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Friday, December 8, 2017

Bernie Sanders' wife's land deal still under FBI probe; witness recently questioned








Jane Sanders remains under federal investigation for a land deal she made as president of Burlington College in Vermont in 2010. 


It states here, "The probe could thwart Sanders’ 2020 presidential ambitions."

Forgetting Bernie will be 80 in 2020 how may past presidents had to take a timeout at the WH to visit their wife in the slammer?


A federal investigation launched in 2016 into possible bank fraud by Jane Sanders, wife of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, is still underway -- with “a potential” grand jury review possible.

The probe could thwart Sanders’ 2020 presidential ambitions -- as well as the Vermont political plans of Jane Sanders' daughter, Carina Driscoll.

Individuals questioned by the FBI confirmed to Fox News that the investigation was still open, with FBI agents interviewing at least one witness within the last six weeks.

Jane Sanders is under investigation following a land deal she clinched when she was president of Burlington College in Vermont in 2010.

In order to expand the college, Sanders sought to obtain a tract of land from a Roman Catholic parish. She secured a $6.7 million loan from a bank and a $3.6 million loan from the parish from which she planned to purchase the property.

But she resigned in 2011 amid allegations that she purposely inflated and made up the amount of money donors have pledged to the school and provided incorrect information to a bank to get the loan. Multiple individuals, who were listed as college donors, have since come forward denying the commitments.

Questioned recently

Former Burlington College Board Chairman Yves Bradley told Fox News that the investigation was still underway. He said he was visited by FBI agents in the last six weeks and was questioned about Sanders’ involvement in the alleged bank fraud.

Attorney Rich Cassidy, representing both Bernie and Jane Sanders, approached Bradley regarding the investigation, but by the advice of his counsel decided not to engage. Cassidy did not respond to Fox News’ multiple requests for an interview.

Previous reports stated that the investigation accelerated this past summer when multiple people were questioned and investigators seized records from Burlington College.

The recent questioning of Bradley signals the investigation is far from over.

The probe is being handled by the U.S. Justice Department and will proceed at the discretion of Christina E. Nolan, the U.S. Attorney of Vermont, who was sworn into office last week after being appointed by President Donald Trump in September and confirmed by the Senate last month.

Coralee Holm, the former Burlington College dean of operations, confirmed as well that the probe “has not been closed” and that it has “no specific deadline” for completion. She was among the individuals questioned in the summer.

“I have not talked with anyone since then, other than checking with the FBI agents,” she said over the phone.

To the question whether the investigation could lead to an indictment, she said the FBI agents told her it was “a potential” – although not “an absolute” – that the case will be brought in front of a grand jury.

“If there is going to be something that happened it would be the grand jury … it would be brought in front of the grand jury … they already told me to be … that was a potential but they did tell me that wasn’t an absolute,” Holm said.

Change of plans?

The ongoing probe and the potential for a grand jury review might be enough to impede Bernie Sanders' and Driscoll's political plans.

Politico reported last month that Sanders was angling toward a more mainstream candidacy heading into the 2020 presidential election and reaching out to key Democrats to solidify his support among the party machine.

If this is correct his true character has just been exposed. "Free stuff" went out the window in favor of...I'll say whatever I have to to get elected. You can learn a lot from a Clinton.

Driscoll, the stepdaughter of the senator, announced Monday her plans to run for her stepfather’s first political job: mayor of Burlington, Vt.





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Lindsey Vonn: I won't be representing Trump at Olympics




Video 382


Truthfully, I hope this bitch breaks a leg giving the gold medal to another county. I rather see another country get the gold than to have this c--t represent our country.

BTW...the interviewer:

Do you remember her asking when Barry was president---"Since Barrack Obama is the first black president will you accept an invitation to the WH should you win."

Me either.




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California inducts nation's first all-LGBT city council



What no illegals?
Where else but California...


Think I'll send them a celebratory fruit basket.



PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- The country's first all-LGBT city council was sworn in this week in California, CBS Los Angeles reports. 


The history-making council's newest members – Lisa Middleton, the first transgender person elected to a non-judicial office in California; and Christy Holstege, an attorney who identifies as bisexual – were sworn in during Wednesday night's meeting of the Palm Springs City Council.

Middleton and Holstege now replace Ginny Foat and Chris Mills, who announced earlier this year that they would not seek re-election.

The two newest council members won last month's election handily, with Middleton receiving 30.9 percent of the vote, and Holstege receiving 30.08 percent.

Middleton is a former senior vice president of internal affairs for the State Compensation Insurance Fund, former ONE PS chairwoman, Palm Springs planning commissioner, board member for the Desert Horticulture Society of the Coachella Valley, LGBT Community Center of the Desert, Equality California and Neighborhoods USA.

