Herrera Family Offered Alina Habba $50 Million Deal as Julio Herrera Sought Trump Pardon
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Oct 20
Herrera Family Offered Alina Habba $50 Million Deal as Julio Herrera Sought Trump Pardon
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Oct 20
Summary
$50 million over four years was guaranteed to Alina Habba by the Herrera family to become general counsel of Concord Partners, a Florida company set up by Julio Herrera Velutini's daughter in late October 2025.
Julio Herrera Velutini was pursuing a presidential pardon to erase the stain of an August 2025 plea deal that reduced U.S. bribery charges to a misdemeanor campaign finance conviction.
Habba finalized the deal days after Concord Partners was registered, even as she was serving as a senior adviser to Attorney General Pam Bondi and overseeing U.S. attorneys at the Justice Department.
The family's pardon push had already included lawyer Christopher Kise, a former Trump legal adviser, and a $3.5 million super PAC donation from Herrera's U.S.-citizen daughter, but clemency had remained out of reach.
Can immense wealth and strategic legal contracts legally erase a billionaire's criminal record through the federal pardon process?
"The $50 Million Pardon: Foreign Influence, Legal Loopholes, and the Transformation of Executive Clemency"
Overview
This report uncovers how billionaire banker Julio Herrera Velutini, after being indicted for bribery in 2022, sought a presidential pardon through a series of strategic financial moves. Following Donald Trump’s 2024 election win, Herrera’s daughter Isabela made $3.5 million in donations to a pro-Trump super PAC and pledged $2.5 million to a White House project. She also created a company that hired Alina Habba, a senior DOJ adviser, on a $50 million contract. Shortly after these actions, Trump granted Herrera a full pardon in January 2026. The full sequence of these financial and legal maneuvers was revealed in October 2026.