyle he has long eschewed and excoriated. Now that he is in a higher tax bracket he is surely getting schooled on tax avoidance and sheltering income, lessons that plutocrats learn at their fathers' knees. And I wonder how much of his income he is willing to redistribute to other according to their need.
And his wife, who ran a small college into bankruptcy, does their taxes? Right.
I guess Bernie will have to stop ranting and raving against millionaires and spend more time explaining to voters 1) why he is not a hypocrite and 2) how socialism will benefit them while he is taking advantage of good old capitalism.
As Margaret Thatcher so aptly put it, "The problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people's money."
As for policies, Sanders' espousal of free everything for everyone, not to mention allowing felons to vote from prison, can only guarantee Trump's re-election.
39
@Mon Ray
OK- have to weigh in here
I have lived in Vermont for over 20 years
I have never once - until now - heard anyone ever refer to the Champlain Islands as the Vermont Rivera
please
where did you get that from?
His house there - as has been reported - cost around $600. He's got a condo in DC and a middle class house in a suburban area of Burlington. Of the three that's the only one I've ever seen on the news- it's nothing special whatsoever.
Here is the thing, Bernie has made a six figure annual salary since at least the time he went to DC - nearly 30 years ago. His wife was provost at one college and president of another. She also worked for the city of Burlington. Why is it so hard to imagine folks who make good salaries can afford a vacation home and a main residence and a condo where he has worked for nearly 30 years? What are you implying?
186
@Mon Ray
So Bernie's a fool for trying to do something that doesn't put his financial interests ahead of the needs of others.
25
@Mon Ray
"Clearly Bernie and his wife have become accustomed to the upscale lifestyle he has long eschewed and excoriated"
Right, Bernie is the guy who chose to fly economy class during the last election cycle.
"Now that he is in a higher tax bracket he is surely getting schooled on tax avoidance and sheltering income"
Do you have any evidence, anything at all to support this? Quite an assertion without anything at all to back it up, other than prejudice.
"lessons that plutocrats learn at their fathers' knees."
Well its a good thing that Bernie wasn't born into his position of power like the last 3,4 Republican presidents.
"And his wife, who ran a small college into bankruptcy, does their taxes? Right. "
This has nothing to do with your assertions of Bernie's hypocrisy.
"how socialism will benefit them while he is taking advantage of good old capitalism."
You're confusing Marxist-Leninist Socialism, where a centralized government controls the means of production, with Democratic Socialism. It's about ensuring workers have a real stake in the economy and that our it provides basic human needs to all citizens: needs like healthcare, housing, food, water, economic opportunity.
"As Margaret Thatcher so aptly put it, "The problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people's money." "
Nice way to end on a quote as vacuous as the comment.
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A weird, off-beat nothing college, selling meaningless degrees to misguided youth, run by a Progressive with no business experience. What could go wrong?
Without an endless supply of other people's money, this is how Progressivism always ends--in bankruptcy. Venezuela, California, Illinois will soon be in the same boat.
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@Jesse The Conservative Misguided youth?
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@Jesse The Conservative
ending in bankruptcy... sounds like a Casino deal to me. Or maybe a mail order steak company.
Or a real estate school, wait, that one ended in fraud.
or a Taj Mahal deal.
Without an endless supply of other people's money, this is how conservatism always ends -- in bankruptcy.
22
Not much there to see, other than a failed attempt at trying to save a college. Republicans up to their old tricks again, like they did with Hillary.
The one take away is that both Bernie and his wife seem to have the shoot for the moon approach with no anchor to financial and worldly realities.
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@John To me that reads that Bernie and Jane both are bold visionaries. It takes courage and strength to hold LGBT pride rallies in 1986. It takes courage and strength to fight for medicare for all back in the 90s. He sees the writing on the wall and constantly pushes us towards a better America for all. We need that future vision and these bold ideas to move our country into the 21st century and not stagnate and die with the coal executives.
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@Dan
Those are not new ideas, just variations of what Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels had written from a long time ago.
If adopted, I suspect we will turn out like any one of the countries that tried to adopt those ideas.
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@John you forgot the fact there was an interested buyer in purchasing part of the property to offset costs......also you had a board member who was interested in a personal profit deal for this property..... of which he never disclosed.....when you start something ...a business.. any endever ...you make a financial commitment up front...../the facilities wanted did not all have to come at once......donors would have lined up to get their names on the buildings......just like people would buy stock in a new opportunity...….as for Bernie he would divert money from illegal wars and overpriced military equipment...and start taxing the ultra wealthy....higher education is an investment in our society...….."you want fries with that"..…..same old arguments from the right....
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This is a relevant story considering the profile and influence that Jane's husband has in the state where all of this occurred.
Looks like while Bernie in 2016 was screaming daily about Goldman Sachs and Hillary, the Sanders had had their own dealings with People United, leading to the debacle of the college.
