Alina Habba, former personal lawyer to President Donald Trump, has pushed back against a New York Times report examining her legal work for the family of Venezuelan billionaire Julio Herrera, who was seeking a presidential pardon. Habba dismissed the report as politically motivated and denied that her employment had any connection to efforts to secure a pardon.
The Times reported Tuesday that Herrera’s family had offered Habba a deal worth $50 million while the billionaire was pursuing a pardon from the Trump administration. Habba previously served as an adviser to the attorney general and briefly led the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey before federal courts ruled that she was serving unlawfully.
Responding on X, Habba, who now uses her married name, Alina Mildon, sarcastically described the report as a “Big Scoop.” “After leaving public service, I’ve gone back to doing what I have done for my entire career: being a lawyer,” she wrote.
Habba argued that the newspaper had already credited another attorney for work connected to the matter. She rejected suggestions that her employment played a role in the pardon effort, calling the allegations “false and defamatory.” She also said her legal work had been “vetted and disclosed to the D.O.J.”
She further criticized the reporter, accusing him of deliberately using her former name despite her requests to be identified as Alina Mildon.
“Even though I’ve told this activist ‘journalist’ at The New York Times for each of his many hit pieces on me and my family to refer to me as Alina Mildon, my actual name, they can’t help but do what they have always done- use my old name for clicks,” she wrote. “Intentional, pathetic and obvious.”
Habba also questioned the timing of the report, linking its publication to the approaching election and accusing left-wing media outlets of trying to distract from the administration’s work.
“We are 14 days away from the election – this is just another October surprise,” Habba wrote. “Do not let left wing media distract you from the amazing work this President and administration has done. I know this game all too well.”
The report emerged amid a public dispute between Habba and Trump ally Ric Grenell, the former head of the Kennedy Center. Habba and her new husband have accused Grenell of misallocating a $5.6 million donation intended for the institution.
The allegations have also drawn comparisons to the controversy surrounding Kimberly Guilfoyle, whose nomination as ambassador to Greece had recently been derailed by a separate scandal.
Former Republican Representative Barbara Comstock of Virginia weighed in on the report, criticizing what she described as a broader pattern of alleged political favoritism.
“Pay to play corruption is so rampant with the Mar-a-Lago Mafia you can’t keep up,” Comstock wrote after the story broke.
Habba’s response centers on her denial of any connection between her legal employment and the pardon effort, while the questions raised by the Times report remain a subject of public scrutiny.