Republican presidential nominee former U.S. President Trump visits North Carolina Source: REUTERS
Trump ally Ric Grenell fired back at an Axios reporter Wednesday over allegations that a multimillion-dollar donation intended for the Kennedy Center never reached it — a dispute that has spilled over to the White House.
Responding directly to Axios reporter Marc Caputo’s social media thread about the allegations, the center’s former leader demanded evidence.
“It’s an absurd claim,” Grenell wrote. “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.”
“Make him give proof to what he is saying, not make these absurd allegations,” he added Wednesday.
The eruption came after Axios reported that former Trump attorney Alina Habba took the accusation to President Donald Trump in the Oval Office Friday, prompting him to order a review by White House counsel.
Habba alleged that Grenell persuaded her husband, Turkish investor Turhan Mildon, to include a Kennedy Center donation in a $17.6 million payment connected to a private business deal, according to Axios.
She initially put the donation at $17 million before revising it to $5.6 million, sources told the outlet.
“This is the ultimate MAGA blood feud,” one insider told Axios.
“Nobody wants to get in the middle of Alina Habba and Ric Grenell going to war,” another official said.
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