Profiles in Corruption

by Peter Schweizer

  76. David J. Tinsley, “Committee and Subcommittee Assignments,” S. Pub. 110–16, 110th Cong., December 1, 2007, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CPUB-110spub16/pdf/GPO-CPUB-110spub16.pdf.

  77. Harry Jaffe, Why Bernie Sanders Matters (New York: Regan Arts, 2012), p. 112.

  78. Craven, “One family, two schools.”

  79. Johnson, “Financial questions dog Burlington College.”

  80. Ken Picard, “Burlington College Students Press for Changes after Prof’s Dismissal,” Seven Days, November 25, 2008, https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/burlington-college-students-press-for-changes-after-profs-dismissal/Content?oid=2135730.

  81. Burlington College, Internal Revenue Service, Form 990, 2009, https://www.citizenaudit.org/2011_06_EO/03–0229504_990_201006.pdf/.

  82. Opensecrets.org, “Bernie Sanders: Assets,” 2012, https://www.opensecrets.org/personal-finances/assets/Bernie-Sanders?cid=N00000528&year=2012.

  83. Opensecrets.org, “Bernie Sanders: Assets,” 2014, https://www.opensecrets.org/personal-finances/assets/Bernie-Sanders?cid=N00000528&year=2014.

  84. Burlington College, Internal Revenue Service, Form 990, 2007, Statement 9, p. 29.

  85. Johnson, “Financial questions dog Burlington College.”

  86. Alicia Freese, “Pass or Fail: What Happens If Burlington College Drops Out?,” Seven Days, August 20, 2014, https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/pass-or-fail-what-happens-if-burlington-college-drops-out/Content?oid=2420094; Morgan True, “Pomerleau advised Sanders on college land deal he also saved,” VTDigger, August 6, 2017, https://vtdigger.org/2017/08/06/pomerleau-advised-sanders-college-land-deal-also-saved/.

  87. John Walters, “Ho-Ho Pomerleau: Vermont Pols Kiss the Ring,” Seven Days, December 13, 2017, https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/ho-ho-pomerleau-vermont-pols-kiss-the-ring/Content?oid=11038207.

  88. Greg Guma, “Campus Paradise Lost: The Fall of Burlington College,” June 26, 2017, http://gregguma.blogspot.com/2016/05/campus-paradise-lost-fall-of-burlington.html.

  89. Laura Krantz, “Burlington College to sell 25 acres to real estate developer,” Vermont Business Magazine, October 25, 2014, https://vermontbiz.com/news/october/burlington-college-sell-25-acres-real-estate-developer; http://vehbfa.org/wp-content/uploads/2010-VEHBFA-Annual-Report.pdf.

  90. VEHBFA 2010 Annual Report, http://vehbfa.org/wp-content/uploads/2010-VEHBFA-Annual-Report.pdf; Morgan True, “Jane Sanders overstated donation amounts in loan application for Burlington College,” VTDigger, September 13, 2015, https://vtdigger.org/2015/09/13/jane-sanders-overstated-donation-amounts-in-loan-application-for-burlington-college/.

  91. Lloyd, “Jane Sanders’s Little College That Couldn’t.”

  92. Maggie Severns, “What Happened at Sanders U,” Politico, February 11, 2016, https://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/bernie-sanders-jane-vermont-burlington-college-219114.

  93. Mark Johnson and Elizabeth Hewitt, “Philanthropist: Burlington College Could Have Survived,” VTDigger, August 4, 2017, https://vtdigger.org/2017/08/04/philanthropist-burlington-college-survived/.

  94. Danny Hakim, “Jane Sanders and the Messy Demise of a Vermont College,” New York Times, June 21, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/21/us/politics/jane-omeara-sanders-burlington-college.html?.

  95. Morgan True, “Emails reveal FBI, Justice probe of Burlington College,” VTDigger, April 27, 2017, https://vtdigger.org/2017/04/27/emails-reveal-fbi-justice-probe-burlington-college/.

  96. Aidan Quigley, “Trustee denies impropriety in Burlington College land deal,” VTDigger, June 26, 2019, https://vtdigger.org/2019/06/26/trustee-denies-impropriety-in-burlington-college-land-deal/.

