Trump Condemns Habba’s $50 Million Contract
Trump said Habba Mildon’s disclosed agreement to work as Concord Partners’ general counsel was excessive and unacceptable. During an October 31 Halloween gathering at his Palm Beach, Florida, club, he said he had told her he opposed paying her and objected to the deal’s size.
The Herrera family pledged Habba Mildon over $50 million across four years, with $10 million per year and additional bonuses. She joined the company while employed by the Justice Department and started on January 1. Herrera, a Venezuelan financier previously charged with federal bribery, received a Trump pardon on January 15, following a plea agreement involving a misdemeanor campaign-finance offense.
Habba Mildon has denied that her employment had anything to do with obtaining a pardon. She has said she was not paid for one, did no work on one and did not meet with White House or Justice Department officials about one. The White House has also denied a connection.
Trump said he did not necessarily expect Habba Mildon herself to contribute money to his future presidential library, but maintained that the deal was unacceptable. He had earlier told people close to him that a portion of the funds ought to benefit the library or another entity associated with Trump.
The criticism marks a break with a former close ally. Habba Mildon represented Trump in civil cases and later held the New Jersey U.S. attorney’s interim post. A court found her tenure unlawful; she left the position in December and later took a senior advisory role with the attorney general.
Trump’s Rebuke Leaves Questions Over Habba’s Pardon-Timed Deal
The uproar over Alina Habba Mildon’s disclosed contract worth over $50 million is not resolved by President Donald Trump’s public objection to its size. The arrangement tied a former Trump lawyer, a Justice Department position and relatives of a banker who later received a presidential pardon—an apparent intersection of interests meriting scrutiny.
The Herrera family pledged Habba Mildon over $50 million across four years for work as Concord Partners’ general counsel. She accepted the role while still on the Justice Department’s payroll, began on January 1, and Trump granted Julio Herrera Velutini clemency on January 15. Herrera had been accused of federal bribery and admitted guilt to a misdemeanor campaign-finance offense.
Habba Mildon denies that her employment was connected to a pardon. She says she did no pardon work, was never paid for one and did not discuss one with White House or Justice Department officials. The White House has also denied a connection. Those denials matter, but they do not make the timing or scale of the arrangement immaterial.
On October 31 at Mar-a-Lago, Trump described the deal as excessive and said he had told her he opposed paying her. He had also told people close to him that some funds ought to benefit his future presidential library or another Trump-linked entity. His demand shifts attention from public accountability to a payment benefiting his own orbit.
Habba Mildon was a prominent Trump defender before holding New Jersey’s interim U.S. attorney position. A court found her tenure unlawful; she left that post in December and later took a senior advisory role with the attorney general.
Trump Calls Out Former Lawyer Over Lavish Contract
President Donald Trump made clear that loyalty does not excuse what he sees as an excessive private deal. On October 31, during a Halloween gathering at Mar-a-Lago, he condemned former lawyer Alina Habba Mildon’s disclosed agreement with relatives of Venezuelan banker Julio Herrera Velutini and said he had told her he opposed paying her.
The four-year agreement pledged more than $50 million, including $10 million annually and bonuses, for Habba Mildon to work as Concord Partners’ general counsel. She accepted the role while employed by the Justice Department and started on January 1. Trump pardoned Herrera on January 15, after Herrera had admitted guilt to a misdemeanor campaign-finance offense in a case that had included federal bribery charges.
The dates have drawn attention, but Habba Mildon says the job had nothing to do with a pardon. She says she did no work on a pardon, was not paid for one and never discussed one with White House or Justice Department officials. The White House has denied a connection as well. The known facts include the timing; they do not establish that the contract secured a pardon.
Trump said he did not necessarily expect Habba Mildon to contribute to his future presidential library, though he continued to call her conduct unacceptable. He had earlier told people close to him that funds from the deal ought to go to the library or another Trump-related entity.
Habba Mildon had been a visible defender of Trump, represented him in civil cases and later held New Jersey’s interim U.S. attorney post. A court found her tenure unlawful. She left the position in December and later took a senior advisory role with the attorney general.
Reported by Raw Story, Daily Mail US, New York Post, The New Republic.
