Jane Sanders Adds An Appellate Attorney to Her Legal Team

[VermontKevin]

David Kirby, who specializes in appellate issues and white collar crime defense has been added to the Sanders' legal team. He was a a US Attorney for Vermont. (note that this article was recently updated to include this information.)

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/politics/2017/07/10/brady-toensing-vermonts-republican-provocateur/437431001/

That brings up the lawyer count up to three:

Now, Senator Sanders and his wife are taking the case more seriously. Jeff Weaver, Sanders’ longtime top political adviser who heads Sanders’ political organization, Our Revolution, confirms to Politico Magazine that Bernie and Jane Sanders have lawyered up. The couple has retained Rich Cassidy, a well-connected Burlington attorney and Sanders devotee, and Larry Robbins, the renowned Washington-based defense attorney who has represented I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby and disgraced former Rep. Bill Jefferson, to represent Jane Sanders in the matter.

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/06/22/bernie-sanders-jane-sanders-lawyer-bank-fraud-investigation-burlington-college-215297

[NCTraveler]

1. Tough spot to be in.

No matter what the outcome is negative.

[VermontKevin]

3. David Kirby has represented other targets of Brady Toensing, so hiring him is

a smart move.

[NCTraveler]

6. I don't disagree with the move.

Sanders clearly has a need to lawyer up, and they are. Still doesn't matter. The level of incompetence shown in the land deal is going to leave a negative impression no matter the outcome. It will also be hard to get past the Sanders need for a team of lawyers on this issue. I think they are being put in place to try to protect them from possible loan fraud.

[VermontKevin]

7. Bond fraud. I think that's why the FDIC Office of the Inspector General is involved.

[BainsBane]

22. The investigation into the loan predates Toensing's allegations

by many months. The facts of the representations on those loan documents have nothing whatsoever to do with Toensing.

[R B Garr]

4. Yes, very negative. nt

[WhiteTara]

2. Why do they always tout the failures of the lawyers?

If I were the Sanders, I would want someone who won a high profile scandal.

[VermontKevin]

5. Larry Robbins did pretty well for his idiot client, Scooter Libby.

[Gothmog]

8. The Sanders expect this case to go to trial

This is some serious lawyering up

[VermontKevin]

9. The FDIC OIG is involved. I think they are right to pursue the best legal representation

they can. It's a federal grand jury, so unless indictments are announced, we won't know anything.

[Gothmog]

10. A federally insured financial institution lost money due to potentially false statements

This is a serious investigation. As a member of the bar, I agree that the Sanders need good representation and I am glad that they have hired very strong attorneys.

[VermontKevin]

15. The loan defaulted within 6 months of it being granted according to the papers up here.

That had to have triggered something. They definitely need lawyers used to navigating the federal system.

[Gothmog]

17. A default so close to the loan being made means that there was something wrong done there

Either there was some fraud involved or there was a complete failure in the underwriting process.

[VermontKevin]

18. I think this is what triggered the Feds. Toensing is lying and grandstanding.

I think Toensing caught wind of the FDIC/FBI investigation, and knowing that he would not be able to get any People's United info or records, made up a bullshit complaint about the Catholic Church loan.

The loan under investigation is not the Catholic Church loan. It's the People's United loan for 6.5 million issued in the form of tax exempt bonds.

Some background: When Burlington College picked up the 32 acre property from the Catholic Church, a home for the mentally disabled was on the property. They were given 6 months to leave, later extended. They didn't leave on time, and took the archdiocese, and the College to court. They didn't leave until August 2011, and put Burlington College in a bad position of having to try to push along the eviction by the archdiocese, who seemed to drag their feet.

http://www.wcax.com/story/15253717/howardcenter-finds-new-home-for-special-needs-adults

Judicial Watch is currently "investigating" Jane Sanders regarding this eviction. I won't link to that cesspool.

The problem for the College? According to the state bond issuing agency's lawyer, James Foley, having this center on the property past May 2011 voided the tax exempt status of the bonds issued by People's Bank. This constituted a material default as of June, 2011. Sometime past that date, but before June 2012, Burlington College then drained their strategic reserve fund of 375k which could only be used in the event of LOAN DEFAULT.

