It was an “oh, by the way” moment for the ages. And an outrage against good government.

On Wednesday, Attorney General Charity Clark told a House committee that we, the taxpayers of Vermont, are on the hook for a $16.5 million settlement of the EB-5 scandal.

You know, the settlement that allowed key players to avoid the embarrassment and potential legal liability of testifying under oath? Yeah, that one.

Once in a while, an issue or development just hits me so hard that I find myself lying in bed wide awake, staring at the ceiling and grinding my teeth until I have no choice but to get up and write something. And here we are. Let’s recap the high points, shall we?

• Through a combination of incompetence and hubris, state officials allowed themselves to be flim-flammed.
• Other state officials then covered up the truth about the affair by claiming they had to keep key documents secret pending court cases.
• On the eve of trial, the state settled a lawsuit by EB-5 investors just days before former state officials (up to and including former governor Peter Shumlin) were set to testify under oath.
• If all those documents were ever released once the legal peril was removed, it somehow escaped my attention.
• The state’s insurance company, AIG, took one look at this mess and denied coverage.
• The state rolled over and accepted a token payment from AIG.
• The Scott administration and Attorney General Charity Clark then waited as long as possible to reveal the AIG denial — only doing so when they had to go ask the Legislature for the needed funds.

Are you grinding your teeth yet?

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