| Trial of
Manafort Lender Calk Begins at SDNY, Of
Army Post and Brooklyn Brownstone
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
Podcast
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
June 23 – After months of preliminaries,
the trial of Stephen Calk for
conspiracy to trade his bank's
loans to Paul Manafort for the
Secretary of the Army position
began on June 23. Inner City
Press live tweeted, here,
previous coverage here,
podcast here
Judge Lorna G.
Schofield is speaking to the
jurors, who have just come in.
"My duty is to instruction you
on the law. You must take the
law as I give it to you."
We're in one of the 3 big
courtrooms in 40 Foley Square,
light streaming in through the
tall windows
Judge Schofield:
"The law presumes Mr. Calk to
be innocent." If however after
consideration of the evidence
you are convinced that the
government have proved its
case, you must find him
guilty... Opening statements,
which you are about to hear,
is not evidence
Judge Schofield:
Mr. Calk is charged with
financial institution bribery,
and conspiracy to commit it.
The
government alleges that Mr.
Calk, while CEO of The Federal
Savings Bank, sought a senior
position with the Trump
administration through loans
to Paul Manafort
Judge
Schofield: In the second
charge, Mr. Calk is charged
with conspiring with others to
commit this financial
institution bribery.
Finally, Judge Schofield is
instructing the jurors who to
handle their notebooks - leave
them in the courtroom at
night.
Judge Schofield,
to the jurors: Don't go home
and Google the case. Don't
read any blogs, or Twitter.
That's for after the trial.
And now, the opening
statement(s).
Assistant US
Attorney: This is a case about
greed. But not greed for
money. Greed for power.
AUSA: It's
about this man [pointing],
Stephen Calk, who gave out
millions in loans to try to
get a position. $16 million to
Paul Manafort, a political
lobbyist. This, for that.
Loans, for influence. That is
why we're here. Calk took a
bribe from Paul Manafort.
AUSA: In
July of 2016, Manafort asked
for a loan. He was running the
presidential campaign for
Donald Trump. The loan had red
flags, but Calk pushed it
forward. The bank made 2
loans. The first closed
shortly after Election Night,
the next 5 weeks later AUSA:
Calk interviewed for the job
at Trump Tower. Manafort got
him in the room. When a
reporter asked how he got on
the campaign, he didn't say
one word about Manafort. He
didn't tell his board of
directors. But he got caught
and he's here to account for
it. Inner City Press
@innercitypress · 33m AUSA:
The bank's money was FDIC
insured. It had loan officers
paid on commission. It has a
credit committee of 3,
including Calk. But Calk
always got his way. He owned
most of the bank. Manafort
asked for $5.7 million on a
property in California. They
met in NYC
AUSA: Calk joined
by video from Chicago. He
offered to help with the
campaign. The next day, the
bank agreed to do the loan.
Then Manafort asked for Calk's
resume and asked him to join
the Economic Advisory Council
of the campaign, to advise
President Trump
AUSA:
Meanwhile, the loan was
undergoing underwriting.
Problem were found. Manafort's
credit score had dropped. He
had earned no income in 2016.
He had a credit card bill of
$300,000 and faced
foreclosure. And he had
suspicious deals with foreign
politicians.
AUSA: The
only thing the loan had going
for it was collateral. But
foreclosure is expensive.
Manafort was a bad bet. Only
two people were pushing the
loan forward: the loan officer
who was getting a commission,
and Calk. And you'll find out
what he was getting.
AUSA:
Manafort said there was a loan
on the property. Calk said, No
problem, the bank would pay
off the loan. Manafort said he
needed another million
dollars. Calk told the loan
officer to do it. At the
closing table, Manafort
proposed a totally new loan.
AUSA: The
night that President Trump won
the election, Calk told
Manafort the loan would be
wrapped up the next day,
whether or not another bank
was on board. Calk offered to
come to New York. He told the
loan officer to ask Manafort
is he was in the running for
Secretary of the Treasury.
Calk had a list:
Commerce, Defense. Ultimately
he set his eyes on Secretary
of the Army. He emailed
Manafort a memo.
AUSA: The 1st
loan closed a week after the
election, for $9 million. And
Calk got a recommendation for
Secretary of the Army, he was
added to a list. Manafort
needed $6.5 million to finish
construction on a brownstone
in Brooklyn.
AUSA: Manafort
asked a person in Trump Tower
about Calk's status. The
counter-offer was Deputy
Secretary of the Army. Then
Calk emailed the loan
documents to Manafort, then
flew to NY for an interview in
Trump Tower. In total $16
million for this.
AUSA: The
bank's regulator called for an
emergency meeting. Calk lied,
and said he didn't want the
government job. You're going
to hear from people from this
regulator. [The OCC - also
dubious, see e.g. Otting and
Brooks, watch this feed.] Calk
wasn't qualified.
AUSA: At
the end of this case we'll ask
you to consider all the
evidence. And you'll reach the
conclusion that Stephen Calk
is guilty. Judge Schofield
declared 10 minute
break.
***
Your
support means a lot. As little as $5 a month
helps keep us going and grants you access to
exclusive bonus material on our Patreon
page. Click
here to become a patron.
Feedback:
Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
SDNY Press Room 480, front cubicle
500 Pearl Street, NY NY 10007 USA
Mail: Box 20047, Dag
Hammarskjold Station NY NY 10017
Reporter's mobile (and weekends):
718-716-3540
Other, earlier Inner City Press are
listed here,
and some are available in the ProQuest
service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
Copyright 2006-2021 Inner City
Press, Inc. To request reprint or other
permission, e-contact Editorial [at]
innercitypress.com
|
,
