‘We thought if anything it would help us ‘cus that’s what we’ve been hearing on the news…’
(Ben Sellers, Liberty Headlines) The Arizona woman who drank aquarium cleaner and poisoned her husband before falsely blaming President Donald Trump for touting a possible coronavirus cure was, in fact, a major Democratic donor.
Wanda Jo Lenius, 61, of Mesa, Ariz., was not exhibiting symptoms of coronavirus but claimed that she and her late husband, Gary, “were afraid of getting sick,” according to an NBC News interview last week.
Many of the news reports conveniently left out the fact that the chloroquine phosphate the couple poured into their drinks was not the anti-malaria medication hydrochloroquine, touted by Trump in tweets and in his daily press briefings, but was actually a chemical used to clean the retired couple’s koi pond.
The media then allowed the woman a platform to bash Trump and spread misinformation about the president while guarding her identity.
“Trump kept saying it was basically pretty much a cure,” Lenius told NBC News.
She also advised others: “Don’t take anything. Don’t believe anything. Don’t believe anything that the president says and his people … call your doctor.”
Using local reports that identified the two by first name, the Washington Free Beacon was able to identify the couple and perform a records search of their political donations.
The news site interviewed Wanda, who confirmed the story but continued to claim the poisoning was accidental and that Trump was to blame.
“We weren’t big supporters of [Trump], but we did see that they were using it in China and stuff,” Lenius told the Free Beacon. “And we just made a horrible, tragic mistake,” she said.
“It was stupid, and it was horrible, and we should have never done it,” she continued. “But it’s done and now I’ve lost my husband. And my whole life was my husband.”
Liberty Headlines, which was able to independently confirm the couples’ identities, reached out to Mesa Police Chief Ken Cost to inquire as to whether there were an open investigation into the poisoning and will update with any developments.
“We didn’t think it would kill us,” Lenius told the Free Beacon. “We thought if anything it would help us ‘cus that’s what we’ve been hearing on the news.”
According to the Federal Election Commission, the Lenius’s political donations included contributions to 314 Action Fund, an anti-Trump advocacy group that claims to be “pro-science” due to its advocacy of stem-cell research.
Among the organization’s leading 2018 donors was Gemini Trust Company, a brokerage firm founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss of Social Network fame, according to the Center for Responsive Politics’ OpenSecrets.org.
The Leniuses also gave to the pro-abortion group Emily’s List, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Hillary Clinton campaign and Act Blue, a small-donation aggregator that allows candidates to effectively mask the identities of their donors and vice versa.
Additionally, public records revealed that the Leniuses, who formerly resided in Iowa, had waged a series of legal battles against their former employer, the John Deere Company, alleging sexual harassment, violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, age and sex discrimination, retaliation, hostile work environment and the infliction of emotional harm after Wanda, who was on long-term disability for a medical condition, was passed over for a promotion.
While Trump has tried to balance a realistic outlook on the current pandemic with messages of hope and optimism about its eventual resolution, many in the left-wing press have sought repeatedly to undermine him and bludgeon him with sensationalist fearmongering.
A recent Gallup poll revealed, however, that while Trump had gained in public approval over his handling of the crisis, media credibility has plummeted to below the 50 percent mark, the only institution in the survey to have that dubious distinction.
UPDATE: Further vetting of the Leniuses has revealed that Wanda also may have had a history of mental illness, as well as a fraught relationship with her husband, according to American Greatness.
However, Mesa police told Liberty Headlines that there was no criminal investigation because the two had clearly told police what happened prior to being transported to the hospital.
NEW:
Court records show the wife who fed her husband fish cleaner (poison?) has a history of mental illness (paranoia, depression) and had considered divorcing her husband as far back as 2012.
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— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) March 31, 2020