The allegations

Axios reports that Rick Grenell, a senior adviser to President Donald Trump, is under scrutiny inside the White House after allegations that he offered Turkish billionaire Turhan Mildon access to the president, senior officials and VIP events in return for a large donation. According to the report, the offer was made last year and is set out in a written message dated 3 May 2025. Grenell has called the accusations lies and denies sending the message. Trump has ordered an inquiry into whether Grenell abused the president's trust and mishandled a possible donation of several million dollars to the Kennedy Center, which Grenell led at the time. Officials say the message is a key piece of evidence, and the review is being run through the office of the White House general counsel.

The disputed message

Axios says it reviewed the message, which reportedly tells Mildon that once the money reaches the company, Grenell will arrange the Kennedy Center gift and Mildon will be able to join VIP events and get close to the government, even the president. A second passage is said to have been written to Mildon in the same 2025 exchange. In it, Grenell reportedly writes that the two must make him the "American face" in Venezuela. Grenell held a separate appointment as Trump's special envoy for Venezuela, a country where Mildon also had business contracts. Axios has not confirmed the message's authenticity, and White House investigators plan to examine its digital files as part of the review.

The money trail

A transfer of 17.6 million dollars sits at the centre of the case. It was sent to Texas Armament & Technology (TXAT), a defence company based in Houston. Mildon's side says the money was meant for two purposes: a software deal in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a donation of about 5.6 million dollars to the Kennedy Center, which never arrived. A White House official, however, said the funds do not appear to have come from Mildon's personal bank account and instead originated with the Congolese finance ministry in Kinshasa. The source and exact purpose of the money remain under investigation.

Transfer to TXAT, Houston17.6

Kennedy Center donation, per Mildon's claims5.6

Transfer to TXAT, Houston

17.6 USD million

Kennedy Center donation, per Mildon's claims

5.6 USD million

Data from the article text

Oval Office confrontation

On 9 October, Alina Habba, a former federal prosecutor for New Jersey who is also a Trump adviser, entered the Oval Office visibly upset. Axios reports that she accused Grenell of misleading her husband into making a donation that never reached the Kennedy Center. Habba is married to Mildon. Reports of the donation amount attributed to her have shifted, from about 17 million dollars at first to about 6 million later. Trump asked White House general counsel Will Scharf to examine the matter. Grenell maintains that the allegations are baseless and that he did not send the message at the centre of the dispute.