Trump’s ex-lawyer Alina Habba loses $50M contract after he slams 'obnoxious and outrageous' deal

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, Alina Habba Mildon, has lost a contract worth more than $50 million with Concord Partners, a Florida-based company founded by the daughter of Venezuelan banker Julio Herrera Velutini, who received a presidential pardon earlier this year. 

The company terminated the four-year agreement in a November 4 letter, citing a “failure to perform duties,” according to a document obtained by The New York Times. The termination is disclosed just days after Trump publicly criticised the arrangement and said that he did not want Habba to receive the payments.

Concord Partners terminates Alina Habba Mildon’s $50 million agreement after Trump criticism

Habba had been appointed general counsel of Concord Partners under an agreement guaranteeing her more than $50 million in salary and bonuses over four years. The contract included annual payments of approximately $10 million, along with additional bonuses.

Despite the termination, Habba is expected to retain an $8 million signing bonus and another $6.5 million in payments already received, bringing the total to $14.5 million, according to reports. Habba declined to comment on the termination to the newspaper, but a person close to her said she intended to pursue legal action.

Trump had publicly criticised the arrangement, describing it as excessive and saying he had raised his objections directly with Habba. “I thought it was terrible. I told her,” Trump told reporters. “I said I don’t want her paid. I thought we had somebody speak to the people that did it, and she used her relationship to do that.”

The president also described the agreement as “totally obnoxious and outrageous” and said it was “not acceptable.” Trump reportedly told aides and allies that the Herrera family should stop paying Habba and suggested that she donate some of the money to his future presidential library or another Trump-related organisation.

A source close to the Herrera family told the outlet that Habba’s priorities appeared to have shifted after she began dating Turkish investor Turhan Mildon, whom she married in September.

Contract timing draws scrutiny over Venezuelan banker’s presidential pardon

The agreement has attracted scrutiny because of its timing in relation to Herrera Velutini’s efforts to secure a presidential pardon. Herrera had faced federal felony bribery charges connected to an alleged scheme to influence Puerto Rico’s governor. He reached a plea agreement in August 2025, reducing the case to a misdemeanor campaign finance violation.

Trump granted Herrera Velutini a full and unconditional pardon on January 15, 2026, two weeks after Habba began working for Concord. Two other defendants in the Puerto Rico case, including former governor Wanda Vazquez Garced, were also pardoned.

Habba has denied that her employment arrangement had any connection to the pardon, saying the agreement had been disclosed to the Justice Department. “Any insinuation that my employment, all of which has been vetted and disclosed to the DOJ, had anything to do with securing a pardon is false,” she previously said.

Habba, who previously served as Trump’s personal attorney, was also required to leave her position as New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor after a federal appeals court ruled that she had been unlawfully serving in the role. She resigned in December 2025.