White House probes Alina Habba’s claim of missing $5.6M Kennedy Center donation under Ric Grenell
WASHINGTON, DC: Alina Habba, former personal attorney to President Donald Trump, has alleged that Ric Grenell, the former head of the Kennedy Center, failed to deposit millions of dollars her husband donated to the arts institution.
Habba raised the issue directly with Trump in the Oval Office, telling him that her husband, Turkish billionaire Turhan Mildon, had donated $5.6 million that subsequently disappeared.
Trump referred the matter to White House Counsel Will Scharf for further investigation, triggering a dispute between two people closely associated with him.
Grenell, who stepped down from the Kennedy Center in March, has denied the allegations, saying he never received any money from Mildon.
Trump investigates Alina Habba’s $5.6 million donation claims
Habba, 42, married 29-year-old Turhan Mildon last month. She told Trump in the Oval Office that Grenell had failed to deposit $5.6 million from Mildon that was intended for the Kennedy Center, which Grenell led as executive director until March.
Trump, who has sought to renovate the performing arts venue and rebrand it to include his name, referred the allegations to White House Counsel Will Scharf for further investigation.
Habba’s claims were first reported by Axios. The account of the Oval Office meeting was confirmed to The Post by a White House official, who did not share their assessment of the allegations’ veracity, and a second person close to the administration, who believes Habba’s claims.
An administration official told The Post that Grenell allegedly persuaded Mildon in early 2025 to make a $17.6 million wire transfer as part of a business deal between the two, with $5.6 million reportedly intended for the Kennedy Center.
The official was unaware of which company allegedly received the funds. A White House official said they were “very skeptical it’s true.”
Another administration official described Grenell as “crooked” but said the Kennedy Center’s current leaders lacked evidence to substantiate Habba’s allegations.
A person close to the White House called Grenell “self-destructive” but not “that dumb.”
Ric Grenell denies Kennedy Center donation allegations
Grenell, a former US ambassador to Germany and former acting director of national intelligence who now serves as Trump's special envoy for special missions, firmly rejected Habba's allegations.
“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,” Grenell said.
“Make him give proof to what he is saying, not make these absurd allegations.”
The report noted that Habba and Grenell had previously gotten along, but their relationship later deteriorated for reasons that remain unclear.
The dispute comes as Mildon's business interests in Venezuela face difficulties. He operates state-owned cement plants in the country, and after Nicolas Maduro was ousted, interim President Delcy Rodriguez canceled Mildon's contract in June.
According to the New York Times, Rodríguez later reconsidered after learning of Mildon's connection to Habba.
The White House is investigating whether the allegations concerning the donation are credible.
Grenell has denied the claims, while some administration officials remain unconvinced that there is sufficient evidence to support Habba's account. For now, the allegations remain unresolved.