  97. “Dr. Carol Moore named president of Burlington College,” Vermont Business Magazine, December 5, 2014, https://vermontbiz.com/news/december/dr-carol-moore-named-president-burlington-college.

  98. Alicia Freese, “Former Burlington College President Unloads on Board, Jane Sanders,” Seven Days, September 6, 2016, https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2016/09/06/former-burlington-college-president-unloads-on-board-jane-sanders.

  99. Paul Heintz, “Sanders Nemesis to Air TV Ad Bashing Wife’s ‘Golden Parachute,’ ” Seven Days, September 17, 2014, https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2014/09/17/sanders-nemesis-to-air-tv-ad-bashing-wifes-golden-parachute; Burlington College, Internal Revenue Service, Form 990, 2012; Bernard Sanders, Personal Financial Disclosure, 2013.

  100. True, “Emails Reveal FBI, Justice Probe of Burlington College”; Morgan True, “Fox News Says FBI’s Burlington College Probe Ongoing,” VTDigger, December 8, 2017, https://vtdigger.org/2017/12/08/fox-news-says-fbis-burlington-college-probe-ongoing/.

  101. Morgan True, “Case closed, no charges for Burlington College burglary suspect,” VTDigger, May 5, 2017, https://vtdigger.org/2017/05/05/case-closed-no-charges-burlington-college-burglary-suspect/

  102. Ibid.

  103. Ibid.

  104. Ibid.

  105. Ibid.

  106. True, “Emails reveal FBI, Justice probe of Burlington College.”

  107. Ida A. Brudnick, “Congressional Salaries and Allowances: In Brief,” last updated April 11, 2018, p. 2, https://www.senate.gov/CRSpubs/9c14ec69-c4e4–4bd8–8953-f73daa1640e4.pdf, p. 2.

  108. Chase Peterson-Withorn, “How Bernie Sanders, the Socialist Senator, Amassed a $2.5 Million Fortune,” Forbes, April 12, 2019, https://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2019/04/12/how-bernie-sanders-the-socialist-senator-amassed-a-25-million-fortune/#46a9cc0736bf.

  109. United States Senate, “Books Written by Sitting Senators,” n.d., https://www.senate.gov/senators/BooksWrittenbySittingSenators.htm; Opensecrets.org, Personal Finances Search, “McCain,” n.d., https://www.opensecrets.org/personal-finances/search?q=mccain&type=person; John S. McCain, Personal Financial Disclosure, 2007, http://pfds.opensecrets.org/N00006424_2007.pdf; John S. McCain, Personal Financial Disclosure, 2013, http://pfds.opensecrets.org/N00006424_2013.pdf; John S. McCain, Personal Financial Disclosure, 2014, http://pfds.opensecrets.org/N00006424_2014.pdf; Hillary Hoffower, “A Look at the Life and Fortune of John McCain, Who Had a Sprawling Real Estate Portfolio and Donated $1.7 Million in Book Sales to Charity,” Business Insider, August 25, 2019, https://www.businessinsider.com/john-mccain-net-worth-real-estate-charity-2018–5.

  110. “Advanced Search for Legislation,” Bills Sponsored by Bernard Sanders, Govtrack.us, n.d.,https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/browse?sponsor=400357#enacted_ex=on.

  111. Jennifer Calfas, “Bernie Sanders Made More than $1 Million in 2016,” Money, June 5, 2017, http://money.com/money/4805379/bernie-sanders-2016-income/; “Bernie Sanders Criticizes Democrats and Republicans in ‘Where We Go From Here,’ ” NPR, November 27, 2018, https://www.npr.org/2018/11/27/670800149/bernie-sanders-criticizes-democrats-and-republicans-in-where-we-go-from-here.

  112. Jill Lepore, “Bernie Sanders’s Long Run,” New Yorker, July 9, 2015, https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/bernie-sanderss-long-run; FEC data; Opensecrets.org, “Vendor/Recipient: Perseus Books,” 2012, accessed July 18, 2019, https://www.opensecrets.org/expends/vendor.php?year=2012&vendor=Perseus%20Books; Bernie Sanders, The Speech: On Corporate Greed and the Decline of Our Middle Class (New York: Perseus Books, 2015), https://www.amazon.com/Speech-Corporate-Greed-Decline-Middle/dp/1568585535#reader_1568585535.

