Thomas E. Garrett

Since Alina Habba burst into the Oval Office accusing Ric Grenell of stealing funds her husband had allocated for a donation to the Kennedy Center, here’s what we’ve learned. — That the funds weren’t from her husband but from the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and they were sent to Texas Armament & Technology, a Houston defense company, not the Kennedy Center. — That Habba had signed a contract worth more than $50 million — $10 million a year plus bonuses over four years — with Concord Partners, a newly formed company set up by the daughter of Venezuelan banker Julio Herrera Velutini. She signed it while serving as acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey, days after the company was registered. Herrera had been facing a U.S. felony bribery case, struck a plea deal in August 2025, and later received a pardon from President Trump. — That Habba’s husband, Turhan Mildon, has a history of claiming close ties to world leaders that people around those governments say he has exaggerated. He has also likely lied about his age: he has said he is 29, while his passport, U.S. visa, and classmates put him at 25. Other claims about his background and marriages are also disputed. Habba was also on the receiving end of a harsh attack by President Trump yesterday, in which he called her deal unacceptable and said he wants the family paying her to stop. One has to wonder if any of this would have been revealed had she not done what she did. Talk about an unforced error.