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Anderson Cooper Doesn't Ask Bernie Sanders About Grand Jury Empaneled in Burlington College Case

But he does ask about Oprah

Jane and Bernie Sanders / Getty Images
January 8, 2018

When Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) appeared on Anderson Cooper's CNN show on Monday night, he faced questions on a range of political topics, including Oprah Winfrey, but he did not have to address the deepening federal probe into a 2010 Burlington College land deal involving the senator's wife and former school president, Jane Sanders.

It was confirmed Sunday that the Vermont U.S. Attorney's office has interviewed at least one witness before the grand jury to determine whether indictments should be issued, VT Digger reported.

The case involves the now-defunct Burlington College's borrowing to finance the purchase of 33 acres of lakefront property from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington.

The deal relied on pledged donations and projections of increased enrollment, which VT Digger previously reported as being overstated.

Though the college closed in 2016, the investigation into the land deal continues. Both Bernie and Jane Sanders have denied any impropriety.

Cooper did not touch on the development in the case, but he did ask Sanders questions about whether President Donald Trump should testify under oath in the Robert Mueller investigation, and about whether "there's a legitimate concern regarding the president's stability."

Sanders was also asked which party a government shutdown would hurt politically and whether funding for a wall along the U.S.'s border with Mexico would be a nonstarter in the DACA debate.

For Cooper's final question, he asked Sanders whether Oprah Winfrey could win the White House in 2020 if she decided to run for president.

Sanders said that he didn't have a clue, but added "everybody knows that Oprah is a tremendously intelligent, articulate person."