Which Bernie Family Members Were On His Campaign or Foundation's Payroll?

[TomCADem]

We just want facts. It seems that some folks are suggesting that Joe Biden should testify in the Senate impeachment trial regarding Trump's efforts to condition U.S. aid to the Ukraine on manufacturing dirt on Joe Biden, and pointing to Hunter Biden securing a Board of Directors seat with a foreign company. There is no evidence that Biden had any say on this.

However, if we are going to be fair about using influence to direct funding to family members, isn't it fair to ask about whether Bernie Sanders family members have received money from Bernie's campaign or his foundation or his SuperPAC, Our Revolution? Afterall, didn't Bernie argue that Hillary's foundation should be scrutinized?

Just facts. Do any Bernie Sanders supporters want to answer this question?

[Grasswire2]

1. Why don't you do the research and look it up for yourself?

Sounds like you wouldn't be happy with anything anyone would provide for your quest.

Post it here when you find it.

[Cha]

2. I like the OP just the way the OP wrote it.. not the way

someone else rudely wants it done

[Grasswire2]

5. I don't give a fig about it.

It's just really bizarro for someone to come in on a high horse demanding that others do research to find information that the OP wants.

It's a known rule of the Internet. Want info? Look for it yourself, first.

[Cha]

6. Not really a "high horse".. his intro is perfectly legit..

We just want facts. It seems that some folks are suggesting that Joe Biden should testify in the Senate impeachment trial regarding Trump's efforts to condition U.S. aid to the Ukraine on manufacturing dirt on Joe Biden, and pointing to Hunter Biden securing a Board of Directors seat with a foreign company. There is no evidence that Biden had any say on this.

[thesquanderer]

11. It's because he's not looking for the info, he's looking to slam Sanders.

He's made 11 OPs in the past week... 8 were slams on Sanders.

[Grasswire2]

24. yes, and the oozing hostility is a very bad sign for any party cohesion in 2020.

Can't we all refrain from attacking any candidates who stand in opposition to Trump?

Support whomever you want, and let the best person win by virtue of his/her strength.

[Peregrine Took]

28. +1,000. n/t

[George II]

12. He didn't "demand" anything, he just asked a simple question.

[Happy Hoosier]

13. With all due respect......

More than a few of us get a hint of hypocrisy from the camp of a certain candidate. We remember Nina Turner talking up “but her emails” through the last election. And he saw fit to hire that person AGAIN.

[emmaverybo]

51. Called crowd-sourcing info. Great way to look at detective cases, medical mysteries, and

candidate records these days. Group study, if you prefer.

[Gothmog]

23. I also like the OP

[Cha]

32. A Kick for the OP..

[emmaverybo]

52. I second that emotion.

[Hortensis]

10. VTDigger has lots of articles on this subject. Various

other VT periodicals as well. After all, it's always been their business to report.

[OldRed2450]

3. His step children and his wife

have been entangled in his campaign funds for years.

https://apnews.com/9e4794da89ab448399f3ff1457464d1b

[George II]

14. This is curious:

Jane Sanders said the institute will not accept more money so long as her husband is a presidential candidate. Driscoll and the organization’s two other employees would be laid off with no severance by the end of May, and its Burlington, Vermont, office would be closed, she said. Sanders said questions of nepotism have no merit because the senator himself played no role in the organization, which was led by an independent board of directors.

Yet his WIFE played a huge role in the organization, being the Founder and a Fellow of the Sanders Institute.

Side note, it's interesting that Tulsi Gabbard is a Fellow, too.

[MelissaB]

19. What!

Side note, it's interesting that Tulsi Gabbard is a Fellow, too.

[George II]

20. Yes indeed:

https://www.sandersinstitute.com/about/gabbard

[TomCADem]

38. Also, His Son-In-Law, David Driscoll Was Paid $100,000 A Year

Last edited Mon Dec 30, 2019, 01:48 AM - Edit history (1)

Carol Driscoll is Jane Sanders daughter. If David Driscoll is considered independent, then I guess we should not complain about Trump repeatedly sending off Jared Kushner as a wannabe diplomant. Heck, perhaps David Driscoll, can be Bernie's Jared Kushner.

https://apnews.com/9e4794da89ab448399f3ff1457464d1b

Jane Sanders, who also serves as a chief adviser to her husband’s presidential campaign, is not compensated for her role at the institute. Her son, David Driscoll, is paid $100,000 a year as co-founder and executive director. Driscoll previously was an executive for Nike and the Vermont snowboarding firm Burton, but had no previous nonprofit experience, according to his LinkedIn profile.

