Trump criticises former lawyer's $50m deal with pardoned banker's family

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 2 Nov, 00:27 · Archive

President Trump has criticised his former attorney Alina Habba for signing a $50 million contract with the family of a Venezuelan banker he later pardoned.

President Trump criticised his former attorney Alina Habba Mildon on Saturday for signing a $50 million contract with the family of Venezuelan banker Julio Herrera Velutini, whom Trump later pardoned. Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, Trump said the deal was 'totally obnoxious and outrageous' and told reporters he had told Habba he did not want her to be paid.

According to the New York Times, Habba signed a four-year contract in October 2025 with Concord Partners, a company owned by the family of Herrera Velutini. The contract guaranteed her more than $50 million over four years, including an annual salary of $10 million and bonuses. Trump told allies that Habba should donate a portion of the deal money to his future presidential library or to another Trump-related entity.

Habba was working as acting US attorney for New Jersey, a position Trump had appointed her to, when she signed the deal. She left that position in December after a court ruled she could not legally serve in the role. She then took a job at the Justice Department as a senior adviser to the attorney general, and officially began working for Concord Partners on January 1. Two weeks later, on January 15, Trump granted Herrera a full presidential pardon.

Herrera had faced federal bribery charges over allegations he tried to bribe former Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vazquez Garced. By August 2025 his case had been reduced to a guilty plea on a single misdemeanor campaign finance violation. Habba told the New York Times that any suggestion her employment had anything to do with securing the pardon was false, and said all of her work had been vetted and disclosed to the Justice Department. The White House has also denied any connection between the pardon and her employment.

How it is being reported

• Trump rips ex-lawyer Alina Habba’s ‘obnoxious’ $50M deal with pardoned Venezuelan banker’s family"I thought it was totally obnoxious and outrageous, and it's not acceptable. Not acceptable at all."New York Post · 2 Nov, 00:15
• Trump slams ex-lawyer’s $50m deal with pardoned banker’s familyAlina Habba Mildon signed lucrative contract while working at the Justice Department, before Trump pardoned the banker.Al Jazeera · 1 Nov, 15:50
• Trump slams his 'outrageous' former attorney Alina Habba for signing secret $50m deal without his blessing: 'It's totally obnoxious'President Donald Trump slammed his former attorney Alina Habba Mildon over her 'unacceptable' $50 million deal to work for a billionaire Venezuelan family behind his back.Daily Mail · 1 Nov, 13:20

In this story: Donald Trump · Alina Habba Mildon · Julio Herrera Velutini · Concord Partners · United States Department of Justice · Venezuela

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