White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said the conviction was based on “truly novel” charges.
Milken embraced the spotlight after prison, recasting himself as a philanthropist trying to cure cancer and help children. Some of his projects have included the Milken Family Foundation, Milken Educator Awards, Milken Archive of Jewish Music, Milken Community Schools, Milken Scholars program and the Milken Institute, whose annual conference brings together the world’s most powerful finance figures for mingling, yoga, talk of the future and playtime with puppies.
The Beverly Hills gathering is a contemporary version of what was known decades ago as the Predators’ Ball, famous for its cigar smoke, testosterone and talk of takeovers.
In 1998, Milken agreed to pay $47 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission claims he had violated his ban from the industry, without admitting or denying wrongdoing.
Fifteen years later, regulators investigated whether he had committed another violation by working with Guggenheim Partners. The firm agreed to pay $20 million to settle SEC charges that it failed to disclose a $50 million loan by a client to one of its senior executives. Milken was the client, people familiar with the matter have said.
His fans across Wall Street and big business stayed loyal, and he even gained new ones.
Trump’s announcement cited Rupert Murdoch, former Facebook Inc. President Sean Parker, Nelson Peltz and hedge fund manager John Paulson. Milken also had backing inside the administration from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner and Rudy Giuliani, who as federal prosecutor helped send Milken to prison.
A few days ago, Bahnsen bumped into Giuliani. “I guess he must not have known,” the executive said. “He didn’t let on at all.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.