  113. “Bernie Sanders,” Verso Books, n.d., https://www.versobooks.com/authors/1242-bernie-sanders; FEC data.

  114. Calfas, “Bernie Sanders made more than $1 million in 2016.”

  115. Kevin O’Connor, “Is Bernie Sanders’ new book sign of a 2020 bid?,” VTDigger, June 17, 2018, https://vtdigger.org/2018/06/17/bernie-sanders-new-book-sign-2020-bid/.

  116. Andrew Bast, “Bernie Sanders releases 10 years of tax returns detailing millions in earnings,” CBS News, April 16, 2019, https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/bernie-sanders-releases-10-years-of-tax-returns-detailing-millions-in-earnings/ar-BBVYb8B.

  117. Howie Carr, “Carr: FBI Trailing ‘Soc
ialist’ Bernie Sanders and Wife over Bank Loan Deal,” BostonHerald.com, July 5, 2017, https://www.bostonherald.com/2017/07/05/carr-fbi-trailing-socialist-bernie-sanders-and-wife-over-bank-loan-deal/.

  118. Philip Bump, “Bernie Sanders Is the 19th Poorest Member of the United States Senate,” Washington Post, April 14, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/04/14/bernie-sanders-is-the-19th-poorest-member-of-the-united-states-senate/?utm_term=.0bc440b37c85.

  119. John Walters, “Bernie Sanders Made More than $1 Million in 2016,” Seven Days, June 4, 2017, https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2017/06/04/walters-bernie-sanders-made-more-than-1-million-in-2016; Jasper Craven and Mark Johnson, “UPDATED: Sanders Lake Home Purchase Leaves Questions Unanswered,” VTDigger, August 18, 2016, https://vtdigger.org/2016/08/18/sanders-lake-home-purchase-leaves-questions-unanswered/.

  120. Carr, “FBI Trailing ‘Socialist’ Bernie Sanders and Wife.”

  121. John Walters, “Bernie Sanders Made More than $1 Million in 2016”; Tim Marcin, “Bernie Sanders Mocks Greedy Rich People, Is Also Rich,” Newsweek, April 21, 2017, https://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-criticized-twitter-users-having-three-houses-587721.

  122. Craven and Johnson, “Sanders Lake Home Purchase Leaves Questions Unanswered.”

  123. Walters, “Bernie Sanders Made More Than $1 Million in 2016”; Dave Levinthal, “How Bernie Sanders Beat the Clock—and Avoided Disclosure,” Center for Public Integrity, August 18, 2016, https://publicintegrity.org/federal-politics/how-bernie-sanders-beat-the-clock-and-avoided-disclosure/.

  124. Eric Levitz, “We’re All ‘Socialists’ Now,” Intelligencer, June 13, 2019, http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/06/bernie-sanders-socialism-speech-gwu.html.

  125. Eric Bradner, “Bernie Sanders: Prolific Democratic Party fundraiser,” CNN, February 8, 2016, https://www.cnn.com/2016/02/05/politics/sanders-democratic-fundraisers/index.html.

  126. Greg Guma, “Lockheed Martin in Vermont: Senator Bernie Sanders’ Corporate Conundrum,” Global Research, May 28, 2015, https://www.globalresearch.ca/lockheed-martin-in-vermont-senator-bernie-sanders-corporate-conundrum/5452106.

  127. Bradner, “Bernie Sanders: Prolific Democratic Party fundraiser.”

  128. “The AllEarth Renewables Leadership Team,” AllEarth Solar, accessed January 31, 2019, https://www.allearthrenewables.com/our-leadership-team.

  129. “7,000 Jobs: Stimulating the Vermont Economy,” Bernie Sanders’s Senate page, July 28, 2010, https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/must-read/7–000-jobs-stimulating-the-vermont-economy.

