politics
The move follows President Trump calling the deal “totally obnoxious and outrageous” and demanding she not be paid.
Concord Partners, the family firm of Trump-pardoned Venezuelan billionaire Julio Herrera Velutini, has terminated Alina Habba’s $50 million contract after Trump demanded that his former lawyer stop receiving the money.
The company cited a “failure to perform duties” in a Nov. 4 termination letter, according to documents obtained by The New York Times. The four-year agreement guaranteed Habba more than $50 million to serve as general counsel.
“I don’t want her paid,” Trump said at Mar-a-Lago on Oct. 31. He called the arrangement unacceptable and said someone had contacted the people behind it.
Concord’s founder, Isabela Herrera, is the banker’s daughter. Habba signed the contract in October 2025 while serving as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey. She started work Jan. 1, 2026. Trump pardoned Herrera on Jan. 15, two weeks later, following his misdemeanor campaign-finance conviction.
“I was never paid to secure a pardon,” Habba said in an Oct. 21 post. She denied discussing any pardon with the White House or DOJ.
The contract is gone. The money already paid is not. The Times reported that Habba will keep an $8 million signing bonus and another $6.5 million—$14.5 million in total.
