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White House probes Habba's claim Grenell failed to deliver husband's Kennedy Center gift
The White House counsel's office is examining Alina Habba's claim that Ric Grenell never delivered a roughly $5.6 million Kennedy Center donation from her Turkish husband, Turhan Mildon, a dispute that now includes a disputed text message and a $17.6 million wire tied to Congo.
The White House counsel's office is examining a claim by Alina Habba, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, that Ric Grenell, the former president of the Kennedy Center and a longtime Trump ally, failed to pass on to the center a donation of about $5.6 million that her husband, Turkish businessman Turhan Mildon, says he intended for it in 2025. Axios first reported the dispute on Oct. 14.
According to Axios, Habba raised the matter with Trump in the Oval Office on Oct. 9, and Trump asked White House counsel Will Scharf to look into it. Mildon says Grenell told him to wire $17.6 million to Texas Armament & Technology, a Texas defense technology company. Part of the money was meant for a deal involving the Democratic Republic of Congo, and about $5.6 million was supposed to go to the Kennedy Center.
The disputed text
On Oct. 19, Axios reported on a text message dated May 3, 2025, allegedly sent by Grenell to Mildon: "Once the money comes to the company here, I will arrange the donation to Kennedy Centre." The message also allegedly promised Mildon VIP events and closer ties to the administration, including the president. Mildon's lawyers gave the text and a financial record dated May 29, 2025, showing the $17.6 million transfer, to the White House counsel's office, according to Axios and the New York Post.
Kennedy Center staff searched for the donation in late 2025 and found no record of it, according to Axios. The only item tied to Mildon was a $270,000 pledge, which Axios reported he paid this month.
Grenell denies the claims
Grenell rejects the allegations. "I've never received any payment from him at all," he told Axios, calling the claims absurd. He also denies sending the text and has pointed to its British spelling of "Centre" as a sign that it is not genuine.
Questions also surround the source of the money. A White House official told Axios that the transfer record shows the funds came from Congo's finance ministry, not from Mildon's own account. It remains unclear what the Congo deal involved and how it was linked to the Kennedy Center. Axios reported that Scharf has grown skeptical of the claims, partly because Habba and Mildon were slow to provide records. Habba and Mildon declined to comment through a spokesperson.
Background
Mildon, a 29-year-old businessman from Türkiye's Çanakkale region, married Habba in New York in a ceremony attended by senior administration officials. A New York Times investigation earlier traced his business ties from Congo and Venezuela to Trump's circle and reported that he met Habba through Grenell. Separately, the Times reported this month that the family of Venezuelan banker Julio Herrera Velutini hired Habba under a package worth more than $50 million before Trump pardoned him. Habba denies any link between the contract and the pardon.
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