President Donald Trump has been fuming behind closed doors over a lucrative deal struck by one of his former personal attorneys.
Trump "erupted" last week when he found out that Alina Habba, who now goes by Alina Habba Mildon, had landed a contract with a billionaire family from Venezuela worth upward of $50 million, The New York Times reported Thursday.
Several people familiar with his conversations told The Times that Trump, "angered" by how much Habba stood to make, has been telling aides and allies she ought to hand over part of the money to his planned presidential library or some other entity bearing his name.
The president also went as far as telling at least one ally that the family should stop paying out the remainder of the deal, according to The Times, and word of that reached the family. Trump phoned Habba directly about the arrangement as well, though it remains unclear whether he personally pressed her to donate.
Habba, who represented Trump personally before a short stint as U.S. attorney in New Jersey, agreed last year to become general counsel for a company launched by the daughter of Julio Herrera Velutini. At the time, Habba was advising the Justice Department and Herrera was angling for a pardon from Trump.
She officially started on Jan. 1. Within weeks, Trump issued Herrera a full and unconditional pardon for a misdemeanor campaign finance violation, which he had pleaded to in 2025 under an unusually favorable deal after initially facing felony bribery charges. Habba has previously denied any involvement in the pardon.
Under the four-year contract, the family pays Habba $10 million annually plus various bonuses, guaranteeing her more than $50 million in total, according to documents The Times obtained and interviews it conducted. The company, Concord Partners, keeps no public profile, and even some people tied to the Herrera family's businesses aren't sure what it does.
Trump also discussed The Times story last week with Christopher Kise, another of his former lawyers, who also represented Herrera and worked on his pardon. Kise declined to discuss the conversation.
Habba, the Herrera family and the White House did not respond to The Times' request for comment.