Exclusive: White House probes claims of missing Kennedy Center money in "MAGA blood feud"

President Trump has directed his White House counsel to examine explosive allegations dropped on him Friday in the Oval Office: Former Trump attorney Alina Habba told the president that another one of his top advisers — former Kennedy Center leader Ric Grenell — failed to deposit a multimillion-dollar donation that her billionaire husband made to the center a year ago, according to four senior administration officials and three insiders briefed on the controversy.

Grenell denied the accusations as "absurd" and a "lie." Habba and her husband, Turhan Mildon, declined to comment through a spokesperson.

Why it matters: The extraordinary row between the two top-tier presidential advisers and former allies provides a rare and acrimonious behind-the-scenes glimpse into the intersection of power, influence and money in Trump's Washington.

The total value of the contribution in question: nearly $6 million, White House sources said Habba told them.

A senior administration official cautioned that "these are only allegations.

We don't know if they're true.

This could be a misunderstanding." Said another: "POTUS doesn't want to deal with this.

Of course, he's concerned.

But if there is missing money, this is a big, big problem." Just a few months ago , Grenell was friends with Mildon and Habba.

But he was notably absent from their $10 million wedding that was attended by Trump world officials, power brokers and luminaries last month.

"This is the ultimate MAGA blood feud," said one Trump world insider with knowledge of the conflict.

Zoom in: The dispute grew out of a friendship between Grenell and Mildon, sources familiar with the conflict say.

The men had mutual interests in Venezuela in early 2025, immediately after Trump returned to the White House.

Grenell, as a Trump special envoy, was advocating for normalizing U.S. relations with Venezuela's leader at the time, Nicolas Maduro.