[George II]

39. (Carina) When her mother was President of Burlington College Carina Driscoll signed a deal....

....with them to provide off-site woodworking classes. She was ultimately paid almost $500,000 by the College.

And Jane herself was a paid staffer from time to time during his time in Burlington as Mayor and in Washington as Representative and Senator. She also received income during various campaigns of his.

[TomCADem]

42. Bernie Sanders Would Be Outraged At Such Conflicts of Interest!

You can easily google Bernie Sanders attacking...well about everyone...for even the appearance of impropriety whether it be for running a foundation as a front for securing political support and contributions or having public officials using their positions to financially benefit themselves or their families. Yet, as you note, Bernie's wife and Bernie's daughter were on both sides of that transaction.

The problem is that Bernie has been pretty brazen about engaging in the type of conduct that he complains about. When you are that brazan in your hypocrisy, the question is whether you will truly walk the walk if you are elected President.

[redstatebluegirl]

31. And his wife ran a college into the ground.

[questionseverything]

53. so 100,000 a yr for the step son, nothing for bernie or jane

As a candidate in 2016, Sanders criticized Hillary Clinton over her family’s nonprofit, saying the foundation run by Clinton’s husband and daughter amounted to a back door for foreign leaders and others seeking to buy access and influence. The Sanders Institute could open the Vermont senator to charges of hypocrisy.
The institute was founded to promote liberal policies less than two years ago by Sanders’ family with the backing of pro-Sanders celebrities and advocates— though Sanders himself had no formal role. While it operates at a fraction of the scale of the Clinton Foundation, it has accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars during its brief existence and has declined to disclose its donors.
Jane Sanders, who also serves as a chief adviser to her husband’s presidential campaign, is not compensated for her role at the institute. Her son, David Driscoll, is paid $100,000 a year as co-founder and executive director. Driscoll previously was an executive for Nike and the Vermont snowboarding firm Burton, but had no previous nonprofit experience, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The lack of transparency and the family ties have drawn criticism from good-government advocates.
“For a politician who runs on fairness and socialist principles, this looks like the old political games,” said Lawrence R. Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs. “It’s a product of running a political operation in which family rules the roost.”
Jane Sanders said the institute will not accept more money so long as her husband is a presidential candidate. Driscoll and the organization’s two other employees would be laid off with no severance by the end of May, and its Burlington, Vermont, office would be closed, she said. Sanders said questions of nepotism have no merit because the senator himself played no role in the organization, which was led by an independent board of directors.

[boomer_wv]

4. Why do...

people expect that Joe Biden can control what his adult children do.

Sanders on the other hand, should be in full control of what is own foundation and campaign do. If he were using those entities to funnel money to his family, that's something we should absolutely know about.

[SunSeeker]

7. Good point. I'm sure the GOP has all that info already. nt

[boomer_wv]

22. Bernie fans scapegoat hos campaign a lot

When something goes wrong, but never put together that hes running that campaign.

[NYMinute]

8. Jane, his son and his step children were all on payrolls

Sometimes on two payrolls .... one from the foundation and one for the institute

Then there is the campaign and satellite organizations like OR, JD etc.

[George II]

25. Not to mention the almost $500K her daughter got from Burlington College when she was president.

[Hortensis]

9. Because Sanders is running for national office, his ethical

behaviors are of course subject to the inspection that should have happened in 2016 but was suppressed by RW media manipulators.

Those who don't like it should be reassured that when Sanders leaves the national scene no one will bother. VT can do with him as they wish, although VT's liberals have my sympathy. Imo, the party leadership that protects his seat from competition by liberal Democratic candidates needs a good looking at, and cleaning out as the people of VT decide is necessary.

[lapucelle]

15. At the end of the day, one inconvenient fact remains...

“He became the very thing he criticized others for becoming and at the same time didn’t fix any of the problems he’s been railing about that got him to this point.”

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/05/24/bernie-sanders-millionaires-226982

[Autumn]

16. I'm all for any investigation. I'm positive that Bernie would comply with any subpoena that Congres

or any court would issue involving his foundation or any of his family members actions. That's the facts.