They join Mayor Robert Moon, who has been with his husband and partner for 35 years; Councilman Geoff Kors, whose husband is a Palm Springs Unified School Board member; and Councilman J.R. Roberts, who is a single gay man.

Holstege is an attorney focusing on workers' rights, housing and disabilities, a Palm Springs Human Rights commissioner and a Palm Springs Homelessness Task Force member.






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Thursday, December 7, 2017

What idiot came up with this idea?




In the age of Amazon, Walmart is changing its legal name




Photo: Alan Diaz, AP
FILE - This June 1, 2017, file photo shows a Walmart store in Hialeah Gardens, Fla. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is changing its legal name effective Feb. 1, 2018, to Walmart Inc. from Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

I hate Walmart but I shop there on occasion. So next time I go I'm not saying... I'm going to Walmart. Instead, I'll say... I'm going to Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

How many gazillions of dollars is this going to cost? Like to see the cost-benefit analysis on this one.

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NEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is changing its legal name effective Feb. 1 as it shifts away from physical stores in the age of Amazon's increasing dominance.

The world's largest retailer, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, said Wednesday it will change its legal name to Walmart Inc. from Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

It said the move underscores its growing emphasis on serving shoppers in different ways beyond just physical stores but also online, on their mobile devices and through pickup and delivery. The company has been making inroads in narrowing the gap between itself and Amazon by making big investments in its online business. It tripled the number of items sold online from a year ago, overhauled its free shipping strategy and is expanding such services as allowing shoppers to pick up online grocery orders curbside at the stores. That has helped drive strong e-commerce sales gains in the past several quarters, most recently 50 percent growth in its fiscal third quarter.

Walmart operates more than 11,600 stores and clubs under 60 different banners worldwide.

"Whether it's in our stores, on our sites, with our apps, by using their voice or whatever comes next, there is just one Walmart as far as our customers are concerned," wrote Doug McMillon, Walmart president and CEO, in a blog post Wednesday.

The discounter's formal legal name when it incorporated on Oct. 31, 1969 was Wal-Mart Inc. It was changed to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Jan. 9, 1970, the same year it went public. It will continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange as "WMT." It's been using the current Walmart logo in its operations since June 2008.

But for employees who still want to do the "squiggly" in the Walmart cheer where they move their hips when they get to the hyphen, there is nothing to fear.

"Getting our blood flowing and choosing not to take ourselves too seriously is still part of our culture," McMillon wrote Wednesday. "It's important to have some fun at work, so for our associates in countries where your cheer calls for the squiggly, keep doing it!"





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Second Volkswagen Exec Sentenced to Prison for Diesel-Emissions Scandal


Strange how the judicial system works. This guy is going to do 7 years for a diesel-emissions scandal.


Now compare this to Clinton who denied repeatedly she never sent nor received emails that were "marked" classified on her home-brewed server, which she used exclusively while serving as secretary of state.

Comey:

"From the group of 30,000 emails returned to the State Department in 2014, 110 emails in 52 email chains have been determined by the owning agency to contain classified information at the time they were sent or received," Comey said. "Eight of those chains contained information that was top-secret at the time they were sent."


And with these 'qualifications', she not only avoided jail... she ran for president! 

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The second Volkswagen executive in less than half a year has been sentenced to prison for his role in the automaker’s diesel-emissions scandal, according to reports from a Detroit federal court.

Oliver Schmidt, 48, formerly general manager of the company’s environmental office in Michigan, was sentenced to seven years in prison and ordered to pay a $400,000 fine. Schmidt was arrested by the FBI in January while visiting Miami after the Department of Justice issued a warrant for him and five other executives in Germany. Volkswagen pleaded guilty as a corporation that month to three criminal felony charges and was ordered to pay $4.3 billion as part of a settlement. U.S. District Court Judge Sean Cox called Schmidt a “key conspirator” who “knowingly misled and lied to government officials,” as quoted by Automotive News reporter Larry Vellequette.

“VW is not going to walk into this room. VW is a group of individuals, and it is individuals who make choices,” said prosecutor Ben Singer. “Maybe it didn’t start out as Mr. Schmidt’s scheme, but it became his scheme. And that’s important.”

Schmidt, according to Automotive News, said he learned of the defeat device in August 2015 and agreed to “talking points” from VW management prior to speaking with California environmental regulators. Those were later found to be lies, although Schmidt had actually attempted, via email to the head of Volkswagen of America in 2014, to warn management regarding a potential indictment and what the Automotive News report called “economic risks.”

“For the disruption of my life, I only have to blame myself,” said Schmidt during his sentencing. “I justified my decisions by telling myself that I was obliged to speak for my superiors. The man that stands before you today no longer believes that.”

James Robert Liang, 63, an engineer who was not part of the original federal indictment from January 2017, was sentenced to 40 months and ordered to pay a $200,000 fine in August. Liang pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and to committing wire fraud in violating the Clean Air Act back in September 2016.




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