The Scoop
Continental, a Washington-based law and lobbying firm with close ties to President Donald Trump’s network, helped arrange a recent trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina by two Trump political advisers, three people familiar with the trip told Semafor.
Republika Srpska, whose Russia-friendly Serbian leaders have sought to align themselves with Trump, agreed earlier this year to pay $35,000 monthly to Continental, which would organize “meetings and discussions and establish relationships with key stakeholders in the executive and legislative branches,” according to a Justice Department filing.
Since then, former Trump campaign adviser Alex Garcia has helped arrange meetings with White House officials like Walker Barrett, Jarrod Agen and Richard Walters, according to another DOJ filing.
A White House official told Semafor that Garcia, who was in Republika Srpska around the same time as LaCivita and Blair, also set up a recent meeting between Trump chief of staff Susie Wiles and a Serbian official from the region.
The Balkan trip occurred after Garcia initially reached out to LaCivita, multiple people familiar with the situation said. LaCivita and Blair were there for 48 hours, one source said, to consult on voting equipment ahead of elections on Sunday.
Trump on Wednesday signaled his displeasure with LaCivita and Blair’s trip, which was first reported by The New York Times, amid some intraparty criticism that his advisers aren’t as focused as possible on the midterms. But Trump wasn’t particularly harsh about the trip in private, two people familiar with the situation said.
“If I’m the president … traveling the country every day and campaigning … I’m rightfully annoyed, right?” one of the people said. “With that being said, do I think James missed a second of work? No.”
Two sources said that Trump and Blair had a call following the news, with one calling it “a good conversation.” And while the duo has faced criticism from some corners of the Republican party, others close to Trump are openly defending them.
LaCivita and Blair’s trip focused on election integrity rather than political strategy, multiple people said; this year marked Republika Srpska’s first election using new ballots and Smartmatic voting equipment.
Asked for comment on whether Continental helped organize LaCivita and Blair’s trip, a spokesperson for the firm said only that Garcia was its only employee in Republika Srpska on Oct. 4 as well as its only employee to lobby the US government on its behalf.
The spokesperson added that Wiles’ daughter Katie, who also works at Continental, traveled to Republika Srpska in August for a separate reason: helping a US-based company complete “a feasibility study.”
Know More
Republika Srpska voters on Sunday decided to keep former President Milorad Dodik’s nationalist party in power.
The US last year lifted sanctions on Dodik, who was banned from holding office after violating his country’s peace deal.
The Balkans isn’t the only place Continental is looking to cash in on the administration’s agenda abroad: The firm reportedly took on at least a dozen clients in Venezuela after the US captured its former leader earlier this year.
Republika Srpska, for its part, has signed lobbying contracts worth at least $9 million since Trump was inaugurated in an effort to curry favor with the administration (though it’s never signed one with Ballard Partners, Susie Wiles’ former firm).
So far, it seems to be working: Officials have yet to impose recently enacted sanctions on Serbian politicians despite Congress’ urging.
House Democrats already have a plan, reported first by Semafor, to oversee the administration’s Balkans policy if they win a majority next month.
Notable
- LaCivita has also advised another Continental client looking to ingratiate himself with Trump: Albania’s Sali Berisha.
- Trump this term has embraced a number of foreign governments who have moved to politically align themselves with the conservative or MAGA movement, as CBS and Reuters reported.