  130. “Sanders visits solar regional testing center,” Bernie Sanders’s Senate page, press release, October 12, 2017, https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sanders-visits-solar-regional-testing-center; “David Blittersdorf,” Davidblittersdorf.com, accessed January 2, 2019, https://www.davidblittersdorf.com/hubfs/David%20Blittersdorf/Docs/David_Blittersdorf_VT_biography.pdf?t=1484930216324&hsLang=en-us; “The AllEarth Renewables Leadership Team.”

  131. Andrew Stein, “Sanders Opposes State Wind Moratorium Proposal,” VTDigger, January 28, 2013, https://vtdigger.org/2013/01/28/sanders/.

  132. Robin Smith, “State Seeks $20,000 Fine Over Kidder Hill Wind Mills,” Caledonian Record, July 1, 2017, https://www.caledonianrecord.com/news/state-seeks-fine-over-kidder-hill-wind-mills/article_f83c474e-2be5–595b-9ea0–43d366414967.html; Energizevermont.org, “Wind Developer Blittersdorf Sues Project Neighbors,” National Wind Watch, press release, August 21, 2012, https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/08/21/wind-developer-blittersdorf-sues-project-neighbors/.

  133. “David Blittersdorf, President and CEO of AllEarth Renewables, Plans to Shift Renewable Development Resources Out of State,” Green Energy Times, March 12, 2018, http://www.greenenergytimes.org/2018/03/12/david-blittersdorf-president-and-ceo-of-allearth-renewables-plans-to-shift-renewable-development-resources-out-of-state/.

  134. Erin Mansfield, “Special Report: Tax Breaks Drive Vermont’s Solar Gold Rush,” VTDigger, 2015, https://vtdigger.org/fullimagestory/solar-is-everywhere/.

  135. Ibid.

  136. Stein, “Sanders Opposes State Wind Moratorium Proposal.”

  137. April McCullum, “Scott Turns to Regulators for Wind Moratorium,” Burlington Free Press, May 31, 2017, https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/politics/government/2017/05/31/phil-scott-new-vermont-rules-lead-less-industrial-wind/354072001/.

  138. Garret Keizer, “Bernie Betrayed Us,” National Wind Watch, March 31, 2013, https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/03/31/bernie-dont-betray-us/; “Sanders visits solar regional testing center”; “Senate Passes Sanders Amendment to Fund Williston Solar Regional Testing Center,” Bernie Sanders’s Senate page, press release, June 25, 2018, https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senate-passes-sanders-amendment-to-fund-williston-solar-regional-testing-center.

  139. “Week in Review,” Bernie Sanders’s Senate page, press release, September 28, 2007, https://Sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2007/09/28/week-in-review.

  140. “Endorsements,” Environmentalists For Bernie, accessed January 2, 2019, http://environmentalistsforbernie.org/endorsements/.

  141. Greg Guma, “How Lockheed and Sandia Came to Vermont,” Maverick Media, November 4, 2013, http://muckraker-gg.blogspot.com/2013/11/how-lockheed-and-sandia-came-to-vermont.html.

  142. Alexander Cohen, “Defense Contractor Employees Give the Most Money to Hillary Clinton,” Center for Public Integrity, April 1, 2016, https://publicintegrity.org/national-security/defense-contractor-employees-give-the-most-money-to-hillary-clinton/.

  143. Mak, “Bernie Sanders Loves This $1 Trillion War Machine.”

  144. Nick Zazulia, “F-35: How the Trillion-Dollar Program Got Here and Where It’s Going,” Avionics International, September 4, 2018, https://www.aviationtoday.com/2018/09/04/f-35-program-update/.

  145. Adam Silverman, “Pentagon F-35 Review Unlikely to Affect Vermont,” Burlington Free Press, February 5, 2017, https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/2017/02/05/pentagon-f-35-review-unlikely-affect-vermont/97373894/.

  146. Mak, “Bernie Sanders Loves This $1 Trillion War Machine”; Paul Barrett, “Is the F-35 a Trillion-Dollar Mistake?,” Bloomberg Businessweek, April 4, 2017, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017–04–04/is-the-f-35-a-trillion-dollar-mistake.

