Center for Public Integrity: How Bernie beat the clock -- and avoided disclosure

[pnwmom]

It is not only income tax forms that Bernie has been reluctant to share. In his 2016 run for the Presidency, the candidate who argues for "transparency" in government successfully avoided filing his own FEC (Federal Election Commission) forms by asking for repeated extensions, and then running out the clock.

Why is he so reluctant to make his -- and even his campaign's -- financial information public? If this were anyone else, it would suggest that there is something he'd rather hide.

https://publicintegrity.org/federal-politics/how-bernie-sanders-beat-the-clock-and-avoided-disclosure/

Sanders insisted, for example, “on complete transparency regarding the funding of campaigns.” He decried “huge piles of undisclosed cash” benefiting candidates.

But when federal law required Sanders to reveal, by mid-May, current details of his personal finances, his campaign lawyer asked the Federal Election Commission for a 45-day extension.

Request granted.

On June 30, Sanders’ campaign requested a second 45-day extension, saying the senator had “good cause” to delay because of his “current campaign schedule and officeholder duties.”

Again, regulators approved Sanders’ punt.

Now that Sanders’ second extension has expired, spokesman Michael Briggs confirmed to the Center for Public Integrity that the senator won’t file a presidential campaign personal financial disclosure after all.

SNIP

Therefore, in the teeth of a Democratic primary where Sanders posed a bona fide threat to Clinton, voters couldn’t definitively know whether Sanders — historically one of the Senate’s least wealthy members — suddenly parlayed his political fame into personal profit. Or, for that matter, whether he sustained financial distress.

[lunamagica]

1. K&R for visibility

[Baitball Blogger]

2. This is troubling.

But, at least his opponents can beat him over the head during the primaries with it. If Trump's tax returns become a major issue, it will also be an issue for Bernie.

[pnwmom]

3. Seems awfully hypocritical. All this talk about transparency

but it doesn't apply to him. We're just supposed to trust him because he's above it all.

Elizabeth Warren, OTOH, is the real thing. She believes in transparency that applies to everyone, including her.

https://elizabethwarren.com/tax-returns/

[BlueFlorida]

4. It is very Trump-like isn't it?

Playing fast and loose with the rules.

At least they should have complied at some point when the campaign was over.

[Thekaspervote]

7. Yes!! It is

[Ninsianna]

27. There really seems to be a lack of competence with these

Old white dudes claiming they're somehow not the establishment and the quality of the people they hire. It seems to be only ignorant trolls who seem to thrive on hypocrisy.

[BlueFlorida]

56. +1000 nt

[betsuni]

5. K&R

[Cha]

6. "Transparency for ye but not for me."

[dalton99a]

26. +1. The best transparency ever

[Gothmog]

8. For this thread

Link to tweet

[DoctorJoJo]

9. Maybe He Just Forgot--After all, He IS SEVENTY-SEVEN!!

[OnDoutside]

52. If that's the case then he shouldn't be holding the nuclear codes as president !

[LakeArenal]

10. Are we surprised?

[machoneman]

12. Just how BAD can it be? I mean, its not like he paid off porn stars. Russia money to defeat Hillary?

Hey, Jill Stein took their rubles!

[LakeArenal]

13. We really don't know he didn't....

[Cha]

21. Voters should be able

to decide for ourselves how "bad" or not it is.

Full Transparency from BS like he always demands of others.

Bernie Sanders still hasn't released his tax returns, despite pledge

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/bernie-sanders-released-tax-returns-pledge/story?id=62196681

[George II]

11. Unitemized equals "huge piles of undisclosed cash"

[NurseJackie]

15. I wonder if that has anything to do with anyone's reluctance to release their tax returns.

It's an honest and legitimate question that deserves an answer.

[George II]

23. I'm more concerned with the tens of millions of dollars that are "unitemized"...

....i.e., huge piles of undisclosed cash.

[BlueFlorida]

57. One possibility

https://vtdigger.org/2016/07/15/sanders-campaign-millions-go-to-mystery-firm/

[NurseJackie]

14. It seems dishonest to me. I can't be the only one who feels this way.

If any other candidate did something like that, the fringe left would be howling about how it lacked honestly... how it lacked integrity... how it lacked transparency.

All I'm saying is... I just don't think I can support someone who does things like that. It's just wrong. Shockingly wrong.

[WheelWalker]

17. You are not the only one who feels that way.

[lunamagica]

40. I feel the same way, Jackie

[MH1]

71. With you on that. nt.

[NastyRiffraff]

74. You're not alone

It seems that Bernie and his fans believe he's exempt from the things he demands of everybody else, like transparency. I can think of several statements and behaviors that, had they come from any other candidate, would be loudly condemned by the Sanders defenders.

Bernie needs to be vetted, along with everybody else.

[Politicub]

16. I don't know what's going on anymore

Why did he miss this deadline? And, where are his taxes that he said he will release soon?

I want a stabilizing force in government: an administration that is transparent and open. I can't take much more chaos and secrecy.

