White House inquiry probes Grenell over missing $5.6 million Kennedy Center donation

Texts attributed to Ric Grenell allege that he offered Turhan Mildon access to President Donald Trump and administration VIP events in connection with a Kennedy Center donation.

The reported arrangement involved a $17.6 million wire, with $5.6 million intended for the arts venue; the Kennedy Center did not receive that donation, according to the New York Post and Hindustan Times. The allegations have prompted an inquiry by the White House counsel’s office. The text at the center of the inquiry is dated May 3, 2025.

The New York Post quoted its alleged offer as promising Mildon access to Trump and VIP events once money reached a company in the United States. Türkiye Today reported that Mildon’s attorneys supplied the text to the White House counsel’s office, along with an email referenced in the message and a May 29, 2025 financial record showing a wire.

Geo.tv also described the alleged message as offering access to the White House in exchange for a multimillion-dollar donation. The reports connect the proposed gift to a larger transfer involving Texas Armament & Technology.

The New York Post and Hindustan Times state that the $5.6 million was part of a reported $17.6 million transaction; Geo.tv identifies the recipient as Houston-based Texas Armament & Technology. Geo.tv further says the transfer reportedly originated with Congo’s finance ministry, not Mildon’s personal account.

That reported origin raises a separate question about the source of the funds, but the reports do not resolve it. Alina Habba, Mildon’s wife and a former Trump lawyer, brought the missing donation to Trump during an Oval Office meeting on October 9, according to the New York Post, Türkiye Today and Geo.tv.

The New York Post says Habba told Trump her husband had been duped; Türkiye Today describes her as accusing Grenell of cheating her husband. Those accounts report her allegation, not a finding that Grenell misappropriated money. The White House counsel’s office is investigating Grenell’s alleged failure to deliver the donation.

The outlets emphasize different elements of the case. The New York Post foregrounds the alleged access offer and the undeposited donation, while Hindustan Times frames the matter as a possible “cash-for-access” arrangement and notes that an earlier report said evidence had been requested but had not yet been provided.

Geo.tv emphasizes Trump’s alleged order for an investigation and the reported Congo finance ministry origin of the wire. Türkiye Today adds that Mildon’s attorneys provided documentary materials to the inquiry. These differences concern emphasis and reported detail; the sources do not offer competing dollar amounts for the proposed donation or transfer.

Mildon’s reported business interests also form part of the account. The New York Post says he previously described operating limestone quarries and copper, cobalt and gold mines, while Hindustan Times says an earlier Axios report described his interest in expanding business in Venezuela and difficulty doing so because of the U.S. State Department’s approach toward Türkiye.

These details give context to the reported business transaction, but the accounts do not establish a connection between those interests and the proposed Kennedy Center gift. The immediate questions are whether investigators can establish the origin and path of the $17.6 million wire, what the email and financial record show, and whether any portion reached the Kennedy Center.

Grenell did not respond to the New York Post’s request for comment. The reports provide no conclusion from the White House inquiry.