[lapucelle]

17. That's opinion-based speculation.

Here is a fact:

“He became the very thing he criticized others for becoming and at the same time didn’t fix any of the problems he’s been railing about that got him to this point.”

[Autumn]

18. Opinion-based speculation? So is the OP. So is your post. nt

[lapucelle]

21. The OP is a question.

My post is a fact verified by BS's tax returns and his 25+ year record as part of the Washington establishment.

Your post is a speculative, opinion-based prediction about something a politician might do if a set of circumstances were to arise.

[TomCADem]

44. Would Bernie Hire His Own Family to His WH Staff?

Trump did so, and Bernie has certainly not been shy about paying out campaign/foundation/SuperPAC funds in support of his family members. The better question might be what Bernie family member has not received Bernie campaign/foundation/SuperPAC funds, since Jane, Levi, David Driscoll and Carina Driscoll have all been on the receiving end of such funds? Is there any other immediate family members left?

[TidalWave46]

48. I agree with you that an investigation should be opened...

To look at his dealings and that they should subpoena him. They should have when he was doing pay to play with Shumlin.

There is a long trend here.

[Grasswire2]

26. Here we go again, I guess.

Another campaign of bitter acrimony fought out on DU among those who should be focusing energy on election security issues and beating Trump.

Ugh. Ugh. Ugh.

[Peregrine Took]

29. So true. Some foks just can't can't let it go.

The ole Bernie hatred.
Its been going on for years now, you'd think they would tire of it plus its not good for their health.

[George II]

35. Perhaps it's love for our party which many of us have worked for and supported for many years.

[The Valley Below]

37. +1

[TomCADem]

40. It not Hatred. Its Bernie's Hypocrisy. He Attacks Foundations and SuperPACs...

...and guess what, he forms a foundation, run by his family members who are on the payroll and he forms a SuperPAC headed by his surrogate, Nina Turner.

Bernie then boasts about how neither he nor Our Revolution were endorsing Levi Sanders when his son ran, because "In our family, however, we do not believe in dynastic politics. Levi is running his own campaign in his own way.”

However, Bernie's SuperPAC subsequently endorses and helps fund his step-daughter Caroll Driscoll. What happened to "we do not believe in dynastic politics?"

In other words, Bernie likes to elevate himself by trashing the Democratic party and creating a false equivalency between Republicans and Democrats, but he himself brazenly engages in the very same conduct that he condemns.

The fact that Bernie can't explain or justify it is telling. With Hunter, Joe Biden can't control a son who is trying to profit off of his name. However, Bernie can control whether his putting his family members on his campaign's payroll or the payroll of his foundation.

It would be refreshing to see a Bernie supporter actually address these facts on the merits.

[UniteFightBack]

45. Let it go? I haven't even heard about any of this just like most Americans and Democrats I suppose.

I tell you one thing...it's a really bad look.

[roody]

27. When you do your research,

please post their salaries as well. Thanks.

[George II]

36. Not sure about all their salaries, but David Driscoll was paid $100K by the Sanders Institute, and..

...Jane has work on Sanders' campaigns as administrative assistant, spokesperson, policy adviser, chief of staff, and media buyer. She's also worked in his DC office as Chief of Staff and Policy and Press Adviser.

I'm sure there was salary involved in many if not all of those positions.

That "media buyer" is the curious one. In the 2016 their campaign spent a little less than $82 million on media through Old Town Media LLC in Alexandria, Virginia (a single family house). Being an LLC, very little is known about OTM, except that two of the principles worked with Jane on the media buys for his 2006 campaign. Of that $82 million, roughly 15% went to commissions ($12M).

Then there's Carina Driscoll, Jane's daughter, who established a deal with Burlington College when Jane was President to provide off-site woodworking classes. Overall she received almost $500,000 from Burlington College before they went bankrupt.

[TidalWave46]

47. Six figure salaries an pay to play commission seats for family members.

It’s shocking how little vetting has gone on with Sanders. It’s understandable that he still has a little support. His own supporters have zero idea of who he is. Your post here shows just that.

[Mike Nelson]

30. My guess answer is...

... most of them. I think it's natural for successful people to help their kids and family get jobs and money. Bernie Sanders and his wife are wealthy and successful - so, I think they do this, like most people. What would be interesting, perhaps, is finding out if anything illegal was done by the potential first couple. My guess answer is... no. I think Bernie has been around long enough to avoid illegality in these matters.