[sagetea]

18. Yeah...

I have more questions than answers with Bernie...and that just breaks my heart because I LOVED him! But, this, this isn't looking good.

sage

[Rebl2]

19. How does

he not understand this looks suspicious, like he is trying to hide something.

[fascisthunter]

20. Yuh, dooood, like Bernie is the problem

He will get Trump votes as weird as this seems. I work with these folks.... if anything, you need people like us to talk to them.

[pnwmom]

33. He might get Trump votes, but he won't get Hillary votes. Her supporters

are considering the other very qualified candidates.

[radical noodle]

39. Amen to that!

[Roy Rolling]

22. Whatever the reason....

It's beyond troubling that he refuses to disclose routine financial documents.

What that says to me is that he thinks he can keep hidden some negative data. And the last thing Democrats want is for Republicans to reveal that negative item to voters in a general election.

WTF, Bernie?

[BlueFlorida]

24. K&R nt

[dogman]

25. It was explained in the article.

“We were told that since the senator no longer is a candidate there was no requirement to file,” Briggs said.

[namahage]

28. And Hillary hasn't been a candidate for ages.

Hasn't stopped people (curiously, who tend to support a particular candidate) from demanding "transcripts, public and private."

But more to the point. Why use clearly dilatory tactics if there is nothing to hide? Particularly since he WAS able to file his Senate disclosure on time, on June 6?

Oh, right. That disclosure detailed his 2015 assets, whereas the other one--which, apparently, he had no time for due to campaigning--would have included up to May 2016.

[dogman]

29. WTF has Hilary to do with Bernie's filing?

You explained it for me, the Senate report ended May 2015. The campaign was in 2016 and he requested extensions.

[namahage]

30. First point is that being out of contention of a race is an excuse,

but that doesn't stop people from demanding speech transcripts of those who have been out of the running for ages (Obama, Hillary) or not currently running (Biden).

Bernie COULD HAVE filed, since he filed his Senate one around the same time with no delays, but DIDN'T. Was it that he didn't have his 2016 numbers available?

[dogman]

31. The filing is an FEC requirement.

The requirement was dropped when the race ended. It would seem reasonable that his 2016 numbers were not complete so he requested and was granted extensions. I really can't imagine who is asking for Obama, Hillary, or Biden speeches unless they pertain to something they are presently advocating.

[MrsCoffee]

67. If you can't imagine it, you must have slept through 2016.

And part of 2015.

[pnwmom]

32. That doesn't explain why he got TWO extensions so he wouldn't have to disclose whatever

he wanted to hide during the campaign.

It just explains how he got away with it.

[dogman]

35. I think the FEC has it under control.

They granted the extensions after all. I seriously doubt you will find any one who would fill out an extensive filing if it wasn't required. I seriously doubt any nefarious hiding was going on. You will have to find a way to revise the FEC if you think they were wrong.

[pnwmom]

43. Or maybe he outsmarted them, because they were accustomed to candidates

who actually wanted to be transparent -- especially when transparency was a major theme of their campaign.

Funny, though, Mr. Transparent STILL hasn't released his taxes. . . .

[JI7]

34. he filed for the extentions WHILE he was a candidate

[dogman]

36. Yes and they were granted.

Then the filing was no longer required because he was out of the running. If you think the FEC is wrong, you'll have to take it up with them.

[JI7]

37. the fact that he is hiding this along with his tax returns does not speak well of him as a candidate

Obama was very transparent with his finances.

[dogman]

38. I'll bet Obama didn't file any reports that were not required.

If Bernie were out of the race and came back and said "Here's my tax returns", that would be questionable behavior. He would likely be accused of not getting out of the way since he was through. Bernie released his 2014 tax return when he began his race in 2015. He was out of the race in 2016. He was done, no returns, no filings required. I assume he will release 10 years of taxes after the 15th as he has said. I also think his campaign will be better organized this time.

[JI7]

41. Obama released his tax returns

[dogman]

46. So did Bernie.

His 2014 tax return in 2015 when his campaign began.

[namahage]

47. That was rated False at the time by Politifact.

https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/apr/06/bernie-s/bernie-sanders-has-released-few-tax-returns-compar/

It took him until April 15, 2016 to cough up the rest.

[dogman]

50. UPDATE: As he had promised, Sanders released his full 2014 tax return on April 15, 2016.

Update but no correction. At least you admit he released them.

[Jakes Progress]

42. None so blind as he that will not see.

Every candidate for decades - except for Bernie and trump - have filed the financial reports that common concern for transparency and openness calls for. The practice has been in place before Bernie. Using calendar dates and loop holes to avoid doing what he said he would do, what every other candidate does, what he owes to people is very concerning.

If this were any other candidate, I suggest you would be demanding the release of those records. If he does not release the taxes on the 15th, will you still look for an excuse?

[dogman]

48. Bernie filed financial reports.

Bernie was not a candidate for President, Hillary Clinton and t-Rump were the candidates. I'm not looking for excuses, I don't care about anyone's taxes personally. Since Bernie has called out t-Rump, I fully expect him to release his tax returns after he files his 2018 taxes.

