Washington, D.C. (Apr. 12, 2018)—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 requesting documents from Stephen Calk—the banker who allegedly loaned Paul Manafort $16 million in exchange for promises to name him to a top position within the Trump Administration.

Cummings and Lynch first wrote to the Department of Defense in February seeking documents regarding troubling press reports that Manafort offered Calk a top position in exchange for the loans.  In response, the Defense Department provided two key facts:

• First, DOD reports that, eight days after the President’s election, the Army’s Chief of Staff “had the opportunity to engage Mr. Calk on November 16, 2016, when he provided remarks at a Business Executives for National Security (BENS) luncheon in Chicago.”

• Second, DOD reports that “Army administrative personnel recall receiving a telephone call from Mr. Calk sometime in November of 2016 regarding the confirmation process in general.”

“This new information provided by DOD appears to confirm at least part of the underlying allegation, which is that you were actively inquiring with the Pentagon within days of the presidential election about a high-level position that would have required the advice and consent of the Senate,” Cummings and Lynch wrote to Calk.  

“DOD’s letter does not explain why you were inquiring about the confirmation process,” Cummings and Lynch wrote.  “DOD’s response was also limited in that it apparently focused only on your communications with the Department of the Army rather than all DOD elements.  The letter states that ‘the Army was not involved in any personnel decisions regarding Mr. Calk, and did not engage in any communications regarding Mr. Calk with Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, or other individuals affiliated with President Trump's campaign.’”

“For these reasons, we now request information directly from you about why you were seeking that information and whether your actions were related to a quid pro quo with President Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort,” the Members concluded.

The members requested documents relating to communications between Calk and any member of President Trump’s campaign, the Trump Transition Team, and the Department of Defense, and all loans discussed, applied for, reviewed, or granted to Mr. Manafort by The Federal Savings Bank.

Click here to read today’s letter.