This default would cause the bank to lose money through the loss of tax exemption, plus whatever principal didn't get paid, right?

https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/can-the-catholic-diocese-boot-a-group-home-from-its-north-avenue-property-a-judge-will-decide/Content?oid=2142769

https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3896777/Final-FY11-Audit-3.pdf

https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3896796/Burlington-College-Inc-2012-Single-Audit-2.pdf

Jane Sanders leaves Burlington in September 2011 with a severance package of 200k, payable in two installments. According to the 2012 audit, Burlington College only pays 15k more on the loan in 2012.

According to a subpoena issued, a sitting federal grand jury is investigating the land deal. Looking at the reference number provided, it is possible that the investigation predates January of 2016, which would predate Toensing's letter.

https://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/documents/investigations/records-related-to-investigation-into-burlington-college-land-purchase/2495/

[R B Garr]

19. Wow! They are asking for a lot of documentation.

I tried to copy from the notes section, but the contents in the boxed area didn't paste. That is a lot of documentation.

[Gothmog]

11. The Politico article cited in the OP is well done

Thank you for posting this article. I found it to be well researched

[tammywammy]

13. The Politico article is long, but worth it. n/t

[VermontKevin]

16. You are welcome. The blog it links to is by a BC teacher. Great background:

http://gregguma.blogspot.com/2016/05/campus-paradise-lost-fall-of-burlington.html

[mythology]

12. And this is relevant to what?

This doesn't really add anything to what we already knew.

[BainsBane]

21. It's relevant to the rule of law

and the principle that no one is above it.

You can always contact the Burlington Free Press and the VT Digger to express displeasure at their efforts to keep residents of their state informed.

[left-of-center2012]

14. Look forward

Unite to fight in 2018 and 2020

[Me.]

20. Scooter's Lawyer?

Serious business going on here

[R B Garr]

23. Indeed, very serious. Records requested from the subpoena:

"Any and all records related to the above transaction including bonds, purchase contracts, loan applications, loan files, loan payments, any and all fundraising efforts, pledges, donations related to purchase or loan efforts and any correspondence (internal or external, e-mails, memos, etc.) related to the purchases, loan(s) and bonds granted for the purchase."

[Me.]

25. Intense

Worrying

[NurseJackie]

27. You are correct. It's serious.

Very.

[Gabi Hayes]

24. I've read the breathless accusations: there REALLY is a there

there! Riiiight. FAR right

Sure stinks like Whitewater to me


https://www.amazon.com/Fools-Scandal-Media-Invented-Whitewater/dp/1879957523

A review:

After reading Jeff Gerth's Chinese spy stories in the NY Times, and realizing that they were mostly anti-Clinton innuendo with very few facts, I decided to read this book.

Lyons dissects Gerth's "journalism" word by word, innuendo by innuendo, half-truth by half-truth, lie by lie, smear by smear. Any reporter at a self-respecting college newspaper who was as dishonest as Gerth was in his Whitewater stories would've been immediately fired.

Before reading "Fools for Scandal," I was annoyed by Jeff Gerth's "journalism"; now I'm angry at both him and The New York Times, since they have obviously become tools of the most poisonous element in our political culture, the right wing.

When the history of this era -- with its right-wing smear machine and the corrupt journalism that is the machine's partner in crime -- is taught, "Fools for Scandal" should be required reading.

How many times is the VRWC gonna get away with this?

Victoria Toensing's SON, for gods sake, is behind this! Or whoever slipped it to him

David Bossie?

[VermontKevin]

26. Wrong loan. Toensing complained about the CC loan. The federal grand jury

is looking into the FDIC insured one.

TOesnsing is a lying sack of shit. The ONLY reason he wrote that letter was because he had absolutely no other way to publicize the People's United loan. He's a devious motherfucker.

What you suggest though is interesting: that the Obama DOJ convened a federal grand jury for a private loan the Catholic Church made. Do not blame OBama for this.

[Gabi Hayes]

28. NEVER accuse me of knowing what I;m talking about

Thx

I obsess about the media/whitewater,and any offshoots, connections springin therefrom

[VermontKevin]

29. You are suggesting that the Obama DOJ is akin to Ken Starr.

Mr. Toensing did not prompt this investigation, although he likes to grandstand and pretend he played an important role. But it's pretty obvious that this investigation began in 2015, or earlier.

The VRWC did not make that loan go into default 6 months after it was granted.