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@Gian Piero
You mean People's United. Nothing in the article suggests your insinuation.
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@Thomas Zaslavsky
I find most of the negative comments in this forum are from people who have obviously not read the article.
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Small potatoes and of no concern considering the graft, crimes, self-dealing and bribery of Trump and his team.
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@JJ
No doubt. No one can beat the Trump clan on the corruption front. No one.
But that is totally beside the point.
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@JJ
That's your standard? It's nothing compared to Trump? Good luck with those ethics dude.
2
1) The first takeaway from this is that Mrs. Sanders is not good at envisioning in a practical way how to take on a huge financial and cultural project. It was messy and did not have enough basic support from a united group of supporters financial and otherwise. "It was to massive a piece of property for a small college to undertake." It's simple. Why is this being said again?
2) the beachfront house - AGAIN there is the innuendo of hidden money laundering from the college debacle. Sanders financial records from at least 10 years are on file. And they are relatively simple.
Frankly, this is a poor piece. And I think it's because of the weaknesses of the material. If Mrs. Sanders comes up with another poetic and lovely idea for a cultural center she needs financial backers and an enthusiastic coterie who will do some of the social fabric weaving. I don't see it happening.
But I hope this is the last time I see this. Really.
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Lol, is the mainstream media really still on this? Literally, who cares. Your transparent attempts to sandbag the only candidate who poses a true threat to entrenched oligarchic power in this country is starting to get old.
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@Charlie I’m not a fan of Bernie Sanders, but my takeaway from this article is that she did nothing wrong, and in fact probably had the only viable vision of saving a school that ultimately closed. The author addressed each of the complaints put forward by political opponents and basically discarded each as inflated or incomplete. When even a hint of criticism of a political favorite elicits an indignant response, it suggests a cult of personality has formed.
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@Conor
In fairness, it's pretty much impossible to win an election without some degree of cult of personality. And, as the song tells us, MLK and Gandhi both had strong cults of personality. The cult of personality isn't the key. It's what the person does with the power they get from it.
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@Charlie ~
"...the only candidate who poses a true threat to entrenched oligarchic power in this country..."
Elizabeth Warren appears to have a plan for that entrenched oligarchic power so this time around Sanders isn't the only one."
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This is not news. There were plenty of articles about Jane Sanders and Burlington College during the 2016 election. But of course the NY Times wants to make sure no one forgot. I'm looking forward to seeing articles detailing all business and career failures of the spouses of all the other presidential candidates, but somehow I don't think I'll be seeing those in the NY Times.
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@E. Vincent When your platform is hyper focused on the pipe dream of free college, this is news. It is maybe the only tangible of the Sanders that we have. They are a team, as all confirm, but not much success under their belts to lead America towards actual, real change rather than theoretical fixes and ideologies.
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@E. Vincent
I've seen a whole lot of Biden criticism on the front pages of the NYT the past week.
In any case, it's best to fully vet this now rather than let Republicans do it if Mr. Sanders wins the nomination.
They will be thrilled to discuss it endlessly!
14
@E. Vincent. Nor will we see any stories regarding how Melania entered this country with a dubious Einstein visa; how she may have violated the terms of that visa by working; how her family plunked themselves in our country after she married Trump with what appears to be “chain migration” (yes, what her husband railes about); and let’s not even talk about her naked spreads in men’s magazines. Somehow Jane Sander’s efforts to save a small college, as futile as the effort may have been, when compared to her make Jane seem like Mother Theresa.
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This story might have some relevance if Jane Sanders was running for President. But the last time I checked, it was still her husband who is running. This guilt-by-association piece only serves to tear down one of the candidates dedicated to relieving us from the national nightmare that is Trump. Doesn’t The Times have anything else to cover? What’s the matter? Are you finally done trying to make Joe Biden apologize?
You could tell me that Jane murdered someone and then strung him up in the Burlington town square, and I would still vote for Bernie if he was the Democrats’ final choice. In fact, as I have told friends, I would vote for a ham sandwich if that was the only alternative to Trump.
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@LIChef For decades Bernie has excoriated millionaires; now he is one.
Oops!
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@Mon Ray
A ridiculous slur. Bernie says: be rich if you want, but pay your fair share. And as he has released ten years of his taxes, there appears to be no controversy with them.
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@Mon Ray
If you'd bothered to look at his released taxes, much less the required comprehensive public financial disclosure reports all senators have to submit, you'd see that Sen. Sanders has been a small millionaire for a bit now.
What does any of that have to do with him calling for increased taxes upon those with more money? He isn't and hasn't been against people earning money (depending upon how they earn it of course ), he wants them to pay more in taxes. Himself included.
Is the "oops" for your failed trolling?
C'mon. Be better.
5