“My wife is perhaps the most honest person I know,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in a Sunday-aired interview on CNN’s State of the Union with Jake Tapper. “She did a great job in Burlington College.”
Sanders’ wife Jane is currently being investigated for fraud in relation to a $10 millon bank loan she procured from People’s United Bank, ostensibly for the purposes of expanding the now-defunct Burlington College; she previously worked as Burlington College’s president.
Burlington College ceased operations in May 2016 due to financial problems.
Jane Sanders allegedly overstated pledged donations to Burlington College in her application for a $10 million loan from People’s United Bank, receiving $676,000 of $2.6 million she claimed was destined for the college.
The FBI is now investigating Jane Sanders for fraud, as well as possible involvement from her husband in securing the $10 million loan.
Bernie Sanders described inquiries into his and his wife’s involvement in the financial collapse of Burlington College as driven by malevolent partisanship: “Sadly we are in a moment where parties not only attack public officials, they have to go after wives and children. You know, this is pathetic and that’s the way politics is in America today.”
Speaking with CNN’s Erin Burnett last week, Sanders repeated the same words: “My wife is about the most honest person I know. When she came to that college, it was failing financially and academic. When she left it, it was in better shape that it ever did.”
Tapper dedicated the last minute of an eight-minute interview to questioning Bernie Sanders about his and his wife’s involvement in the collapse of Burlington College. He asked Sanders one question about the affair.
Tapper presents himself as a politically objective and non-partisan news media figure. CNN similarly presents itself as an objective and non-partisan news media outlet, branding itself “The Most Trusted Name In News.”
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