Habba Deletes Laughing Reaction to Trump Library Donation Question
The question concerned a four-year agreement worth $50 million for Habba to serve as general counsel to Concord Partners. She began the job on January 1, after working as New Jersey’s federal prosecutor and a senior Justice Department adviser. The company was established by a woman whose father is Venezuelan-Italian banker Julio Herrera Velutini, whom Trump pardoned on January 15 after he had been charged in a Puerto Rican bribery scheme.
Trump has criticized Habba’s deal publicly and privately. At a Halloween party in late October, he called it “totally obnoxious and outrageous” and said he had told her he did not want her paid. He also suggested that someone in Herrera Velutini’s family might donate money, while saying he did not expect Habba herself to do so.
Trump has told aides and allies that Habba should give some of the contract money to the library or a different organization tied to Trump. Two political advisers, Chris LaCivita and James Blair, previously gave the library income earned advising a Bosnia and Herzegovina political group aligned with Russia after Trump threatened to end ties with them over that work.
The library foundation, run by Trump’s son Eric and his daughter’s husband Michael Boulos, projects $950 million in fundraising through the close of 2027, according to an IRS application. Democrats who won control of both chambers of Congress on November 3 will have subpoena and testimony-compelling powers in January. Senator Elizabeth Warren said donors to the project would face scrutiny from the incoming majority.
Trump’s Library Raises Fresh Questions About Money and Influence
A former Trump lawyer briefly responded “haha” when asked whether she would give some of her $50 million contract earnings to Trump’s presidential library, then removed the reaction and declined to comment. The agreement made Habba general counsel at Concord Partners, a company established by a woman whose father is Venezuelan-Italian banker Julio Herrera Velutini. Trump pardoned Herrera Velutini in January after he had faced charges in a Puerto Rican bribery case.
The episode underscores the troubling overlap between Trump’s official power and a lucrative deal involving the family of a man he pardoned. Trump himself has criticized Habba’s contract, calling it “totally obnoxious and outrageous,” and has said she should not have been paid. He has also urged aides and allies to press for some of the money to go to his library or a separate Trump-affiliated organization.
The library foundation, led by Trump’s son Eric and his daughter’s husband Michael Boulos, projects $950 million in fundraising through the close of 2027. Other advisers have already transferred consulting fees to the library after Trump threatened to cut ties over their work. That pattern makes questions about who pays, and why, more than a matter of private generosity.
Democrats who won control of the House and Senate on November 3 will have subpoena and testimony-compelling powers in January. Senator Elizabeth Warren said donors would have to answer to the new congressional majority. That scrutiny is essential when a presidential library is also a major fundraising vehicle.
Democrats Turn Habba’s Library Question Into a Political Fight
A question about whether Alina Habba would donate earnings from a $50 million contract to Donald Trump’s library became another opening for Democrats to target the president and people around him. Habba briefly reacted “haha” to the message, deleted the reaction, and offered no comment.
Trump has already condemned the deal, calling it “totally obnoxious and outrageous” and saying he did not want Habba paid. He has suggested that someone from the family of Venezuelan-Italian banker Julio Herrera Velutini might donate instead. Herrera Velutini, whose family is connected to the company that hired Habba, received a presidential pardon in January after facing charges tied to a Puerto Rican bribery scheme.
The library foundation projects $950 million in fundraising through the close of 2027. Two Trump political advisers also gave the library fees from consulting work after Trump threatened to cut ties with them. Those facts can be examined without turning a donor question into a presumption of wrongdoing.
Democrats, who won control of both congressional chambers on November 3, will gain subpoena and testimony-compelling powers in January. Senator Elizabeth Warren has said donors will have to answer to the incoming majority. That promise puts the library’s fundraising under a partisan spotlight, even as Trump himself has publicly criticized Habba’s contract.
Reported by The Daily Caller, Raw Story.
