But in an interview with Seven Days Friday, that source — Vermont House Minority Leader Don Turner (R-Milton) — disputed Toensing’s characterization of their May 2016 conversation and called into question Toensing’s allegation. Turner described the information he provided Toensing as nothing more than “hearsay” — and hardly evidence of wrongdoing.
“There’s no way I’d file a complaint or anything like that,” said the Milton Republican, who has not previously been identified as Toensing’s source.
Turner’s remarks appear to undercut the most explosive charge that Toensing, a Charlotte attorney, has leveled in recent years at the senator and his wife. But they don’t directly contradict another of the Republican official’s allegations: that O’Meara Sanders committed federal loan fraud by overstating fundraising commitments when applying for a $6.5 million loan on behalf of Burlington College, the now-defunct school she once ran.
As Seven Days has previously reported, the latter charge has prompted an extensive federal investigation that former college officials believe is focused on O’Meara Sanders and her 2010 loan application to People’s United Bank. No evidence has surfaced suggesting that the feds are investigating the senator himself. He and his wife have denied any wrongdoing.
Jeff Weaver, a longtime Sanders confidante who managed the senator’s 2016 presidential campaign, said Friday that the discrepancy between Turner’s and Toensing’s accounts undermines the latter’s credibility. Weaver said he was speaking for the family — not for Sanders’ Senate office or reelection campaign.
“This revelation proves what most already knew. Brady Toensing, who was Trump’s Vermont campaign manager, is a right-wing hack trying to impugn Bernie Sanders with no foundation whatsoever,” Weaver said, referring to Toensing’s service as President Donald Trump’s 2016 state campaign chair. “He’s the kind of guy that if he told you it wasn’t raining, you’d look outside to see if you needed an umbrella.”
But Toensing, who confirmed to Seven Days Friday that Turner was his source, declined to retract his charge.
“I stand by what I have said based on what I was told,” he said. “It is time for the senator himself to end his silence and answer questions about what contact his office had with the bank about this loan.”
“As a result of my complaint, I was recently approached and informed that Senator Bernard Sanders’ office improperly pressured People’s United Bank to approve the loan application submitted by the Senator’s wife, Ms. Sanders,” Toensing wrote in his May 2016 missive. “Improper pressure by a United States Senator is a serious ethical violation.”
For the first time Friday, Toensing elaborated on the conversation that prompted his second letter.
“I was approached by Don Turner on Saturday, May 21, 2016 and told that a former People’s Bank executive had told him that he was upset about the Burlington College loan because Senator Sanders’ office had pressured the bank to make the loan and he felt it was improper,” Toensing told Seven Days in a written statement. “I later asked Mr. Turner for more detail about the allegations. He explained that he was at a lunch with three bankers and the former People’s Bank executive told the whole table about the pressure from the Senator’s office and that the bank was told to ‘make it happen.'”
Turner confirmed to Seven Days that the subject came up during a meal he shared with three bankers at Montpelier’s NECI on Main, but he denied that any of his lunch companions had disclosed firsthand knowledge of the loan — nor the senator’s potential involvement.
“They said that they were aware or had heard that Bernie’s office had helped get that loan — and that was it,” said Turner. “It was just a hearsay, general conversation.”
Turner said he could not remember the date of the lunch nor the identity of the banker who suggested that the senator had acted improperly, but he said that person was not involved with the Burlington College loan and was not purporting to share firsthand information.
“I have never said I had any knowledge or evidence or anything,” said Turner, adding that he has not been contacted by federal investigators.
Daniel Johnson, a senior vice president for commercial lending at People’s United, said Friday that he remembered dining with Turner and NBT Bank commercial banking manager Rob Roy in Montpelier, but he couldn’t recall what they discussed. He declined to reveal the identity of the fourth person at the table.
“We got together. It was lunch. That’s all,” Johnson said. “I don’t remember our conversation, frankly, what it was about. It was just light, general stuff.”
Johnson did not join People’s United until October 2014 — years after the bank loaned Burlington College $6.5 million to buy a new campus on North Avenue. Roy could not be reached for comment Friday.
“The statement you read to me was a lot more pointed than anything I said based on a conversation, I can tell you that,” Turner said.
In Toensing’s written comments Friday, he seemed to contradict Turner’s assertion that the legislator did not recall the name of the banker who allegedly shared the information about the senator.
“At one point, I asked Mr. Turner if he would reconsider giving me the banker’s name and he said he would get back to me,” Toensing said. “When he got back to me he said he had checked with the other two people at the lunch and said he did not feel comfortable sharing the executive’s name because he did not want to get him involved.”
While the Vermont press corps has been covering the allegations against O’Meara Sanders for years, the story only caught fire in the national media last week, after Politico Magazine published a story summarizing previous reporting. That prompted multiple cable news stations to query the senator about it.
“That is an absolute lie,” Sanders told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes on Thursday, referring to Toensing’s charge that he pressured People’s United to approve the loan.
Weaver, who is serving as Sanders’ spokesman on the matter, seized on Turner’s remarks to dismiss Toensing and his allegations.
“What’s sad is that his repeated baseless, politically motivated attacks against people like Bernie Sanders, Jane Sanders, former Vermont Attorney General Bill Sorrell, state Senator Chris Pearson, Bernie’s presidential campaign and others all come at a huge cost to taxpayers because of all the time spent by government officials looking into them,” Weaver said, referring to targets of Toensing’s previous complaints. “Every time Brady Toensing tries to land a low blow with one of his political smears it’s really hardworking taxpayers who take it in the gut.”
