White House probes whether adviser Richard Grenell diverted Kennedy Center donations and offered access for money

The White House has launched a probe ordered by President Donald Trump into whether his adviser Richard Grenell misused donor funds raised for the Kennedy Center and offered access to the president in exchange for money.

According to a text message obtained by U.S. media, a message dated 3 May 2025 allegedly shows Grenell offering Turkish billionaire Turhan Mildon access to the president, VIP events and senior officials in return for a payment. The message said that once funds landed in a company account a donation to the Kennedy Center would be arranged, making the businessman part of VIP events and close to the administration — potentially including the president.

The same message allegedly stated that, because Mildon had contracts in Venezuela, Grenell — who at the time served as special envoy for Venezuela — proposed to make the businessman an American person in that country. Grenell has denied the allegations, calling them lies and absurd claims and denying he ever sent the message or solicited or accepted money from Mildon. As part of his defence he pointed to the message's spelling of the word "center" in British form as evidence it was not his.

How the complaint reached the Oval Office

The matter was opened on 9 October after Mildon’s wife, Alina Haba — a former federal prosecutor in New Jersey who also serves as an adviser to Trump — entered the Oval Office and accused Grenell of taking money meant for the Kennedy Center. Per reports from officials, Haba at times changed the amounts she mentioned, first saying $17 million, then around $6 million; the exact sum now appears to be $5.6 million.

Legal counsel Will Scharf is continuing to gather evidence. He plans to examine digital metadata and the origin of the 2025 message; the printed version seen by investigators contained the same photo Grenell uses on his mobile phone. After initial delays, lawyers for Haba and Mildon provided the White House with documents alleging a transaction linked to software for the private defence company Texas Armament and Technology (TXAT) of Houston and to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Mildon says that on 29 May 2025, following Grenell’s instructions, he transferred $17.6 million to TXAT, part of which was for the Congo deal and nearly $6 million allegedly earmarked for the Kennedy Center. He claims he only learned, after 17 months, that the Kennedy Center never received the funds. Kennedy Center staff have told the White House that Mildon frequently attended closed events, including the vice-presidential box beside the presidential box, creating the impression he was a major donor.

Grenell visited Skopje in August 2024 for a meeting with Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and Foreign Minister Timcho Mucunski; the three also met in New York the following year.

Photo: Vlada)