WASHINGTON — A bitter clash has erupted among close allies of President Donald Trump after Alina Habba, his former personal lawyer who served as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey, accuses former intelligence director and diplomat Ric Grenell of failing to deposit millions of dollars donated by her Turkish billionaire husband to the Kennedy Center.
Habba, 42, married Turhan Mildon, 29, last month. In the Oval Office on Friday, she told Trump that Grenell had not deposited the $5.6 million that Mildon had donated to the center, which Grenell led until March as executive director.
The president, who has sought to revamp the performing arts institution and change its name to include his own, referred the allegations to White House counsel Will Scharf for further investigation.
Habba’s claims were first reported by Axios. The outlet’s account of the Oval Office meeting was confirmed to The Post by a White House official, who declined to comment on the veracity of the claims, and by a second person in the administration who believed Habba’s allegations.
However, three other sources, who are otherwise critical of Grenell, told The Post they doubt the veracity of Habba’s claims.
A White House official said he was “very skeptical that this is true.” Another administration official said he considers Grenell to be “corrupt,” but added that the current leadership of the Kennedy Center has no evidence to substantiate Habba’s claims. A person close to the White House described Grenell as “self-destructive” but not “that stupid”.
“She has to believe it, because it’s really, really serious,” a White House official said. “Scharf’s office will get the truth out to the end.”
An administration official said lawyers for Habba’s husband have submitted documents to the White House counsel’s office.
Grenell, who serves as Trump’s special envoy for special missions, denied any wrongdoing.
“Absurd. I never asked for one cent to be sent anywhere else, claiming it was for the Kennedy Center, and I never received any payment from him,” Grenell said.
“Let him produce evidence for what he is saying, instead of making these absurd accusations.”
Axios quoted an administration official as saying that last year, Kennedy Center staff tried to find a $6 million contribution from Mildon, but were unsuccessful. However, an unnamed former employee who handled donations at the center said his records only showed a pledge of $270,000 in donations, which was then paid.
Although they were once on friendly terms, the exact reason that led to the breakdown of relations between Grenell and Habba remains unclear.
Grenell previously served as Trump’s representative to then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom US forces captured on January 3 after diplomatic efforts failed. Mildon has business interests in Venezuela, where it operates a state-owned cement plant.
After Maduro left power, interim president Delcy Rodríguez canceled Mildon’s contract to manage these factories in June. The New York Times reported on Monday that Rodríguez reversed course and suspended the decision to terminate Mildon’s contract after learning of his relationship with Habba.