[Grasswire2]

33. nice, calm, logical answer. nt

[TomCADem]

41. Except That It Is Not a Private Family Business. These Are Campaign/Charitable Contributions

As Duncan Hunter found out, you can't just use campaign money for your own personal benefit or the benefit of your family members. Likewise, Trump is being investigated by New York for using his private foundation for his personal benefit. Trump is about as old as Bernie, and that does not stop him from acting illegally.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/03/duncan-hunter-pleads-guilty-to-misuse-of-campaign-funds.html

California Rep. Duncan Hunter pleads guilty to single felony count of misuse of campaign funds

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., pleaded guilty on Tuesday in federal court to a single felony count of misuse of campaign funds, Reuters reported.

He and his wife were charged with 60 criminal counts of campaign finance violations in August 2018. They were under fire for allegedly misusing campaign funds on personal items such as vacations, gas and groceries.

Hunter had denied any wrongdoing, initially pleading not guilty and labeling his prosecution a “witch hunt.”

In an interview with KUSI News on Monday when he announced he planned to change his plea, Hunter said, “I think it’s important that people know that I did make mistakes. I did not properly monitor or account for my campaign money. I justify my plea with the understanding that I am responsible for my own campaign and my own campaign money.”

[ehrnst]

34. Fair question, and anyone who had nothing to hide wouldn't be insulted

or outraged by this question.

[TomCADem]

43. Biden and Warren Both Had to Deal With Fake Trump Attacks...

...such as the Republican party jumping on Trump's "Pocahontas" attacks or Trump's efforts to extort the Ukraine into announcing an investigation into Joe Biden. In contrast, Bernie gets a free pass on the same types of issues that he has been happy to attack other candidates on such as SuperPACs, private foundations and conflicts of interest. Put another way, Bernie Sanders would have had a field day attacking Bernie Sanders.

[TidalWave46]

46. The guy has not been vetted.

He has funneled millions to family members. Even more egregious, look at what Sanders did prior to Shumlin appointing Jane to her infamous commission position. That’s a BFD.

[TomCADem]

49. The Irony Is That Bernie Is Now Whining That Biden Should Be Vetted More

It is almost Trumpian how Bernie whines and complains about press coverage. If Bernie wants to be a front runner, he should get the scrutiny that a front runner gets, rather than this free pass on issues that he himself places at issue.

[Gothmog]

50. I am amused by sanders' demand for vetting and loved Joe's response

Link to tweet

[ArcticFox]

54. Well hello there, Mr. Straw Man

Some folks are wondering if you're a 300 lbs. Russian living in his mom's basement getting paid to sow division among anti- Trumpers

[TomCADem]

55. Russian web trolls boo Biden, often boost Gabbard, report finds

Nice deflection, but do you dispute any of these facts? Bernie is willing to traffic in innuendo and has been the beneficiary of Russian troll support, and the evidence is that in this election, Bernie is once again benefitting from ongoing efforts by the Russians to target Biden. But does he complain about it? No. If anything, Bernie is going to jump on the Russian bandwagon again with his announcement that he is going to start attacking Biden, which has already been doing.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/russian-web-trolls-boo-biden-often-boost-gabbard-report-finds-n1085216

WASHINGTON — Among Democrats running for president, Tulsi Gabbard is popular with Russian propagandists, while Joe Biden draws the most criticism, according to a new analysis.

Mentions of Gabbard, a Hawaii congresswoman, by English-language Russian propaganda outlets were 46 percent favorable and 44 percent unfavorable, a research team from the Foreign Policy Research Institute found after analyzing more than 1,700 news stories put out by Sputnik and Russia Today, or RT. She was the only Democratic candidate with more favorable than unfavorable mentions.

References to the former vice president, by contrast, were 3 percent favorable and 53 percent unfavorable. The rest were neutral.

For Russia thus far, Biden is to 2020 what Hillary Clinton was to 2016, the researchers found. "When I watched Russian state-sponsored content and social media trolling headed into election 2016, it was overwhelmingly negative toward Hillary Clinton. The same could be said today of former Vice President Biden," said Clint Watts, a former FBI agent and NBC News contributor who led the effort.