White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has reportedly convened her closest aides to discuss the involvement of several figures from US President Donald Trump’s political circle in the election campaign of Milorad Dodik and his Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) party in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
According to the British newspaper Daily Mail, the meeting took place in the White House West Wing last Friday after Wiles became concerned about a report published by The New York Times examining the involvement of Chris LaCivita and James Blair in the SNSD campaign.
LaCivita and Blair, who lead Trump’s political operation for the US congressional elections, reportedly travelled to Bosnia and Herzegovina to work on Dodik’s party campaign.
Additional concerns reportedly involve lobbying activities by Wiles’ daughter, Katie Wiles, a partner at Continental Strategy. The firm registered this year to lobby on behalf of Republika Srpska, one of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s two entities.
A spokesperson for Katie Wiles told the Daily Mail that she had not discussed Republika Srpska with any US government official. The White House, meanwhile, said Susie Wiles does not discuss business matters with her daughters.
According to a source cited by the British newspaper, Wiles told aides during the meeting that the White House was not involved in the congressional elections and that responsibility for the political operation rested with LaCivita and Blair.
A US administration official told the Daily Mail that Trump was extremely angry about the situation.
On October 7, Trump addressed the issue in a post on Truth Social, describing LaCivita and Blair as outside consultants working for him. He said they, like other political consultants in Washington, were permitted to work simultaneously with other clients.
However, Trump warned that he would dismiss them immediately if it emerged that their outside engagements constituted a conflict of interest.
The reported dispute has drawn attention to the overlap between Trump’s political operation, private consulting work and lobbying activities connected to Republika Srpska.
