Trump Rips Ex-US Attorney's $50M Concord Deal: 'Not Acceptable At All'

President Donald Trump didn't mince words. Speaking to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Oct. 31, he called it unacceptable that former U.S. Attorney Alina Habba Mildon inked a $50 million multi-year contract while still serving in the Department of Justice. He called the arrangement totally obnoxious, outrageous, and, flatly, not acceptable at all.

The firestorm traces back to a New York Times report published earlier that week. According to the Times, Mildon was offered a contract by the family of Venezuelan banker Julio Herrera Velutini guaranteeing more than $50 million, structured as $10 million per year plus bonuses spread across four years. She signed with the family company, Concord Partners, in late October 2025, the report says.

Herrera's legal history is tangled into the story. He was facing U.S. felony bribery charges before striking a plea deal in August 2025 that dropped things to a misdemeanor. Trump later pardoned him, signing the pardon on Jan. 20, 2026.

Mildon's government tenure overlapped with the Concord arrangement, per the Times. She held onto her acting U.S. attorney role until Dec. 8, 2025, resigning only after a court disqualified her from the post. The same day, she was appointed a senior adviser to the attorney general. She began working at Concord on Jan. 1, 2026, and was still advising the attorney general at that point, the report said. Trump told reporters he had spoken with Mildon directly and said he did not want her to be paid, calling the whole situation terrible and the contract far too generous.

Mildon isn't taking it quietly. She blasted the coverage as a hit piece by an activist journalist, writing on X on Oct. 20 that she has simply gone back to being a lawyer after leaving public service. Any insinuation that her employment, which she said was vetted and disclosed to the DOJ, had anything to do with securing a pardon is false and defamatory, she said.

She doubled down the next day. In an Oct. 21 post, Mildon wrote that she was never paid to secure a pardon, never met with anyone at the White House or DOJ about one, and has never done any work in any capacity whatsoever for a pardon for anyone. She has also previously said she played no role in Herrera's pardon. For now, the contract stands, the denials stand, and Trump's disapproval is on the record.