Related Stories
Got something to say?
Send a letter to the editor and we'll publish your feedback in print!
Great, tireless reporting on this saga.
Scandal seems to follow Sanders wherever he goes and according to him it’s always lies and B.S. Bernie is a lier and his wife is con artist. How funny is it that Bernie is crying about nameless accusers going after him after he and his Democrat friends have spent months using nameless sources to go after the president. Only in Bernies case the accusations are real unlike the fake media’s Russia story. #timetovotethebaldguysout
“Scandal seems to follow Sanders wherever he goes . . .”
No fan of Sanders here. But your open love of Trump makes you the wrong person to talk about scandals. Scandal doesn’t have to follow Big Little Baby Trump around. He creates it himself every time he opens his mouth or accesses his Twitter account. Thursday’s and Friday’s public embarrassments are only the latest examples.
By the way, PLEASE learn to spell. “Lier”?
I wish these Republicans put this much effort into doing their jobs as they do making up slanderous lies about Bernie and Jane. I guess we know who to vote against come next election day.
It feels like these “investigations” are to divert our attention from what’s going on NOW. Bankers have lunch with bankers. Conversations are had. But loans do not happen in a vacuum. Once upon a time, loans were committed with a handshake over lunch at the club. We all know how that turned out. Regardless, don’t take your eye off the ball that is bouncing around today. Regardless of smoke and mirrors, and slights of little hands, keep your eye on the guy doing the bouncing!
It does not seem likely that a bank would do a favor for someone who has called them evil and greedy for going on 30+ years. How would it benefit them?
Typical political dirty tricks at play here. The Republicans see Senator Sanders as a serious threat to Trumps reelection and Republican control. This particular example is totally fabricated without even a shred of credible evidence to support it.
Toensing follows in the noble tradition of Carl Rove, Steve Bannon, Tricky Dick and that Bush 41 guy who promoted Willie Horton, then recanted on his deathbed.. just one more amoral Republican scumbag whoring for the .01%, unlike Jane S who was trying to save an institution, not enrich herself.
Bernie took a lot of dirty dealings from the Dem’s and Hillary during the primary season last year. Now the Trumpsters at at it with him. I would say he must be on the right side of justice if you can piss off two on the lowest political figures in this country today.
My bet, Bernie and his wife are good people.
Well Well all these Sanders lovers think he is a saint..that he could not do any wrong and Janey baby is a honest person..Now let’s see, sanders has a meeting with clintons, shortly after he leaves the race, buys a home on the lake, buys a plane, all a sudden the step daughter has a woodworking school which is less then a 1/4 mile from me,, also while running for pres sanders and 50 family and friends take a expensive trip to Rome to see the Pope, which had already stated he didn’t have time to meet him, but sanders and the gang go anyways and still went to see the Pope for 5 mins..Question is Why? Who paid for this trip, rooms/food/cars???? oh yeah they went on the donators dime.. the Pope doesn’t vote..why see him, sanders not catholic nor does he claim to be Jewish,.He’s a SOCIALIST..Here is a man who bashes the 1% but he’s one of them now thanks to the clintons and maybe Soros..He’s not anywhere near honest..Jane changes the amounts of the pledges, one is from Mrs Bove, who said she bequest $5 million to the school when she dies..sanders told the bank that they were going to get the money soon..Yup she’s real honest..
I have lived in Vermont and Maine. States similar because of how things happen. In Maine, a number of years ago, when I worked in Washington DC, I called the VP of a bank with whom I had met in person once through mutual friends. I needed a bridge loan on a house I was trying to buy. The loan was approved over the phone. I am sure this was not normal business practice but, in a state where everyone knows everyone, it is often how things get done. There was nothing nefarious about the transaction and I doubt there was anything diabolical about Bernie calling the bank (if he did) to ask what Jane could do to move the loan along or to say can you take a look at Jane’s loan and try to make sure it is going forward. I think it is fair to say they Bernie has probably shaken hands with tens of thousands of Vermonters. He won 80+% of the primary vote. No story here. Someone is envious and trying to taint the reputations of the Sanders.
What a joke, Nothing. I wonder if they can sue this Toensing guy for libel
People need to focus on facts. The house was bought with Jane’s money from the sale of a home she inherited. There isn’t a plane, total BS! He flies economy commercial. As far as the Pope, he came out and said he asked for the meeting to happen. How ignorant can one person be? All of this crap is a distraction while Donny “Tiny Hands” continues to destroy and embarrass! But let’s not focus on important issues and continue to be the laughing stock of the entire world! ‘Murica my ass!
Citizen, you’ve bought every lie the Trumpster has made. You’re not the most reliable person to call Bernie a “lier.”
xjgirl.. ummm how did she pay for the lake front home,?? She didn’t inherited the money all by herself..the mother left the house in Bridgton,Maine to all 5 siblings ..they divided the money..this was in Vtdigger I believe..she didn’t get that big of a share..5 siblings!!!! ..Just more BS from the Sanders..
Susan C. Anderson , I agree with the first 3/4 of your post . It’s the final 1/4 that I’m not so sure of . Jane may not have done anything illegal but her actions did not save a Vermont institution . I believe her hubris eventually bankrupted Burlington College by taking on way more financial obligation then this College could handle . Trying to paint her as a savior is drinking the Kool-aid .