Trump Criticizes Ex-Lawyer Alina Habba's $50 Million Deal With Venezuelan Banker's Family

President Donald Trump publicly condemned his former lawyer Alina Habba Mildon on Saturday over a $50 million deal to work for the family of a pardoned Venezuelan banker, speaking at a Halloween party at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. Trump called the arrangement obnoxious, outrageous and unacceptable, and said he had not wanted her paid. He said someone had spoken to the people involved and that she used her relationship to get it. Habba, 42, signed a four-year contract as general counsel for Concord Partners, a company started by the daughter of Julio Herrera Velutini, and formally began on January 1. The New York Times reported that Trump told at least one ally the Herrera family should not pay the rest of the contract. Aides and allies said he wanted her to donate part of the money to his future presidential library or another Trump-related entity.

Left-leaning outlets Raw Story and The New York Times lead with Trump's reaction. Raw Story's headline describes an angry Trump trashing her, while the Times headline repeats his words and ties the deal to someone seeking a pardon. Neither excerpt goes into contract terms. The Daily Mail, on the right, covers the same remarks but adds detail: her age, the Fox News interview, Concord Partners, the four-year term and the start date. Its headline and lede say she signed a secret deal without his blessing and behind his back, and it stresses the demand that she hand over part of the money, citing the Times. Both sides agree on the $50 million figure and Trump's wording. They differ mainly in emphasis, with the left on his anger and the right on the secrecy and the donation demand. Alternative outlet ZeroHedge takes a distinct angle, focusing on Habba's claim that Ric Grenell blocked part of a $17.6 million payment, which Grenell denies.