Adviser says Bernie Sanders' wife cleared in college land deal investigation
A top adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders said Tuesday that the Vermont independent's wife, Jane Sanders, has been recently told by the US attorney in Vermont that they have closed an investigation into a land deal involving Burlington College during Jane Sanders' presidency.
Posted — UpdatedNo charges will be brought, Jeff Weaver, who ran Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign and is authorized to speak on Jane Sanders' behalf, told CNN. The US Attorney's Office in Vermont declined to comment, telling CNN it did not comment on investigations. A message left with the senator's office was not immediately returned Tuesday.
"Jane is grateful the investigation has come to an end. She has said from the beginning that she did nothing wrong and she is pleased that the matter has come to a conclusion," Weaver said.
Jane Sanders was the president of Burlington College from 2004 to 2011. The college announced its closure in 2016 due to debt it had taken on from a real estate deal the school made during her tenure. CNN reviewed the loan application for the deal, which was signed by Jane Sanders. The loan application stated the college would take in millions of dollars' worth of pledged donations, many of which never materialized.
Vermont lawyer Brady Toensing, a former state Republican vice chair who was once Donald Trump's campaign chair in the state, leveled accusations of bank fraud related to the land deal.
Toensing made these accusations five years after Jane Sanders left the college.
The Vermont senator told CNN last year that the investigation was politically motivated.
"I think it's fairly pathetic that when people are involved in public life, it's not only that they get attacked, but it's their wives and their families that get attacked," said Bernie Sanders, who said his wife had left the college "in better shape than it had ever been."
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