Public Trust Tracker

INV-027 · Money & ethics · Pardons

Herrera pardon: daughter's $3.5M to MAGA Inc. and Habba's $50M contract

Stage 2 of 5: Inquiry · Letters and records requests · Last development 20 Oct 2026

Venezuelan-Italian banker Julio Herrera Velutini was indicted in August 2022 with former Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced over an alleged scheme to fund her campaign in exchange for replacing a banking regulator; in 2025 the Justice Department let the defendants resolve the case with misdemeanor campaign-finance pleas, which the judge called 'a mere slap on the wrist.' His daughter Isabela Herrera gave $2.5 million to the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. on 31 Dec 2024 and $1 million in July 2025, and Trump pardoned Herrera Velutini in January 2026. The Campaign Legal Center has filed an FEC complaint alleging the contributions were his money given in her name, which would be an illegal foreign-national and straw-donor contribution. The New York Times reported in October 2026 that Isabela Herrera's new company hired Alina Habba, Trump's former personal lawyer and then a Justice Department official, as general counsel on a contract guaranteeing her more than $50 million over four years, starting two weeks before the pardon.

News outlets and CLC report the timing. The FEC complaint is an allegation and the FEC has made no finding. No official finding links the contributions to the plea deal or the pardon. The White House calls the case a political prosecution. The Washington Post says its donor-list reporting does not establish a connection between gifts and government actions. No official finding links Habba's contract to the pardon; Habba, the Justice Department and the White House deny any connection.

Donald TrumpAlina Habba
People
Julio Herrera Velutini, Isabela Herrera, Alina Habba, Wanda Vázquez Garced, Mark Rossini, Donald Trump
Agencies
White House, Justice Dept
Reviewed by
FEC complaint (CLC)

Money involved

  • $3.5 million Isabela Herrera to MAGA Inc. (Donations from people with business before the government) [5]
  • $2.5 million Isabela Herrera's ballroom commitment ($835,000 paid by Oct 2025) (Donations from people with business before the government) [11]
  • $50 million Alina Habba's Concord Partners contract value (guaranteed over four years, per NYT); pay to a lawyer, not a gift (Other amounts, not totaled, estimate) [12]

Timeline

  1. The New York Times reports that people familiar with Habba's contract believed she was brought in to help with Herrera Velutini's push for a pardon and were surprised by the size of the pay. [13]

  2. Isabela Herrera is among 14 ballroom donors Sen. Blumenthal writes to, asking who solicited the gift and about her lobbying contacts; answers due 30 October. [14]

  3. Campaign Legal Center files an FEC complaint against Herrera Velutini and Isabela Herrera alleging the $3.5 million was his money given in her name (52 U.S.C. 30121 and 30122). [5]

  4. The judge dismisses the case following the pardon, according to a press release from his lawyers. [7]

  5. DOJ list shows an amended pardon covering 'contribution by a foreign national', the offense he pleaded guilty to. [4]

  6. Trump grants Herrera Velutini a full pardon for the original conspiracy, bribery and honest-services wire fraud charges (DOJ clemency list). The pardon was reported on 16 Jan. [4]

  7. Habba formally starts work for Concord Partners, two weeks before the pardon (per the New York Times). [13]

  8. Isabela Herrera registers Concord Partners in Florida in late October. Within days Alina Habba, Trump's former personal lawyer and then a Justice Department official, agrees to become its general counsel for $10 million a year for four years plus bonuses, more than $50 million guaranteed, according to the New York Times. The Times says the company has no public profile. [12]

  9. Isabela Herrera commits $2.5 million to the White House ballroom and pays $835,000 on 14 Oct 2025, months before Trump pardons her father in January (per the Washington Post's donor list). [11]

  10. Herrera Velutini, Vázquez Garced and Rossini plead guilty to a Federal Election Campaign Act violation (contribution by a foreign national). [3]

  11. Isabela Herrera gives another $1 million to MAGA Inc. (date per FEC complaint; news reports say 'late July', after the most serious charges were dropped). [5]

  12. After the Justice Department agreed to drop the felony indictment in favor of misdemeanor campaign-finance pleas, Judge Silvia Carreño-Coll signs off, writing that the defendants now face 'a mere slap on the wrist' after following 'directives presumably issued by Main Justice.' [1]

  13. Isabela Herrera, his daughter, gives $2.5 million to MAGA Inc. NOTUS reported this made her the super PAC's second-largest donor that cycle. Her only earlier federal contribution was $20 in 2020. [2]

  14. Herrera Velutini, Vázquez Garced and ex-FBI agent Mark Rossini indicted on conspiracy, bribery and wire-fraud charges. Prosecutors alleged $300,000 in campaign support in exchange for replacing Puerto Rico's financial institutions commissioner. [1]

Responses

  • White House official (anonymous): Called it 'an example of political prosecution' and said the investigation of Vázquez began 10 days after she endorsed Trump in 2020. [6]
  • Herrera Velutini's lawyers (Chris Kise, William Stellmach, Lily Ann Sánchez): Said he is deeply grateful to Trump for the pardon and that the pardon voids the plea and requires dismissal. When the felony charges were dropped, his attorney said the 'evidence did not support those allegations.' [7]
  • Isabela Herrera: Did not respond to a New York Times request for comment, as quoted by Election Law Blog. No response to the CLC complaint was found. [8]
  • Alina Habba: Denies any role in the pardon; says her job was disclosed to and approved by the Justice Department and that she was a "special government employee" when she signed. [13]
  • Justice Department: Said Habba never discussed a pardon with anyone. [12]
  • White House official: Said Habba played no role, pointing to the pardon review run by the White House Counsel's Office and the Justice Department. [12]

Who is acting on it

  • Charges Federal prosecutors in Puerto Rico (2022): Bribery and fraud indictment (Aug 2022, What happened next)
  • Complaint Campaign Legal Center: FEC complaint that the $3.5M was given in his daughter's name (17 Feb 2026, No reply or result recorded yet)
  • Letter Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT): Asked Isabela Herrera, among 14 newly revealed ballroom donors, who solicited her gift and for her lobbying contacts; answers due 30 Oct 2026 (20 Oct 2026, No reply or result recorded yet)

Sources

  1. Bloomberg Law, 9 Jul 2025
  2. NOTUS (Washington Sun), 16 Jan 2026
  3. AP via SRN News, 27 Aug 2025
  4. DOJ Office of the Pardon Attorney, clemency grants 2025-present
  5. CLC FEC complaint, 17 Feb 2026
  6. NBC News (via Yahoo), Jan 2026
  7. Press release from Herrera Velutini's lawyers (PR Newswire, Spanish), 29 Jan 2026
  8. Election Law Blog (quoting NYT), 17 Jan 2026
  9. Law&Crime, 18 Feb 2026
  10. AP via ABC7, 16 Jan 2026
  11. Washington Post via Spokesman-Review, 15 Oct 2026
  12. New York Times via Raw Story, 20 Oct 2026
  13. New York Times via Alternet, 20 Oct 2026
  14. Sen. Blumenthal press release, 21 Oct 2026

Cite this case

Public Trust Tracker. "Herrera pardon: daughter's $3.5M to MAGA Inc. and Habba's $50M contract" (INV-027). Last updated 20 Oct 2026. https://publictrusttracker.org/case/inv-027-herrera-pardon-daughters-3-5m-to-maga-inc-and-habbas-50m/

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