  147. Greg Guma, “How Lockheed and Sandia Came to Vermont.”

  148. Russell Berman, “How One Donor Is Profiting Off the Trump and Sanders Campaigns,” Atlantic, August 26, 2016, https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/08/how-one-donor-is-profiting-off-the-trump-and-sanders-campaigns/497501/; Russell Berman, “The Donors Who Love Bernie Sanders a Little Too Much,” Atlantic, May 13, 2016, https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/05/the-bernie-sanders-donors-who-are-giving-too-much/482418/.

  149. Ibid.; Brad Woodhouse, American Democracy Legal Fund, Before the Federal Election Commission v. Senator Bernard Sanders and Bernie 2016 and Susan Jackson, Treasurer, complaint, February 29, 2016, p. 2, https://www.fec.gov/files/legal/murs/current/118426.pdf.

  150. Larry Noble quoted in Berman, “How One Donor Is Profiting Off the Trump and Sanders Campaigns.”

  151. Emma Baccellieri, “Clinton’s California Lead—in Donations,” Opensecrets.org, June 6, 2016, https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2016/06/clintons-california-lead-in-donations/.

  152. Federal Election Commission, “Excessive, Prohibited, and Impermissible Contributions: BERNIE 2016,” May 10, 2016, https://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/847/201605100300045847/201605100300045847.pdf; Federal Election Commission, “Excessive, Prohibited, and Impermissible Contributions: BERNIE 2016,” February 11, 2016, https://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/988/201602110300034988/201602110300034988.pdf; Jasper Craven, “FEC Threatens Audit of Sanders Campaign Donations,” VTDigger, May 14, 2016, https://vtdigger.org/2016/05/14/fec-threatens-audit-of-sanders-campaign-donations/; Scott Blackburn, “The Story of Stupid Campaign Finance Laws: A Tale of Sanders’ Donors,” Insti
tute for Free Speech (blog), February 25, 2016, https://www.ifs.org/blog/the-story-of-stupid-campaign-finance-laws-a-tale-of-sanders-donors/.

  153. Alex Lubben, “Bernie Sanders Colluded—with the Australian Labor Party,” Vice, February 28, 2018, https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/437pbg/bernie-sanders-campaign-colluded-with-russia-federal-election-commission-finds; Heather McNab, “Young Sydneysiders Call US Citizens in Support of Presidential Hopeful Bernie Sanders,” Daily Telegraph, June 21, 2016, https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/city-east/feeling-the-bern-young-sydneysiders-call-us-citizens-in-support-of-presidential-hopeful-bernie-sanders/news-story/a4d72a4a47370d02c3dbf91d81b715a3.

  154. Craven, “Special report: Sanders campaign millions go to mystery firm.”

  155. Ibid.

  156. Dennis B. Murphy, “Old Towne Media Received over $83 Million from the Sanders Campaign,” Medium, February 9, 2018, https://medium.com/@dennisbmurphy/old-towne-media-received-over-83million-from-the-sanders-campaign-a76873c0aef0; Jonathan Topaz and Kristen East, “Bernie Sanders’ Wife Accounts for All His Reported Assets,” Politico, July 16, 2015, https://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/bernie-sanders-wife-accounts-for-reported-assets-120261.

  157. “Editorials from around New England,” Associated Press, January 12, 2018, https://apnews.com/013c4681d38e431b95ce0a9fa2be7349; “Editorial: Railing Against the 1 Percent,” Caledonian Record, July 19, 2016, https://www.caledonianrecord.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-railing-against-the-percent/article_c2c15872-de8e-5b9b-b314–83ed0be9a547.html.

  158. N.J. Eberle, “Old Towne Media, LLC: Buying a Political Revolution,” Medium, April 23, 2016, https://medium.com/@VonEbsy/old-towne-media-llc-buying-a-political-revolution-40cbac5cb4c3.

  159. Eliza Newlin Carney, “Nonprofit Structure Backfires on ‘Our Revolution,’ ” American Prospect, September 1, 2016, https://prospect.org/article/nonprofit-structure-backfires-our-revolution; Jasper Craven, “Sanders launches think tank,” VTDigger, June 9, 2017, https://vtdigger.org/2017/06/09/sanders-launches-think-tank/.