Trump Demands a Cut of Alina Habba's $50M Pardon Deal

The New York Times reports that Mildon, Trump’s former personal lawyer who has held multiple jobs with his administration, inked the lucrative deal with a company started by the daughter of Julio Herrera Velutini, a Venezuelan national who was looking for a presidential pardon. Trump was angered by the size of Mildon’s contract, and said that she should donate some of that money to his presidential library or another entity related to him, according to the Times.

Trump even told one of his confidants that the Herrera family shouldn’t pay out the rest of their contract with Mildon, the Times reported. He later called Mildon, but it’s not known if he directly told her to make a donation.

What Trump seems to be mad about is that he has created a pay-to-play pardon procedure for his administration, where individuals seeking pardons arrange a way for the president to personally benefit in some way in exchange for forgiveness for the crimes they’ve committed. Trump basically admitted as much earlier this month, expressing disappointment over Representative Henry Cuellar staying loyal to the Democratic Party after Trump pardoned him for corruption charges.

Trump has issued many pardons to people who successfully lobbied his administration, spending millions to get the ear of White House lawyers and the president himself. He also reportedly promises pardons to White House staffers, including “anyone who comes within 10 feet” of the Oval Office, according to a Wall Street Journal report from April. It seems he’s mad if anyone close to him is making money off of pardons without giving him a cut.