WASHINGTON — Ric Grenell, the embattled former executive director of the Kennedy Center, allegedly offered Turkish billionaire Turhan Mildon access to President Trump while pursuing a reported $5.6 million contribution to the performing arts institution—money that was never ultimately deposited.
The White House counsel’s office has been examining whether Grenell failed to deliver the promised funds. The inquiry began after Mildon’s new wife, Alina Habba, told Trump during an Oct. 9 Oval Office meeting that her husband had been misled into providing the money.
“Once the money comes to the company here, I will arrange the donation to Kennedy Centre [sic], and you’ll be joining the VIP events and get close with the administration, even with POTUS,” Grenell allegedly wrote in a May 3, 2025, text message first reported by Axios.
According to the reports, the proposed $5.6 million gift was supposed to be carved out of a much larger $17.6 million wire transfer that Mildon sent to defense software firm Texas Armament & Technology.
Grenell, who previously served as the US ambassador to Germany and as Trump’s acting intelligence director, reportedly rejected the claim that he sent the message. He cited the British spelling of “Centre” as evidence. Grenell did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Still, a source familiar with the matter told The Post that Axios’ description of the message matched information the source had heard about the unusual and widening controversy.
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Mildon has given the White House records showing a May 29, 2025, transfer of $17.6 million to the Texas company. Axios reported, however, that the funds were sent not by Mildon but by the Democratic Republic of Congo’s “Ministère des Finances.”
Both Axios and The New York Times reported Monday that the transaction was connected to a business venture involving the central African nation. Neither publication detailed the project. In 2024, Mildon said he operated limestone quarries as well as copper, cobalt and gold mines there.
Reports say Mildon and Habba first met at the Kennedy Center early this year, as Trump has pursued plans to rebrand the venue by adding his own name. The couple married on Sept. 26.
Habba previously served as Trump’s personal lawyer and later held a brief position at the White House before becoming acting US attorney in New Jersey.
Grenell and Mildon had also reportedly worked together on matters connected to Venezuela. Grenell was serving as a Trump envoy to then-President Nicolás Maduro, while Mildon ran state-owned cement plants in the South American country.
Following Maduro’s capture by US troops on Jan. 3, interim President Delcy Rodríguez moved in June to cancel Mildon’s contract to operate the plants. The New York Times reported last week that Rodríguez temporarily halted the termination after learning about Mildon’s relationship with Habba.
