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White House investigating Alina Habba’s claim that $6 million donation went missing under Ric Grenell’s leadership at Kennedy Center

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Nelson, S., & Christenson, J. (2026, October 14). White House investigating Alina Habba’s claim that $6 million donation went missing under Ric Grenell’s leadership at Kennedy Center. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/14/us-news/alina-habba-accuses-ric-grenell-of-failing-to-deposit-millions-donated-by-her-husband-to-the-kennedy-center/

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New York Post · collected 2026-10-14 · by Steven Nelson, Josh Christenson

Quick Summary

Alina Habba, former personal attorney for President Trump and top federal prosecutor, claims that Ric Grenell, the former executive director of the Kennedy Center, did not deposit $5.6 million donated by her husband Turhan Mildon to the center as intended. The White House has referred these allegations to its counsel's office for investigation following Habba’s report in the Oval Office on Friday. While some administration officials and sources close to Trump believe Habba’s claims, others doubt them, with Grenell outright denying any wrongdoing and requesting proof of her accusations.
Written by AI on 2026-10-14, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

As of October 20, 2026, the White House is investigating allegations that Ric Grenell, the former executive director of the Kennedy Center, failed to deposit a $5.6 million donation intended for the center from Turkish billionaire Turhan Mildon. Alina Habba, Mildon's wife and a former personal attorney to President Trump, reported this in an Oval Office meeting on October 9, 2026. Axios first disclosed that Grenell allegedly promised Mildon access to Trump and VIP events if he wired $17.6 million to Texas Armament & Technology; about $5.6 million was meant for the Kennedy Center but never reached it. The White House counsel's office is now probing these claims, with evidence including text messages suggesting a "pay-for-influence" scheme.

Written for “White House Donations Scandal” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 White House Donations Scandal
Politics · 4 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 19% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
19%
4 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
4
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-14 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 16140 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Steven Nelson
52 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 President Trump’s allies are bracing for legal bills that could reach into the millions as Democrats ready for investigations if they win the Tuesday midterm elections — but the administration is preparing to fight back and has a new tool to drag out proceedings.
🔮 The probe was closed in 2021 by the Biden administration — two years after she entered Congress — after authorities determined the alleged crime was outside a five-year statute of limitations, meaning it would have had to have been charged in 2014 at the latest.
🔮 “They thought they could get away with their crimes.
🔮 WASHINGTON — President Trump on Friday hosted the recently released American inmate Stephen Hubbard at the White House — with the retired English teacher and veteran telling Trump he “wouldn’t have lasted another year” in Russian custody.
🔮 After moving to the more conservative suburban Will County, he requested Republican primary ballots in 2012, 2014 and 2016.
🔮 Vance announced last month that 750,000 enrollees would be booted from Obamacare for suspected fraudulent enrollment, with another 450,000 put under review.
🔮 “We may do another little Epic Fury,” he said at a Friday rally in Fort Myers, Fla.
🔮 President Trump has publicly said that he may renew attacks on Iran following the election. We may do another little Epic Fury,” Trump said at a Friday rally in Fort Myers, Fla.
🔮 “Anybody reporting Voter Fraud in the past Elections, or the upcoming 2026 Midterm Election, will be paid $1,000,000 upon the arrest and conviction of those that created the Fraud!” Trump wrote in a social media post shortly before departing the White House for a pre-midterms rally in Mississippi.
🔮 LaCivita, who co-led Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, and Blair, who served as a deputy chief of staff at the White House until May, likely will still have to pay income taxes on the revenue, which sources said was more than $100,000 apiece. Trump had raged earlier this month after the New York Times reported that the duo, who hold top roles at the MAGA Inc super pac, had taken a trip to back a political party in the ethnically Serbian Republika Srpska, where they advised the victorious ruling party, led by Milorad Dodik, in the region’s election.
Also by Steven Nelson
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 52 articles by Steven Nelson →
Josh Christenson
60 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 “I don’t think he’s gonna get fired immediately, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he was eventually pushed out,” the source said.
🔮 DJT will pardon me.”
🔮 Consular services will resume shortly,” Sienik added later.
🔮 Soriano is currently being held without bond, a rep for the Prince William County Adult Detention Center told The Post Friday.
🔮 Moscow’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said that Putin said “in principle” peace talks will continue after Nov. 10, following a meeting with US special envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg.
🔮 Tuesday’s talks centered on points in a proposal that will be presented to Russia the following day, laying out a framework for peace with Ukraine, security guarantees and “a broader European security architecture,” which could involve Ukraine joining the EU, as well as post-war plans for financial recovery, according to US officials and leaders who participated.
🔮 Given the case is being pursued as a general conspiracy, the evidence will prove useful even if some of the acts fall outside of the statute of limitations. “If you argue a conspiracy, you can allege overt acts in furtherance of the conspiracy that are outside the statute of limitations,” said Neama Rahmini, a former federal prosecutor.
🔮 In December 2025, then-US Attorney Joe Thompson claimed as much as $9 billion in taxpayer funds may have been pilfered from state coffers since 2018 — the same year Democrat Tim Walz was first elected Minnesota governor.
🔮 “I will be transferring from our campaign in New York one million dollars to the state of Michigan to help support you all,” Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) told supporters at an event while stumping for El-Sayed in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula on Thursday.
2026-10-16 · assertive framing · AOC sends $1M to Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan Senate race
🔮 “Our auditors and investigators are zeroing in on this failure, and we will enforce full accountability.
Also by Josh Christenson
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 60 articles by Josh Christenson →

