Washington, D.C. -Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Rep. Stephen F. Lynch, the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on National Security, sent a letter to Secretary of Defense James Mattis requesting information about “extremely troubling" press reports suggesting that a banker named Stephen Calk may have made loans of up to $16 million to President Donald Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, in exchange for alleged promises to name him Secretary of the Army.
“[R]eports that Mr. Calk was being considered for a high-level and highly sensitive national security position within the Trump Administration as part of a quid pro quo with Mr. Manafort raise serious concerns that, completely apart from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, warrant scrutiny by Congress," Cummings and Lynch wrote.
According to numerous press accounts, the bank that Mr. Calk heads, Federal Savings Bank, provided up to $16 million in loans to Mr. Manafort “as part of a quid pro quo arrangement to secure Mr. Calk a job in Mr. Trump’s administration."
According to these reports, between late 2016 and early 2017, “Mr. Calk was placing calls to the Pentagon and specifically to Army headquarters, asking for briefings to obtain information and prepare himself for a possible job." In addition, “Mr. Calk’s overtures raised questions among military leaders as to how to respond."
The Ranking Members asked the Defense Department to provide a briefing and produce documents by March 13, 2018, including all communications with Calk, all requests for information from Calk, communications between the Department and individuals associated with President Trump’s campaign, and any actions considered or taken by the Pentagon.
