A federal grand jury is investigating the finances behind the Burlington College land deal put together by Jane O'Meara Sanders, the wife of Sen. Bernie Sanders, according to a copy of a federal subpoena posted online by the Washington Post.

In 2010, while president of the college, Jane Sanders arranged for the tiny school to buy a property owned by the Roman Catholic Church on the Lake Champlain waterfront for $10 million.

The existence of the grand jury, which is kept secret, was first reported Monday by the Washington Post, which posted a subpoena for documents sent to the Vermont Educational and Health Buildings Financing Agency.

The Burlington Free Press has independently requested documents from the agency related to the federal investigation.

According to the Post, the executive director of the agency has been asked to provide documents to the grand jury. The Post backed away from earlier reporting that the grand jury was seeking testimony.

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The Post also made the records provided by the agency available online.

In the documents, two members of the Vermont Educational and Health Buildings Financing Agency board voted not to assist Sanders in buying the land to expand Burlington College.

One voted no because of the "fire sale" nature of the deal, while the other voted against because of concerns regarding the college's financial strength.

Burlington College closed in 2016, citing the "crushing weight of debt."

Jane Sanders said the deal would be paid for with increases in enrollment and pledged donations — but neither materialized.

Attorney Brady Toensing, who served as Vermont campaign co-chairman for Donald Trump, filed the complaint against Sanders in early 2016. Toensing also has alleged that Bernie Sanders' senatorial office pressured a bank to approve the loan.

Bernie Sanders has called the accusation "an absolute lie."

Jeff Weaver, a spokesman for the Sanders, told the Post that the investigation appeared to be politically motivated and was "right out of the Benghazi playbook."

Contact Jess Aloe at 802-660-1874 or jaloe@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @jess_aloe.