Topics

Axios Mildon The Post WASHINGTON White House

Subjects

Grenell PERSON · 10× Habba PERSON · 8× Mildon ORG · 6× Trump PERSON · 4× White House ORG · 4× The Post ORG · 3× Axios ORG · 2× Alina Habba PERSON · 1× New Jersey GPE · 1× WASHINGTON GPE · 1×

Narrative

A bitter feud has erupted among President Trump’s close allies as Alina Habba, his former personal attorney who served as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey, accuses ex-intelligence director and diplomat Ric Grenell of failing to deposit millions of dollars donated by her Turkish billionaire husband to the Kennedy Center.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-14
🔮 The president, who has sought to renovate the performing arts venue and rebrand it to include his name, referred the allegations to White House Counsel Will Scharf for further investigation.

Claims (21 extracted, 4 hedged)

A bitter feud has erupted among President Trump’s close allies as Alina Habba, his former personal attorney who served as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey, accuses ex-intelligence director and diplomat Ric Grenell of failing to deposit millions of dollars donated by her Turkish billionaire husband to the Kennedy Center. asserted
who → erupt → 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. asserted
Grenell → marry → director
The president, who has sought to renovate the performing arts venue and rebrand it to include his name, referred the allegations to White House Counsel Will Scharf for further investigation. asserted
who → seek → investigation
Habba’s claims were first reported by Axios, whose account of the Oval Office meeting was confirmed to The Post by a White House official, who did not share their assessment of the veracity of the claim, and a second person close to the administration, who believes Habba’s charge. uncertain
who → report → charge
An administration official told The Post that Grenell allegedly convinced Mildon in early 2025 to make a $17.6 million wire transfer as part of a business deal the two were partnering on, of which $5.6 million was supposed to go to the center. uncertain
million → tell → center
The official was unaware of which company allegedly received the funds. uncertain
company → receive → funds
Three additional sources who are otherwise critical of Grenell, however, told The Post they doubt Habba’s claims. uncertain
they → tell → claims
A White House official said they were “very skeptical it’s true.” asserted
it → say → ?
Another administration official said he views Grenell as “crooked” but that the Kennedy Center’s current leaders lack evidence to substantiate Habba’s tale. asserted
leaders → say → tale
A person close to the White House called Grenell “self-destructive” but not “that dumb.” asserted
person → call → Grenell
“She must believe it because it’s really serious,” said one White House official. asserted
official → believe → it
“[Scharf’s office] will get to the bottom of it.” asserted
office → get → it
One administration official said that lawyers for Habba’s husband have provided documentation to the White House counsel’s office. asserted
lawyers → say → office
Grenell, who serves as Trump’s special envoy for special missions, denied any wrongdoing. asserted
who → serve → wrongdoing
I’ve never asked for one cent to be sent somewhere else pretending it was for the Kennedy Center and I’ve never received any payment from him at all,” Grenell said. asserted
Grenell → ask → him
“Make him give proof to what he is saying, not make these absurd allegations.” asserted
he → make → allegations
Axios quoted an administration official as saying that Kennedy Center staff last year sought to find a $6 million contribution from Mildon but were unable to, though a named former center employee who handled donations said they only had record of a $270,000 pledge that was later paid. asserted
that → quote → pledge
Grenell previously served as a Trump emissary to then-Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro, whom US forces captured on Jan. 3 following failed diplomatic efforts. asserted
forces → serve → efforts
Mildon has business interests in Venezuela operating state-owned cement plants. asserted
Mildon → have → plants
After Maduro was removed, interim president Delcy Rodriguez in June canceled Mildon’s contract to run those plants. asserted
Rodriguez → remove → plants
The New York Times reported on Monday that Rodriguez changed course and paused her termination of Mildon’s contract after learning of his relationship with Habba. asserted
Rodriguez → report → Habba
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