President Donald Trump has criticized his former attorney, Alina Habba Mildon, over a reported $50 million agreement to work for a billionaire Venezuelan family, saying the arrangement was made behind his back. He is also seeking for a portion of the money to be directed to a Trump-related entity.
Trump was angered by Habba, 42, accepting a lucrative position as general counsel for Concord Partners, a company founded by the daughter of Venezuelan billionaire Julio Herrera Velutini.
“I thought it was terrible,” Trump told Fox News on Saturday during a Halloween party at Mar-a-Lago. “I said I don’t want her paid. We had somebody speak to the people that did it, and she used her relationship to do that and it was far too much.”
“You know, it’s one thing for a person to get paid legal fees or whatever—she’s a lawyer. I thought it was totally obnoxious and outrageous, and it’s not acceptable, not acceptable at all.
“It’s unacceptable what she did.”
According to the New York Times, Trump told at least one ally that the Herrera family should withhold the remainder of Habba’s contract.
Sources told the newspaper that Trump’s aides and allies also said he wanted Habba to donate part of the money to his future presidential library or another organization connected to him.
Habba agreed to serve at Concord Partners for four years and officially began the job on January 1.
President Donald Trump criticized his former attorney, Alina Habba Mildon, 42, after she accepted a lucrative general counsel role at a company founded by the daughter of Julio Herrera Velutini
Sources said Trump wanted Habba to donate part of the deal’s proceeds to his future presidential library or another Trump-related entity
Habba agreed to work for the company for four years and formally began her role on January 1
The attorney married Turkish billionaire Turhan Mildon in September at a lavish ceremony in New York City, just months after the pair met.
The wedding sparked controversy after reports suggested that Habba is 17 years older than her new husband, who was said by sources to be 25.
The Times spoke with former classmates of Mildon who said he was 25. The newspaper also obtained copies of his US visa and Turkish passport photo page, both of which give his date of birth as December 2, 2000.
The discrepancy remains unexplained. Our News Outlet contacted Mildon’s company, Miller Holding, and Alina Habba for comment.
Mildon, whose grandfather was a Turkish energy magnate, has also become embroiled in a dispute within Trump’s circle over a planned donation to the Kennedy Center.
Habba accused former Kennedy Center chairman Ric Grenell of failing to transfer the $5.6 million that Mildon says he donated to the Washington, DC, arts institution.
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Grenell has denied the allegations, and the White House is still investigating them, Our News Outlet reported earlier this month.
It is not clear exactly when or where Mildon met Habba. The couple were first photographed together in public in April, when the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was cut short by an active-shooter incident.
The Times reported that Trump told at least one ally the Herrera family should not pay Habba the remainder of her contract
Habba married Turkish billionaire Turhan Mildon in September at a lavish ceremony in New York City, only months after the couple met
Mildon has appeared with Habba at several White House events in recent months. The couple married in September at Manhattan’s newly reopened Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
It was Habba’s third marriage. At the time, reports described it as Mildon’s second. His previous marriage, in 2021, was into the family of a prominent Turkish magnate and ended in 2024.
However, the Times reported that several former associates of Mildon said he had a legally nonbinding religious marriage last year to María Ceballos, the daughter of Venezuelan military commander Adm. Remigio Ceballos.
The relationship reportedly occurred before Mildon met Habba, while he was pursuing business opportunities in Venezuela.
Mildon’s spokesperson told the Times that the pair held only an engagement ceremony. Ceballos, however, reportedly told friends that she was his wife. Religious marriages in Turkey are not legally binding, meaning Mildon’s claim that they were engaged rather than married could be accurate even if his former partner considers the ceremony a wedding.
Mildon has also presented himself as a billionaire. He previously told Forbes Turkey that revenue from his companies exceeded $2.6 billion in 2025.
His business interests include Venezuela and the Congo.
Mildon entered Trump’s orbit through Habba, while the dispute over his Kennedy Center donation has reportedly caused the president considerable concern.
After Habba presented her allegations about the missing $5.6 million, Trump reportedly turned to White House counsel Will Scharf and said: “Take this seriously, figure it out, and come back to me ASAP.”
Grenell later rejected Habba’s allegations during a phone call with Trump.
In a statement to Our News Outlet, Grenell again denied the donation claim. “It’s absurd. I’ve never asked for one cent to be sent somewhere else pretending it was for the Kennedy Center, and I’ve never received any payment from him at all,” he said.
“Make [Mildon] give proof to what he is claiming he gave.”
