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By the time Donald Trump was elected in the fall of 2016, Paul Manafort was no longer on the Republican’s team, but he remained in the then-president-elect’s orbit. In fact, as Rachel has explained on the show, Trump’s former campaign chairman was even a player in a bribery scheme related directly to the former administration.
Yesterday, as the Associated Press reported, that scheme led to a prison sentence.
A Chicago banker was sentenced on Monday to a year in prison for his conviction in a scheme to make $16 million in loans to Paul Manafort to gain influence in the Trump administration.... The banker, Stephen Calk, was convicted last year on financial institution bribery and conspiracy charges in Manhattan federal court.
I suspect Calk’s name is unfamiliar to much of the public, but as regular readers may recall, the controversy he helped create resembles the plot of a cringe-worthy movie.
In late 2016 and early 2017, as Trump prepared to take office, Manafort was desperately in need of money, and so he put his influence to good use — by offering to sell some of it to Calk.
In fact, Calk arranged a series of high-risk loans to Manafort, totaling $16 million. In exchange, Calk got a foot in the door: After the first loan, Manafort arranged for Calk to serve on the Trump campaign’s economic advisory council. After the second loan, Calk sent Manafort a list of jobs in the administration for which he expected to be considered.
The list came with a header listing “perspective rolls” — Calk apparently meant “prospective roles,” but he misspelled both words — he could play in the Republican administration, starting with secretary of the Army. If that wasn’t available, he was prepared to settle for a variety of other positions, including a couple of cabinet agencies Calk felt prepared to lead.
For his part, Manafort received his millions, but Calk did not get any of the jobs he apparently thought he was buying. Manafort sent Calk’s resume to Jared Kushner, and the banker did eventually get an interview at Trump Tower, but the process went no further.
Nevertheless, the fact that the banker outlined the scheme in writing clearly helped prosecutors. It also apparently helped persuade jurors in the case, who didn’t need to deliberate long before finding Calk guilty.
Ahead of his sentencing yesterday, Calk told the judge, “I sit here deeply, deeply humbled.... I never sought to gain fame or power.”
He did, however, seek to run large government agencies.
The AP’s report added that Judge Lorna Schofield told Calk she needed to put him behind bars to send the message that “no one is above the law, regardless of their wealth and influence.”
Manafort was convicted of a variety of crimes, though he was eventually pardoned by Trump. Calk won’t be nearly as fortunate.