Former presidential lawyer and Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba secured a $50 million personal contract in exchange for securing a presidential pardon for a Venezuelan billionaire banker, according to recent reporting. The development highlights a growing trend of administration insiders leveraging access to the presidency for personal financial gain.
The arrangement centers on Venezuelan banker Julio Herrera Velutini, who sought to clear his record completely after federal prosecutors reduced felony bribery charges to a misdemeanor. Herrera initially hired Christopher Kice, another former personal lawyer to Donald Trump, and his daughter contributed $3.5 million to a political super PAC. When those efforts stalled by the fall of 2025, the family turned to Habba.
At the time, Habba was working within the Justice Department. She was allegedly offered $10 million a year for four years along with at least $10 million in bonuses. A shell company named Concord Partners, which possessed no known business operations, was created, and Habba signed on as its general counsel in January 2026. Days later, Trump granted Herrera a full presidential pardon.
Habba’s path to the inner circle began when Trump hired her for his legal team in September 2021 after she practiced at his Bedminster Law Firm. Her early docket included a $100 million lawsuit against and Mary Trump, which was dismissed for failing as a matter of constitutional law, as well as defending the president in a defamation case brought by a former contestant of The Apprentice. She also represented Trump in a civil fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James and served as lead attorney in the E. Jean Carroll defamation trial, which concluded with a jury awarding Carroll $83.3 million in damages after judicial admonishments regarding Habba’s legal performance.
Perhaps her most infamous legal action during that period was a May 2022 federal lawsuit filed in the Southern District of Florida against the Democratic National Committee, Hillary Clinton, and several political figures, alleging a conspiracy regarding the 2016 election. U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks dismissed the complaint four months later, calling it completely frivolous and brought in bad faith. In January 2023, Middlebrooks sanctioned Trump and Habba for nearly $1 million. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the sanctions, and an appeal was subsequently brought before the Supreme Court earlier this month.
Following her time as personal counsel, Habba was brought into the White House as counselor to the president and nominated to serve as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. Her tenure as interim U.S. attorney faced immediate judicial roadblocks. After a panel of judges refused to allow her interim service, forcing the administration to withdraw her nomination in favor of an acting designation, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ultimately found her appointment unlawful and disqualified her from the post.
In addition to the pardon controversy, Habba recently married Turkish businessman Turhan Mildon in a $10 million wedding attended by high-ranking administration officials, including FBI Director Kash Patel, civil rights division head Harmeet Dhillon, and Attorney General Todd Blanche. The couple is now tied to a separate dispute involving a $17 million transfer linked to Richard Grenell, the former adviser to Venezuela and director of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The funds, which originated from the Republic of Congo where Mildon has business interests, were routed through a Texas defense contractor. Habba has alleged that a portion intended for the Kennedy Center was misdirected, while Grenell has denied any knowledge of the matter. White House counsel Will Scharf, another guest at Habba’s wedding, has been assigned to review the situation.
