The banker who pushed through Paul Manafort's sketchy mortgages is set to go on trial next month on corruption and bribery charges related to the 2016 election.
Former president Donald Trump pardoned his disgraced campaign chairman in the final weeks of his only term, but Stephen Calk, former CEO and chairman of the board of the Federal Savings Bank of Chicago, remains in legal jeopardy for his alleged corrupt scheme to extend $16 million in mortgage loans to Manafort -- who allegedly agreed to help his banker get a major appointment, reported The Daily Beast.
"Calk provided the Borrower with a ranked list of the governmental positions he desired, which started with Secretary of the Treasury, and was followed by Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Commerce, and Secretary of Defense, as well as 19 ambassadorships similarly ranked and starting with the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy," the indictment alleges.
The banker "was aware of significant red flags regarding the borrower's ability to repay the loan, such as his history of defaulting on previous loans," prosecutors say, but approved the mortgage loans anyway as he discussed meetings with Trump in hopes of securing an administration appointment.
"He is not doing meetings on the road on these types of matters," Manafort replied. "I will be calling you later today with updates."
Calk was ultimately not hired for any administration job, and the U.S. Marshals Service ultimately seized Manafort's brownstone, which fell into disrepair.
However, the brownstone passed back into Manafort's control after Trump's pardon -- and the Federal National Bank that Calk once ran wants to foreclose on the property and two others he purchased with $16 million in loans.
Calk's trial is scheduled to begin June 22.