President Donald Trump said on Oct. 31 that it’s “unacceptable” that former U.S. Attorney Alina Habba ​Mildon signed a $50 million multi-year contract while serving in the Department of Justice.

“I thought it was totally obnoxious and outrageous, and it’s not acceptable,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. “Not ​acceptable at all.”

His comments were in response to a New York Times report published earlier that week that said Mildon was offered a contract by the family of Venezuelan banker Julio Herrera Velutini, which guaranteed more than $50 million paid out at a rate of $10 million per year plus bonuses over a span of four years.

Herrera was facing U.S. felony bribery charges but struck a plea deal in August 2025 for a misdemeanor. He later received a pardon from Trump.

Mildon signed a contract with Herrera’s family company, Concord Partners, in late October 2025, according to The New York Times.

The report also said that Mildon retained her role as acting U.S. attorney until Dec. 8, 2025. She resigned after a court disqualified her from serving in the role, and she was appointed as a senior adviser to the attorney general that same day.

She started working at Concord on Jan. 1, 2026, and was still serving as an adviser to the attorney general, according to the report.

Trump said he had spoken to Mildon about the contract. He told reporters at Mar-a-Lago that he told her he did not want her to be paid. He also called the situation “terrible” and thought the contract was far too much.

Meanwhile, Mildon has criticized the report, calling it a hit piece by an activist journalist.

“Big Scoop: After leaving public service, I’ve gone back to doing what I have done for my entire career: being a lawyer,” she said in an X post on Oct. 20. “If the New York Times simply went back and looked at their own reporting, they have already credited another capable attorney for what he successfully did without me and took credit for.”

“Any insinuation that my employment — all of which has been vetted and disclosed to the D.O.J. — had anything to do with securing a pardon is false and defamatory,” she said.

Trump signed Herrera’s pardon on Jan. 20, 2026. Mildon has also previously said that she played no role in Herrera’s pardon.

Mildon wrote another X post on Oct. 21, stating, “I was never paid to secure a pardon. I never met with anyone at the White House or DOJ about a pardon. I’ve never done any work in any capacity whatsoever for a pardon for anyone, period.”

Reuters contributed to this report.