- Chicago banker Stephen Calk was charged with bribery by the US Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York on Thursday in an unsealed document.
- He is accused of approving $16 million in loans to a senior Trump campaign official matching the description of Paul Manafort in exchange for a top position in the White House.
- In documents entered into evidence during Manafort's criminal trial, the former campaign chairman sent an email to senior adviser Jared Kushner in November 2016 recommending Calk for the role of Secretary of the Army.
- Calk did not get the position in the White House, according to his indictment.
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A former bank CEO is accused of approving $16 million in loans to a senior Trump campaign official matching the description of Paul Manafort in exchange for a top position in the White House, an unsealed indictment revealed on Thursday.
Chicago banker Stephen Calk was charged with bribery on Thursday, the US Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York announced in a statement.
Former Trump campaign manager Manafort is not named in court papers, but Calk's name came up in Manafort's financial fraud trial, in which prosecutors said the two traded loan approvals for a job in the Trump administration.
"As alleged, Stephen M. Calk abused the power entrusted to him as the top official of a federally insured bank by approving millions of dollars in high-risk loans in an effort to secure a personal benefit, namely an appointment as Secretary of the Army or another similarly high-level position in the incoming presidential administration," Acting US Attorney Audrey Strauss said in a statement about Calk's indictment.
Manafort's relationship with Calk was a focus of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation as early as last year, sources told NBC News.
In documents entered into evidence during Manafort's criminal trial, the former campaign chairman sent an email to senior adviser and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner in November 2016 recommending Calk, the then-head of Federal Savings Bank, for Secretary of the Army.
James Brennan, the vice president of Federal Savings Bank, testified during Manafort's trial that Manafort received a $9.5 million loan from Calk's bank around the same time he sent Kushner the email, and later received another $6.5 million loan.
Calk did not get the position in the White House, according to his indictment, and his bank suffered losses, prosecutors said.
Calk faces one count of financial institution bribery and faces up to 30 years in prison. He surrendered to the FBI in Manhattan on Thursday morning, NBC News reported.
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Bank CEO Stephen Calk charged with corruptly soliciting a presidential administration position in exchange for approving $16 million in loans https://t.co/AdK8DfKlad
- US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) May 23, 2019