NYT Says Herrera Family Gave Alina Habba $50 Million Deal Before Pardon
The family also paid Christopher M. Kise and made $3.5 million in Trump-aligned donations as it sought clemency for Julio Herrera Velutini.
- The New York Times reported Tuesday that Venezuelan billionaire Julio Herrera Velutini's family gave former Trump attorney Alina Habba a $50 million contract through Concord Partners, where she began work January 1, 2026; Trump pardoned Herrera two weeks later.
- Herrera faced felony bribery charges in 2022 for allegedly paying Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez to dismiss a regulator investigating his bank; he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor campaign finance charge in August 2025 under a deal negotiated by attorney Christopher Kise, a former Trump lawyer.
- Habba's compensation guaranteed $10 million annually for four years plus bonuses, totaling more than $50 million, while Herrera's 27-year-old daughter Isabela Herrera donated $3.5 million to a Trump-aligned super PAC; people familiar with the contract believed Habba was hired to facilitate the pardon.
- Habba denied involvement on social media platform X, calling allegations 'false and defamatory' and asserting her employment was vetted by the DOJ; a DOJ spokesperson and White House official both stated she played no role, citing standard clemency review procedures.
- Legal observers noted the $50 million arrangement far exceeds the scandal involving former Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle; critics including former Rep. Barbara Comstock described it as emblematic of broader corruption, intensifying scrutiny of Trump pardons involving wealthy donors and presidential loyalists.
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NYT: Oligarch Pardoned After Hiring Habba For $50M
The New York Times reports: Julio Herrera really wanted a pardon. A billionaire banker from a prominent Venezuelan family, Mr. Herrera faced felony bribery charges in the United States and struck an unusually lenient plea deal in August 2025. So Mr. Herrera deployed his lawyer, Christopher M. Kise, the former Florida solicitor general who was … The post NYT: Oligarch Pardoned After Hiring Habba For $50M appeared first on Joe.My.God..
Billionaire's Family Gave Habba $50M Deal Before Trump Pardon
A Venezuelan banking heir Facing Felony bribery charges in the US didn't just hire lawyers—his family also signed one of President Trump's training attorneys to a stunning $50 million deal. The New York Times reports that billionaire banker Julio Herrera Velutini, who pleaded guilty in 2025 to a misdemeanor...
To obtain the grace, his daughter, American citizen, donated 3.5 million dollars to a Super Pac (a committee that raises funds to finance politics, ed.) linked to Trump. But the move had not centered the target. Only when the family hired Alina Habba, who had been one of the personal lawyers of [...] The article USA, 50 million dollars to Trump's lawyer and the billionaire Velutini gets the grace comes from Il Fatto Quotidiano.
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