Former Trump lawyer "fired" from shady gig, but retains $14.5 million from undisclosed "work" for pardoned Venezuelan banker

Alina Habba-Mildon, former attorney of President Donald Trump, has been fired by Concord Partners, losing the remaining value of a $50 million, four-year contract she was controversially awarded through a murky startup headed by the daughter of Venezuelan banker Julio Herrera Velutini, who was seeking a pardon from President Trump at the time.

Herrera Velutini was indicted in 2022 alongside former Puerto Rico governor Wanda Vazquez Garced on federal bribery and wire fraud charges, allegedly for financing the governor's 2020 reelection campaign in exchange for removing a banking regulator investigating the billionaire's bank. In August 2025, prosecutors in Trump's DOJ dropped the felony charges and allowed Velunti to plead guilty to a single misdemeanor campaign finance violation.

As Velutini sought a full pardon, his daughter, Isabela Herrera, whose prior political donations totaled just $20, contributed $3.5 million to the Trump-aligned super PAC MAGA Inc. and pledged $2.5 million more toward the White House ballroom, prompting the Campaign Legal Center to file an FEC complaint alleging an illegal "straw donor" scheme.

Habba-Mildon entered the Trump orbit in 2021, when she began serving as Trump's legal spokesperson and as senior advisor for MAGA Inc., his Super PAC. After Trump's second inauguration in Jan. 2025, she began serving as Counselor to the President before being controversially appointed interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey.

Habba-Mildon had no prosecutorial experience before her appointment, and her legal career was built on civil litigation, including insurance defense and commercial disputes. She was best known for representing Donald Trump in the E. Jean Carroll defamation suit and the NY fraud case, both of which cases were lost.

Habba-Mildon was then named acting U.S. Attorney after her 120-day interim period expired. The Justice Department sought to extend her tenure, but in August of 2025, Federal Judge Matthew Brann ruled that Habba-Mildon had been serving "without lawful authority" since July 1 and disqualified her from participating in ongoing cases. Habba-Mildon resigned as acting U.S. Attorney and was named Senior Advisor to the Attorney General.

In late October, Habba-Mildon signed a lucrative contract with Concord Partners, set to begin Jan. 1, 2026. On January 15, 2026, Trump granted Velutini a full and unconditional pardon, with the case formally dismissed on January 27. When Trump was confronted about the lucrative contract Habba-Mildon had been given, the President called it "totally obnoxious and outrageous" and "not acceptable," urged the Herrera family not to pay her, and suggested that at least some of the money be donated to his future presidential library.

Concord Partners LLC was incorporated in St. Petersburg, FL on October 22, 2025, just days before Habba signed the contract. According to The New York Times, the company "has no public profile and its business remains unclear even to some people associated with the Herrera business empire."

The termination letter, issued days after the Times disclosed the deal, cited a "failure to perform duties." Mildon will keep the $14.5 million already paid to her, including an $8 million signing bonus and $6.5 million in salary. The original agreement guaranteed more than $50 million over four years ($10 million annually plus bonuses) to serve as general counsel for the fledgling company.

Nevertheless, Habba-Mildon will pocket $14.5 million for just 10 months' work, assuming she did any actual work for the company. Given that she recently married Turhan Mildon, a billionaire Turkish businessman with ties to the Trump administration, the loss of the additional payouts may carry less sting.

Habba, 42, and Mildon, 29, were married in New York City in September at a lavish ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria. The couple was first seen publicly at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in April. Mildon heads Miller Holding, a multi-billion-dollar Turkish investment company his grandfather established in 1967.