‘Pay-for-influence’ scandal involving Trump allies hits White House: report
An alleged “pay-for-influence” scheme has roiled the White House, pitting President Donald Trump’s allies against one another and prompting a presidential investigation, according to a new report.
Trump ordered the probe to determine whether one of his allies misappropriated a major donation intended for the Kennedy Center, Axios reported Monday.
At issue is an alleged instruction from Richard Grenell, the Kennedy Center’s former leader, to Turkish businessman Turhan Mildon last May. Grenell allegedly directed Mildon to wire roughly $17 million to Houston-based Texas Armament & Technology — about $6 million of which would go to the performing arts center.
“Once the money comes to the company here, I will arrange the donation to Kennedy Centre [sic], and you’ll be joining the VIP events and get close with the administration, even with POTUS,” a text message from Grenell reads, according to the outlet.
Mildon’s wife, former U.S. attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba, has alleged that the Kennedy Center never received the donation. Grenell, who serves as a special presidential envoy, has denied sending the text and called the allegations against him false.
When reached by Axios, Grenell declined to comment, though he previously told the outlet that the allegations against him were “absurd.”
“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,” he said. “Make him give proof to what he is saying, not make these absurd allegations.”
The Independent has emailed the White House and Mildon and sought to contact Habba and Grenell for comment.
Mildon went more than one year without learning that the Kennedy Center had not received his donation, Axios reported. A separate portion of the money was intended for a deal in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the exact details of which are unclear.
Then, on October 9, Habba approached Trump in the Oval Office and accused Grenell of deceiving her husband into paying millions toward a donation that never materialized.
But the amount Habba cited reportedly shifted. She initially claimed the donation intended for the performing arts center totaled $17 million; it appears to have been $5.6 million.
“[She] didn’t have all her stuff in order,” an unnamed administration official told the outlet. “She went in there half-cocked without all the facts yelling about Grenell stealing. And the facts keep changing…That doesn’t mean Ric is out of the woods. This looks really shady.”
After hearing Habba’s complaint, Trump summoned White House Counsel Will Scharf to the office and asked him to investigate. The two then called Grenell, who denied the allegations. “There’s no way this is true. This is crazy,” Grenell told them, according to Axios.
Mildon’s lawyers submitted documents to the White House for review last week.
