President Donald Trump ordered White House Counsel Will Scharf to investigate whether special envoy Ric Grenell conducted a pay-for-play scheme involving former Trump lawyer Alina Habba and her husband, Turkish billionaire Turhan Mildon. Mildon supplied a May 3, 2025 text message in which Grenell allegedly offered access to Trump and VIP events in exchange for funds. Habba accused Grenell of failing to transfer $5.6 million of a $17.6 million Congo-linked deal to the Kennedy Center. Grenell denied all allegations as absurd lies.
White House confrontation and ordered investigation
- ▪Former Trump attorney Alina Habba confronted President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on October 9, 2026, alleging Ric Grenell stole $5.6 million intended as a Kennedy Center donation from a 2025 transaction involving her husband, Turhan Mildon.
- ▪President Donald Trump ordered White House Counsel Will Scharf to investigate whether Ric Grenell misused the president's trust and engaged in a pay-for-play scheme with Turhan Mildon.
- ▪Lawyers for Turhan Mildon submitted a May 3, 2025 text message, a May 29, 2025 financial record showing a $17.6 million wire transfer, and related correspondence to the White House Counsel's office.
- ▪Alina Habba initially told President Donald Trump that the missing Kennedy Center donation was $17 million before revising the figure to about $6 million after speaking with Turhan Mildon.
Grenell's alleged text messages and offers
- ▪Ric Grenell, while serving as acting director of the Kennedy Center and U.S. special envoy to Venezuela, allegedly offered Turkish billionaire Turhan Mildon access to President Donald Trump, VIP events, and administration officials in exchange for funds in a May 3, 2025 text message.
- ▪Axios reported that Ric Grenell sought money from Turhan Mildon to thaw Turhan Mildon's relations with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding business interests in Venezuela.
- ▪In a May 3, 2025 text message to Turhan Mildon, Ric Grenell offered to support Turhan Mildon's business in Venezuela and make him the 'American face' in Venezuela.
The $17.6 million wire transfer and missing funds
- ▪A White House official stated that the $17.6 million wire transferred to Texas Armament & Technology originated from the Democratic Republic of Congo's 'Ministère des Finances' in Kinshasa rather than Turhan Mildon's personal bank account.
- ▪Turhan Mildon arranged a $17.6 million financial transaction on May 29, 2025, to Houston-based defense company Texas Armament & Technology, purportedly split between a Democratic Republic of Congo software deal and $5.6 million for the Kennedy Center.
- ▪Initial documents submitted to the White House by Turhan Mildon's lawyer regarding the $17.6 million transfer redacted the name of the sender.
Kennedy Center records and donor access
- ▪Kennedy Center financial staffer Lisa Dale searched for a missing contribution of approximately $6 million late last year but was unable to locate any record of the funds.
- ▪Official Kennedy Center financial records list only $270,000 in pledged donations from Turhan Mildon, with no record of a $5.6 million or $6 million contribution.
- ▪Kennedy Center staff reported frequently seeing Turhan Mildon at exclusive center events, including in the vice president's box, as if he were a major donor.
Grenell's denials and defense
- ▪Ric Grenell denied all allegations of wrongdoing, calling them 'absurd' and 'lies,' and stated he never asked for money meant for the Kennedy Center to be redirected or received payments from Turhan Mildon.
- ▪During a phone call with President Donald Trump and White House Counsel Will Scharf, Ric Grenell called the claims against him 'crazy' and asserted 'there's no way this is true.'
- ▪Ric Grenell denied sending the May 3, 2025 text message, arguing that the message spelled 'center' as 'centre' in British English, which he claimed he would not write.
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