Alina Habba-Ric Grenell feud: How $5.6 million Kennedy Center donation claim and Venezuela business ties sparked Trump’s probe

A bitter feud has erupted between US President Donald Trump's allies Alina Habba, his former personal attorney and ex-intelligence director and diplomat Ric Grenell. Alina Habba has accused 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 and told Trump on Friday in the Oval Office that Grenell failed to deposit $5.6 million from Mildon meant for the center, which Grenell led until March as executive director. The president referred the allegations to White House Counsel Will Scharf for further investigation, according to The New York Post.

The growing controversy involves a reported $5.6 million donation, a $17.6 million business deal and competing interests in Venezuela. Grenell has firmly denied the allegations. The White House is examining the claims. The Kennedy Center records reportedly show no contribution close to $5.6 million, while the institution’s records identified a separate $270,000 pledged donation that Mildon subsequently paid. But the controversy is not just limited to Washington DC. Habba, Grenell and Mildon’s dispute is linked to their earlier relationship and shared connections to Venezuela, where Mildon had business interests and Grenell had pursued a diplomatic role under Trump.

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How the $5.6 million Kennedy Center claim surfaced

According to Axios, Alina Habba Mildon raised the issue with President Trump in the Oval Office, claiming that Ric Grenell persuaded her husband, Turkish businessman Turhan Mildon, to include a Kennedy Center donation in a $17.6 million business payment in spring 2025. Habba went on to allege that the money intended for the Washington, D.C., institution was instead included in a payment to a private company. Following this, Trump ordered his White House counsel to examine explosive allegations.

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The White House reportedly requested supporting evidence, but the allegations have not been substantiated publicly. Grenell denied the accusations as "absurd" and a "lie.", saying he never asked for money to be diverted or received a payment from Mildon.

Just a few months ago, Grenell was friends with Mildon and Habba. But he was notably absent from their $10 million wedding that was attended by Trump world officials, power brokers and luminaries last month. "This is the ultimate MAGA blood feud," said one Trump world insider with knowledge of the conflict.

What Venezuela has to do with the feud

The feud between Alina Habba Mildon and Ric Grenell has also brought back attention that how did the dispute start in the first place. Grenell and Mildon had mutual interests in Venezuela early last year. The former had advocated for “normalizing” U.S. relations with the country’s then-leader, Nicolas Maduro, and the latter—a Turkish national—had extensive business interests in the country that were threatened by Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s campaign against Maduro.

Last year, Grenell allegedly persuaded Mildon to include a multi-million-dollar Kennedy Center donation in a $17.6 million lump-sum payment for a business deal involving a US company. Habba shared this account with Trump and White House staff, according to two sources. Her lawyers plan to provide documents to support her claim that Grenell asked Mildon to make the donation to a private company last spring.

Mildon did not check whether the alleged donation reached the Kennedy Center. However, he believed it had been credited because the center treated him as a VIP donor. He met Habba there in late 2025.

Habba said she and her husband discovered the issue after their business relationship with Grenell deteriorated. This happened after Grenell lost an internal power struggle with Marco Rubio. The dispute unfolded amid major changes in US policy towards Venezuela, culminating in the US capture of Maduro on January 3.

When Mildon told Habab that the donation had been included in a lump-sum payment at Grenell’s request, she went to the White House to inform Trump.

What Kennedy Center records show

However, Kennedy Center records showed that Mildon had a $270,000 pledged donation, which he paid on Tuesday. Officials said they had no record of a donation close to the alleged $5.6 million.

Meanwhile, a White House official expressed they were “very skeptical it’s true.” Other officials said they viewed Grenell as “crooked,” but that the Kennedy Center lacked evidence to support Habba’s claim. Another source said Grenell was “self-destructive,” but not “that dumb.”

Lisa Dale, who handled the center’s finances at the time, told Axios that her records showed the $270,000 pledge but no $6 million contribution. Grenell has called the allegations absurd and demanded proof. Habba and Mildon declined to comment through a spokesperson, Axios reported.