Sanders and Wife Steered Campaign, Nonprofit Money to Family and Friends

Horrible. Here he is touring the country talking about how he wants to stick it to the 1% and look what he does? He steers campaign and non-profit money to this friends and wife. He embodies what he is telling people to be afraid of. A public official using his position for personal gain.

Bernie Sanders and his wife have on numerous occasions steered money from organizations under their control to friends and family members, public records show.

The payments benefitted the wife of the Democratic presidential candidate, his stepdaughter, and the son of a former colleague in city government whom Sanders has described as a close friend.

Sanders, a self-described socialist, is now running for the presidency on an anti-corruption platform, decrying public officials’ attempts to use their positions for personal financial gain.

Not only that, but his wife lied on loan documents.

She reportedly overstated pledged contributions to the school in order to secure a loan from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington. The diocese lost between $1.5 million and $2 million on the deal, according to local reports.

and he helped his friends and their children....

Around that time, the son of Jonathan Leopold, a Burlington College board member, purchased a small resort in the Bahamas called Andro’s Beach Club and an accompanying hotel, Nathan’s Lodge.

Leopold served with Sanders in the Burlington city government—as mayor, Sanders appointed Leopold city treasurer—before becoming embroiled in scandal involving millions of dollars in payments to a Burlington telecommunications company.

Sen. Sanders has described Leopold as so close a friend as to be considered “family.” He reportedly discouraged Sanders’ socialist impulses early in their careers. Efforts to reach Leopold were unsuccessful.

Link

Meanwhile, a man who has taken no PAC money or contributions, who is leading his field and self financing is what is wrong with the GOP according to 'The Bern'?

He is nothing more than another career politician who has now had his hand caught in the cookie jar.

a reply to: matafuchs

Nothing but routine actions of a Democratic Presidential candidate, but make no mistake, Republican candidates are just the other side of the same coin.

a reply to: matafuchs

Is this illegal?
Certainly, this points to a serious character flaw, if true.

a reply to: matafuchs

What did you expect? Honesty?

This is a socialist we're talking about here.

a reply to: matafuchs
I don't see a good source here nor obvious or provable wrongdoing.

a reply to: matafuchs

It was payroll for actual services. Are you just angry he hired friends and relatives for the job?

a reply to: IAMTAT

It is more about character. It is the opposite of his platform. I expect nothing less but this is good evidence.

Sanders, a self-described socialist, is now running for the presidency on an anti-corruption platform, decrying public officials’ attempts to use their positions for personal financial gain.

Following 16 years as a member of the House, Sanders was elected to the Senate in 2006. His political campaigns were an early vehicle for payments to his family members.

Politicians do this all the time and in some states it is illegal.

originally posted by: matafuchs
a reply to: IAMTAT

It is more about character. It is the opposite of his platform. I expect nothing less but this is good evidence.

Sanders, a self-described socialist, is now running for the presidency on an anti-corruption platform, decrying public officials’ attempts to use their positions for personal financial gain.

Following 16 years as a member of the House, Sanders was elected to the Senate in 2006. His political campaigns were an early vehicle for payments to his family members.

Politicians do this all the time and in some states it is illegal.

Hiring qualified family members is not illegal. The friends link is tenuous, at best. This is really reaching.

Some of it has nothing to do with campaigning.

originally posted by: Abysha
a reply to: matafuchs

It was payroll for actual services. Are you just angry he hired friends and relatives for the job?

Exactly What I was thinking and what's up with that random website? If this was reported from someone with credibility then that would catch my attention.
Until next time GOP

I don't care for Bernie but I'm guessing most politicians pull this stuff. They came after Dr. Pauls staff for bribing a state senator for an endorsement.

It does matter more when a candidate appeal is based on trying to be honest and wholesome.

Realistically the NSA can easily control .gov. Ability to dig up dirt on anyone and then leak that in order to sway political opinion. There's a good chance the US government and most government's are essentially blackmailed into the status quo.

a reply to: matafuchs

Was this money from non-profit organizations?

a reply to: matafuchs

Oh baby! Now that's a scandal!

A small time politician runs a grass roots campaign and actually employs family & friends in some of the campaign's most lucrative positions paying a whopping $16,000 a year.

Not only that, but his wife has been involved in a "controversy!" Oh my!

Not charged for criminal activity, not tried for criminal activity, not convicted for any crime, but worse! Involved in controversy for Christ sake!

If that's the best you got, just keep it coming because this junk is old, unworthy news.

This will do big damage to the Sanders Campaign.

Somebody's got to explain this away a.s.a.p.

The standard excuses for failure like "everybody else does it too" won't cut it this time.

Screwing non-profits is pretty low. It's hard to defend that.

It always starts out with small potatoes.

Then it progresses into millions.

This news is a shame.

originally posted by: reldra
a reply to: matafuchs
I don't see a good source here nor obvious or provable wrongdoing.

I'm glad you mentioned this as I'm noticing something fishy with these sources.

I can only find three sources validating this, and both sources are using one another as their source. Not attempting to derail your thread OP, but this isn't necessarily these are not the most objective sources... and they are sourcing each other, using circular logic.

Source 1

Source 2

Source 3

Aside from these three sources - which all use each other as their source (1 to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to 1), it doesn't make much for a compelling argument.

Anyways... how anyone is surprised, or shocked - is beyond me.

"Millions of Americans are concerned and frustrated over mishappenings in our nation. They feel that something is wrong, drastically wrong, but because of the picture painters they can't quite put their finger on it. We keep electing new Presidents who seemingly promise faithfully to halt the world-wide Communist advance, put the blocks to extravagant government spending, douse the fires of inflation, put the economy on an even keel, reverse the trend which is turning the country into a moral sewer, and toss the criminals into the hoosegow where they belong. Yet, despite high hopes and glittering campaign promises, these problems continue to worsen no matter who is in office. Each new administration, whether it be Republican or Democrat, continues the same basic policies of the previous administration which it had so thoroughly denounced during the election campaign. Is there a plausible reason to explain why this happens? We are not supposed to think so. We are supposed to think it is all accidental and coincidental and that therefore there is nothing we can do about it. FDR once said, "In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way." He was in a good position to know. We shall attempt to prove that we are really not dealing with coincidence or stupidity, but with planning and brilliance."
- None Dare Call it Conspiracy, Gary Allen, 1972

It's been like this for decades, and will only continue to worsen.

"But this, it'll be different!"
"Restore America to Prosperity!"
- Somebody's slogan in 2020

a reply to: jellyrev

It his was a "big hit," to the Sanders campaign when it was revealed that his interns were only being paid $12/hr while he pushed for a $15/he federally-mandated wage...

...until people realized that the vast majority of internships don't even pay interns, and there is no legal contract/clause that states interns have to be paid at the federal-minimum wage!

Oops! I'd hardly consider this "news," I can't even find a fourth source to confirm this... huh.

Gary Johnson announcing his run for presidency is news!

I wonder if this was leaked from the DNC or The Clinton campaign....not that there's any difference, really.

You don't get it. This is simply the definition of a career politician and he is not running on that platform.

He was using campaign donations to pay his family hundreds of thousands of dollars. How can you think that is ok when 'others do it'. You are right, but that is not his platform.

After working for the campaign, the senator’s wife would come under scrutiny for expenditures at Burlington College, where she was hired as president in 2004. While she led the school, it paid six-figure sums to her daughter and the son of a family friend.

Lying on loan applications. more than 500k to a woodworking school.

This is political corruption at its finest...

a reply to: RomeByFire

Click on all of the 'red' links in the article. It will take you to all of the sites that were used to compile this. All in all to me this is actually disappointing.