[Jakes Progress]

60. Any excuse you can think of in a storm.

Victims of a scam often grab at straws to avoid admitting they've been had.

I fell for Bernie in the beginning. But I have the advantage of age and experience. It didn't take long to see through his game. I like what he says. But not the way he says it. Not the way he undermines the Democratic party. Not the lack of any way of achieving what he says. Not the way he stands a small chance of being nominated even though he knows that that would mean 4 more years of republican rule.

You gotta ask the same question that we ask about trump. What's he hiding? Why does it take threats and cajoling and (for trump) subpoenas to get them to do what every other candidate does as a matter of course? Why didn't he release the information (which every other candidate did and has done readily) without all the petty parsing of rules and requirements? What's being hidden?

[dogman]

61. You do know he's releasing 10 years worth around the 15th, don't you?

It is going to be so exciting isn't it?

[Jakes Progress]

69. What was he hiding for years?

If he's embarrassed about being one of the multi-millionaires he has railed against, there is a solution.

Give it away. Yes, the record of his charitable giving will be illuminating. Now that he has been backed into the corner and had to do what he has been avoiding for so long.

[dogman]

70. We will see won't we?

Why wouldn't he be a millionaire? He's worked about 15 years longer than a large number of retirees. His wife had a professional career. Where is this corner he's in? And why would he give his money away? He has family to take care of. He has not been hiding anything for years, he makes financial statements , we already knew he was a millionaire. I guess you'll need a new hobby after the 15th.

[Jakes Progress]

75. Wow!

What a ringing endorsement for the very system that BS rants about every single time he gets the chance.

I wouldn't call sitting in government paid chairs for several decades working too hard. Of course he has been working hard to hide something for several years now. Despite your hollow echo that he makes financial statements, he has been dodging doing the very thing that he said he would do. You know that. You know he hasn't fulfilled the promises he made about showing taxes. You know he has ducked it as long as he could possibly hold out. You know that he is embarrassed about his wealth, wealth that very, very few who have even if they worked longer than Bernie. You know that he would not now be releasing any information if it wouldn't make him more comparable to trump's behavior.

In a republican, behavior like hiding your finances would be what we would expect. For someone who hollers and hollers and hollers about how politicians are sneaky and secretive, it is at least embarrassingly hypocritical.

By the way. Have you read the millionaire making book that Bernie wrote?

[pnwmom]

45. Yes, he did. Obama filed tax returns that were a CUSTOM, not a requirement,

and so did Biden.

[dogman]

51. Yep, he released his tax records.

I wrote that he did not file reports that were not required. That was in reference to the FEC filings.

[pnwmom]

55. The FEC filings WERE required. But he outfoxed the FEC and avoided filing them by asking for

Last edited Tue Apr 9, 2019, 04:41 AM - Edit history (2)

lengthy delays. No other Presidential candidate had done that before, since the requirement was put into place. Mr. Transparency doesn't believe in PERSONAL transparency. It wasn't because the forms are too complicated to fill out. If his assets are as limited as he claims, they should have been a snap.

And Bernie only released a 7 page tax return from 2014. He promised to release 2015 but failed to ever release that one, or any other year but 2014.

[pnwmom]

44. And the voters are free to form their own ideas of why he avoided disclosing

more than one 7 page tax return and no FEC form for the year ending in May 2016.

[dogman]

49. That's why they make tin foil.

You can make a hat and tune in to any ideas you please. Again, he was no longer a candidate, why would he?

[MrsCoffee]

68. Indeed. Why on earth would he keep his word.

I guess he didn’t realize he still had to, as he now says, ‘fix a few things’?

[OnDoutside]

53. 10 years returns, or withdraw. This smells.

[ucrdem]

54. So after all those years of joining in RW anti-Clinton, anti-Obama food fights

it turns out he's the one with the funny money. That's just . . . sad.

[BlueFlorida]

58. Sold to Americans

as an authentic, populist, pauper and making them rail against the rich while said pauper accumulates real estate and flies the entire family to "meet the pope" on private jet.

[MrsCoffee]

65. All yours for $27.

[Cha]

59. Hypocritical, too.

[ucrdem]

62. big time

After bashing Hillary with Clinton Cash rumors about their Foundation he starts his own which is so laughably corrupt he shuts it down a year later.



And now he's breaking a Dem boycott to go on Fox? Where's his labor solidarity now? Over before it ever started, that's where.

[betsuni]

63. +1

[Cha]

72. More Hypocrisy..

[yardwork]

64. Sanders' behavior leads me to believe that he had foreign support in 2016.

[MrsCoffee]

66. I have to agree.

Especially after running out the clock. And now this flimsy ‘have to fix a few things’ excuse on the taxes.

How many years does it take to “fix” your tax returns?

[Skidmore]

76. What he has to "fix"

should be a concern to everyone.

[Gothmog]

73. sanders needs to report what happened to the 2016 campaign funds

Link to tweet