The Aporia · Trump calls former lawyer Alina Habba's $50m deal with family of pardoned Venezuelan banker 'unacceptable'

President Donald Trump criticized a $50 million contract between his former personal lawyer Alina Habba Mildon and a company linked to Venezuelan banker Julio Herrera Velutini, calling it "totally obnoxious and outrageous." The deal was secured while Habba Mildon held an acting position at the Justice Department in New Jersey. Trump said he told Habba Mildon that he did not want her to receive the money and considered the arrangement inappropriate given its timing relative to Herrera's federal bribery case and subsequent pardon by Trump on January 15, 2025.

Written by AI on 2026-11-01, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

Story summary

Donald Trump has criticized a $50 million contract secured by his former personal lawyer, Alina Habba, with a company connected to a Venezuelan banking family. The deal was struck when Habba held a position at the Justice Department and involved her serving as general counsel for Concord Partners. Trump described the arrangement as "totally obnoxious and outrageous" during remarks made at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday. He stated he had told Habba that he did not want her to receive the money, expressing concern over how she used her relationship with him to secure the contract while still employed by the Justice Department. The contract was signed in late October 2025 and included an annual payment of $10 million for four years plus additional bonuses. Habba recently married Turkish billionaire Turhan Mildon, but has denied any involvement in obtaining a presidential pardon related to her employment, stating all aspects were vetted by the Department of Justice.

Written for “Trump Reacts to Alina Habba Deal” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

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The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.35, but all 2 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.

Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.

Leaning score withheld for article 121018: attributed speech only · logged 2026-11-01

📰 Trump Reacts to Alina Habba Deal

Politics · 3 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

This article reads unscored and hedges 14% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

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⚖️ Leans left Hedges 5 of 22 claims Outlet record 59/100

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US President Donald Trump has criticised a $50 million contract secured by his former personal lawyer Alina Habba Mildon with a company linked to a Venezuelan banking family, saying the arrangement was unacceptable while she held a position at the Justice Department. asserted

she → criticise → Department

Speaking to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday, Trump described the deal as “totally obnoxious and outrageous”. asserted

Trump → speak → deal

He also said he had told Habba Mildon that he did not want her to receive the money. asserted

her → say → money

“I thought it was terrible,” Trump said. asserted

Trump → think → ?

“I told her, and I said, ‘I don’t want her paid.’ asserted

her → tell → her

I thought we had somebody speak to the people that did it, and she used her relationship to do that. asserted

she → think → that

The New York Times reported last week that the family of Venezuelan banker Julio Herrera Velutini had guaranteed Habba Mildon more than $50 million over four years to serve as general counsel at Concord Partners. asserted

family → report → Partners

The reported agreement included an annual payment of $10 million, along with additional bonuses. asserted

agreement → report → bonuses

According to the newspaper, Habba Mildon signed the contract in late October 2025 while serving as acting US attorney for New Jersey. uncertain

Mildon → accord → Jersey

Concord Partners, the company linked to Herrera's family, had been registered only days earlier. asserted

Partners → link → family

The timing of the agreement has drawn attention because Herrera was facing federal bribery charges in the US and his family was seeking a presidential pardon. asserted

family → draw → pardon

He reached a plea agreement in August 2025 before Trump granted him a pardon on January 15, this year, according to the DOJ's website. uncertain

Trump → reach → website

Habba Mildon's employment with the family also overlapped with her transition between government positions. asserted

employment → overlap → positions

A court had disqualified her from continuing as US attorney before she began working for the Herrera family. asserted

she → disqualify → family

She resigned from the position on December 8, last year and was appointed a senior adviser to the attorney general on the same day. asserted

She → resign → day

She began working with Concord Partners on January 1 while holding the senior adviser position. asserted

She → begin → position

Habba Mildon has denied any connection between her employment arrangement and Herrera's pardon. asserted

Mildon → deny → arrangement

Last week, she said she had never received payment for securing a pardon, had not discussed the matter with anyone at the White House or Justice Department and had performed no work to obtain clemency for anyone. asserted

she → say → anyone

Trump's remarks followed questions about the reported financial agreement and its timing in relation to Herrera's pardon. asserted

remarks → follow → pardon

The president said he had objected to the payment and considered the arrangement inappropriate. asserted

arrangement → say → payment

It remains unclear whether the four-year contract can be terminated before its scheduled completion. uncertain

contract → remain → completion

Trump calls former lawyer Alina Habba's $50m deal with family of pardoned Venezuelan banker 'unacceptable'

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