Alina Haba Mildon signed lucrative contract while working at Justice Department before President Trump pardoned banks
Published November 1, 2026
US President Donald Trump criticized one of his former lawyers for striking a deal worth more than $50 million with the family of a Venezuelan banker who Trump later pardoned.
Alina Haba Mildon reportedly signed this lucrative contract while working as a federal prosecutor and then began working for the banker’s family while employed as a consultant at the U.S. Department of Justice.
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“I thought it was completely disgusting and outrageous. It’s unacceptable,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Saturday.
“It’s completely unacceptable,” he added.
According to the New York Times, in October 2025, Habba Mildon signed a four-year contract with a company owned by the family of Julio Herrera Bertini, a Venezuelan banker who had sought a presidential pardon.
Herrera is accused of bribing former Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez Garcedo in exchange for the removal of financial regulators who were investigating his bank. He had been indicted on federal bribery charges in the United States before reaching a plea deal with prosecutors in August 2025.
Hava Mildon’s contract with her family’s company guaranteed more than $50 million over four years, including a $10 million annual salary and bonuses.
When she signed the contract, Haba Mildon was the acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey, and President Trump appointed her to the position after working as his personal attorney.
She resigned from the position in December after a court ruled she was legally unable to hold the position. She then quickly took another job at the Department of Justice as a senior adviser to the attorney general.
On January 1, Haba Mildon officially began working for the banker’s family, although he was still employed by the Ministry of Justice.
Two weeks later, on January 15, President Trump granted Herrera a full presidential pardon.
The deal raises questions about potential conflicts of interest, given Hava Mildon’s government positions and ties to Trump.
The company that hired her, Concord Partners, has not been made public and its business activities remain unclear, according to The New York Times.
Haba Mildon denied having any role in securing Herrera’s pardon.
She said last week that she had never been paid to obtain a pardon, had never discussed a pardon with anyone at the White House or the Justice Department, and had never worked to obtain a pardon for anyone.
President Trump was reportedly furious when he learned the amount of her contract.
The New York Times reported that he told aides and allies that Hubba Mildon should donate some of the funds to a future presidential library or another Trump-related organization.
He also reportedly told at least one ally that Herrera’s family should stop paying the remainder of his contract.
In a speech on Saturday, President Trump said he told Hubba Mildon he did not want her to be paid and described the situation as “horrible.”
The Justice Department did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
