‘Access to POTUS for Cash’? Top Trump Aide Ric Grenell Faces Probe

A senior adviser to US President Donald Trump is under investigation over allegations that he offered a Turkish billionaire access to the president and senior administration officials in connection with a proposed donation to the Kennedy Center.

Ric Grenell with US President Donald Trump. (Photo: X)

Ric Grenell, who led the Washington arts institution at the time, has denied the allegations, describing them as “lies” and “absurd”. The White House inquiry, ordered by Trump, is examining whether Grenell abused the president’s trust and misappropriated a potential multimillion-dollar contribution to the Kennedy Center, according to a report by Axios.

According to the report, at the centre of the investigation is a text message allegedly sent by Grenell to Turkish businessman Turhan Mildon on 3 May 2025. The message was provided to the White House counsel’s office by Mildon’s lawyers, along with financial records and other correspondence, sources familiar with the inquiry told Axios.

“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,” the message said.

The sender allegedly added: “We need to make you the ‘American face’ down in V.”

Grenell has denied sending the message. A source familiar with his response told Axios that he questioned its authenticity because “centre” was spelt in British English.

The inquiry centres on a financial transaction involving Texas Armament & Technology (TXAT), a Houston-based defence company, and a proposed deal involving the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo).

Mildon alleges that, at Grenell’s direction, he arranged for $17.6m to be wired to TXAT. He claims the money was intended to be divided between the Congo-related transaction and a donation to the Kennedy Center.

The precise purpose of the Congo deal and its relationship to the proposed donation remain unclear. According to sources familiar with the investigation, a financial record dated 29 May 2025, showing a $17.6m transfer to TXAT, was submitted to the White House alongside the alleged text message and an email referring to the transaction.

However, a White House official said the money did not appear to have come from Mildon’s personal bank account. Instead, it was transferred from the DR Congo’s finance ministry in Kinshasa, where Mildon has business interests and access to financial resources, the official said.

“We’re trying to find out whose money this is,” the official said.

Mildon is married to Alina Habba, a former US attorney for New Jersey who is also a Trump adviser. Habba reportedly raised the allegations directly with Trump at the White House on 9 October, accusing Grenell of misleading her husband into making a Kennedy Center donation that never reached the institution.

She initially put the alleged contribution at $17m before revising the figure to about $6m after speaking with Mildon. The amount now appears to be $5.6m, according to the report.

Habba told Trump that Mildon had waited 17 months before discovering that the Kennedy Center had not received the money he believed was included in the transfer.

One administration official said Habba was animated during her meeting with Trump and exclaimed: “Ric stole the money!”

However, the official questioned whether she had sufficient evidence to support the accusation. “She went in there half-cocked without all the facts yelling about Grenell stealing. And the facts keep changing,” the official said. “That doesn’t mean Ric is out of the woods. This looks really shady.”

Following Habba’s allegations, Trump asked White House Counsel Will Scharf to investigate. Trump and Scharf subsequently spoke to Grenell by telephone, during which Grenell denied wrongdoing.

“There’s no way this is true. This is crazy,” Grenell told Trump at one point, according to a source briefed on the discussion.

Scharf is continuing to gather evidence and plans to verify the digital origins of the alleged text message, a source told Axios. Investigators are also examining the documents submitted by Mildon’s legal team.

Rounak is a journalist with over 7 years of experience covering geopolitic… Rounak is a journalist with over 7 years of experience covering geopolitical and international affairs. He has a keen interest in research and explainers and loves to travel whenever he is not writing. Over the years, he has covered important national and international events, including the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections in India, the 2024 US elections, and done a host of interviews covering multiple areas. View MoreView Less