Trump slams ex-lawyer’s $50m deal with pardoned banker’s family

Alina Habba Mildon signed the lucrative contract while working at the Justice Department, before Trump pardoned the bank

Alina Habba Mildon speaks to reporters at the White House, March 26, 2025 [Mark Schiefelbein/AP]

US President Donald Trump has criticised one of his former lawyers for signing a contract worth more than $50 million with the family of a Venezuelan banker whom Trump later pardoned.

Alina Habba Mildon reportedly signed the lucrative deal while working as a federal prosecutor and later began working for the banker’s family while still being employed as an adviser to the US Department of Justice.

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“I thought it was totally obnoxious and outrageous, and it’s not acceptable,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Saturday.

“Not acceptable at all,” he added.

According to The New York Times, Habba Mildon signed a four-year contract in October 2025 with a company owned by the family of Julio Herrera Velutini, a Venezuelan banker who was seeking a presidential pardon.

Herrera was accused of bribing former Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vazquez Garced in exchange for removing a financial regulator who was investigating his bank. He was facing federal bribery charges in the US before reaching a plea deal with prosecutors in August 2025.

Habba Mildon’s contract with his family’s company guaranteed her more than $50 million over four years, including an annual salary of $10 million and bonuses.

When she signed the deal, Habba Mildon was the acting US attorney for New Jersey, a position Trump had appointed her to after working as his personal lawyer.

She left that position in December after a court ruled she could not legally serve in the role. She then immediately took another job at the Justice Department as a senior adviser to the attorney general.

On January 1 , Habba Mildon officially began working for the banker’s family while still employed by the Justice Department.

Two weeks later, on January 15 , Trump granted Herrera a full presidential pardon.

The arrangement has raised questions about potential conflicts of interest, given Habba Mildon’s government position and her ties to Trump.

The company that hired her, Concord Partners, has no public profile and its business activities remain unclear, according to The New York Times.

Habba Mildon has denied having any role in securing Herrera’s pardon.

Last week, she said she had never been paid to obtain a pardon, had never discussed one with anyone at the White House or the Justice Department and had never worked to secure a pardon for anyone.

Trump was reportedly furious when he learned about the size of her contract.

The New York Times reported that he told aides and allies that Habba Mildon should donate some of the money to his future presidential library or another Trump-related organisation.

He also reportedly told at least one ally that Herrera’s family should stop paying her the remainder of the contract.

Speaking on Saturday, Trump said he told Habba Mildon he did not want her to be paid, describing the situation as “terrible”.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

阿丽娜·哈巴·米尔顿在司法部工作期间签署了这份利润丰厚的合同，当时特朗普尚未赦免这家银行。

2025年3月26日，阿丽娜·哈巴·米尔顿在白宫接受记者采访。[马克·谢费尔贝因/美联社]

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普批评他的一位前律师与一位委内瑞拉银行家的家人签署了一份价值超过 5000 万美元的合同，而特朗普后来赦免了这位银行家。

据报道，阿丽娜·哈巴·米尔顿在担任联邦检察官期间签署了这份利润丰厚的协议，后来在担任美国司法部顾问期间，开始为这位银行家的家族工作。

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“我认为这完全令人厌恶和愤慨，是不可接受的，”特朗普周六在佛罗里达州的海湖庄园俱乐部告诉记者。

“完全不能接受，”他补充道。

据《纽约时报》报道，哈巴·米尔顿于 2025 年 10 月与胡里奥·埃雷拉·韦卢蒂尼家族拥有的一家公司签订了一份为期四年的合同。胡里奥·埃雷拉·韦卢蒂尼是一位委内瑞拉银行家，当时他正在寻求总统赦免。

埃雷拉被指控贿赂波多黎各前总督旺达·巴斯克斯·加塞德，以换取她撤换一名正在调查其银行的金融监管机构官员。在2025年8月与检方达成认罪协议之前，他曾面临美国联邦的贿赂指控。

哈巴·米尔顿与他家族公司签订的合同保证她在四年内获得超过 5000 万美元的收入，其中包括每年 1000 万美元的薪水和奖金。

签署该协议时，哈巴·米尔顿是新泽西州的代理美国检察官，这是特朗普在她担任其私人律师之后任命她担任的职位。

去年12月，法院裁定她不具备担任该职务的合法资格，之后她离开了那个职位。随后，她立即在司法部就任司法部长的高级顾问一职。

1月1日，哈巴·米尔顿正式开始为这位银行家的家族工作，同时她仍在司法部任职。

两周后，1月15日，特朗普给予埃雷拉完全总统赦免。

鉴于哈巴·米尔顿的政府职位以及她与特朗普的关系，这项安排引发了人们对潜在利益冲突的质疑。

据《纽约时报》报道，聘用她的公司 Concord Partners 没有公开信息，其业务活动仍不明朗。

哈巴·米尔顿否认在促成埃雷拉获得赦免一事中扮演了任何角色。

上周，她表示自己从未收受报酬去获取赦免，从未与白宫或司法部的任何人讨论过赦免事宜，也从未为任何人争取过赦免。

据报道，特朗普得知她的合同金额后非常愤怒。

《纽约时报》报道称，他告诉助手和盟友，哈巴·米尔顿应该将部分资金捐赠给他未来的总统图书馆或其他与特朗普相关的组织。

据报道，他还告诉至少一位盟友，埃雷拉的家人应该停止支付她剩余的合同款项。

特朗普周六表示，他告诉哈巴·米尔顿，他不想付钱给她，并称这种情况“很糟糕”。

美国司法部尚未立即回应路透社的置评请求。