{"id":7511,"date":"2026-10-08T15:37:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T15:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=7511"},"modified":"2026-10-08T15:37:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T15:37:12","slug":"what-were-trump-operatives-doing-for-pro-russian-politician-dodik-in-bosnia-donald-trump-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=7511","title":{"rendered":"What were Trump operatives doing for pro-Russian politician Dodik in Bosnia? | Donald Trump News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A New York Times report has raised questions about what two key political operatives for US President Donald Trump were doing visiting pro-Russian politician Milorad Dodik in Bosnia and Herzegovina ahead of parliamentary elections<\/a> there on Sunday.<\/p>\n

According to sources cited by the US newspaper, James Blair and Chris LaCivita advised Dodik and were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for their work.<\/p>\n

The revelation has triggered a wave of criticism from within the Republican Party. Blair currently runs Trump\u2019s main fundraising organisation, MAGA Inc, while LaCivita is a senior adviser to Trump.<\/p>\n

Blair, who has previously served as Trump\u2019s deputy chief of staff, and LaCivita have not commented on the visit.<\/p>\n

Here is what we know so far:<\/p>\n

Who is Milorad Dodik?<\/h2>\n

The Bosnian Serb is a pro-Russian politician in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He last met Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 29 in Moscow in a notably cordial meeting, just five days before Bosnia and Herzegovina\u2019s general election.<\/p>\n

Last November, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina \u2013 the country\u2019s highest \u2013 upheld a ban<\/a> on Dodik from formally running in this year\u2019s October 4 elections, after a Sarajevo court convicted him of refusing to comply with decisions issued by the international envoy overseeing the country\u2019s peace deal.<\/p>\n

The former president of Bosnia\u2019s autonomous Serb Republic \u2013 or Republika Srpska \u2013 was sentenced in February to one year in prison for defying Christian Schmidt, the German diplomat responsible for safeguarding the 1995 peace accords that ended Bosnia\u2019s war in the 1990s.<\/p>\n

He was also banned from holding political office for six years and stripped of his post as president.<\/p>\n

Dodik nevertheless campaigned for the election. His pro-Russian, nationalist SNSD party went on to celebrate major wins on multiple levels. It won more than 55 percent of votes in regional elections, maintaining its strong grip on power in the Serb-dominated entity of Republika Srpska.<\/p>\n

Dodik has led Republika Srpska since 1998, with brief interruptions. He advocates the secession of the entity, established in 1995 under the Dayton Peace Agreement and its eventual unification with neighbouring Serbia \u2013 a position that has raised fears of a new conflict in the country and the wider region.<\/p>\n

Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina was achieved in 1995 after four years of bloody conflict and genocide against Bosniak Muslims, under pressure from the administration of US President Bill Clinton, at a US military base in Dayton, Ohio. The agreement therefore became known as the Dayton Peace Agreement.<\/p>\n

Ironically, Dodik then came to power with the backing of the US administration, as an alternative to the Serbian nationalists who dominated the political scene at the time. Madeleine Albright, then US secretary of state, famously described him as a \u201cbreath of fresh air\u201d in the Balkans.<\/p>\n

Dodik soon turned against US interests, however, and moved closer to Russia. After Donald Trump returned to power in 2025, he again sought to establish closer relations with Washington. During the 2024 US election campaign, he was seen wearing a MAGA hat.<\/p>\n

He appears to have achieved at least some of his goals. Although he had been under US sanctions for years over his role in destabilising Bosnia and Herzegovina, those sanctions were lifted this year. The Trump administration said the move was pragmatic and aimed at easing tensions in the country. In return, Dodik dropped several unconstitutional laws.<\/p>\n

How did key Trump advisers end up working for Dodik?<\/h2>\n

The New York Times reported that James Blair and Chris LaCivita were hired through a Washington law firm retained by the government of Republika Srpska.<\/p>\n

According to sources cited by the newspaper, each received hundreds of thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n

Documents filed with the US Department of Justice show that Republika Srpska has paid more than $4m since the beginning of 2025 to lobbyists and political operatives linked to Trump for lobbying activities.<\/p>\n

The issue of Republika Srpska using public funds to pay lobbying firms recently also reached the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On September 25, the court ruled that Republika Srpska\u2019s lobbying acts and activities were not in accordance with the constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina as their objectives were contrary to the constitution, decisions of the Constitutional Court or the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.<\/p>\n

Ivana Korajlic of Transparency International told Al Jazeera that Republika Srpska would likely not stop lobbying, \u201cit will only be presented in a different way\u201d.<\/p>\n

LaCivita previously worked as a political campaign strategist for Sali Berisha, one of the most influential Albanian politicians of the post-socialist period, in the run up to Albanian elections last year.<\/p>\n

Berisha is a former president of Albania (1992-1997) and prime minister (2005\u20132013), and is currently the leader of Albania\u2019s opposition, centre-right Democratic Party.<\/p>\n

The administration of former US President Joe Biden banned Berisha from entering the United States in 2021, citing corruption and the misuse of public funds as the reasons. Berisha denied the allegations.<\/p>\n

In June this year , during Trump\u2019s second term as US president, it was reported that the US had lifted the travel ban on him and members of his family, just as it had done with Dodik.<\/p>\n

\"Chris
Chris LaCivita, co-campaign manager of Donald Trump\u2019s successful 2024 presidential campaign, at a news conference with Sali Berisha, leader of Albania\u2019s main opposition centre-right Democratic Party in Tirana, February 10, 2025 [AP Photo]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How have Republicans reacted to Trump advisers visiting Republika Srpska?<\/h2>\n

The news prompted reactions within the Republican Party, particularly because of the timing.<\/p>\n

Blair and LaCivita were in Republika Srpska at a time when Trump\u2019s political operation was focused on the final stretch of its campaign for midterm congressional elections in the US. According to polls, Republicans are not performing well among voters amid the war on Iran, which has proved deeply unpopular in the US.<\/p>\n

Steve Bannon, Trump\u2019s former chief strategist, called Blair and LaCivita \u201cgrifters\u201d and demanded a detailed review of the money they had received, Politico reported.<\/p>\n

\"Then-White
Then-White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair at an \u2018Invest in America\u2019 roundtable with President Donald Trump and business leaders at the White House, June 9, 2025 [AP Photo\/Evan Vucci]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What has Donald Trump said?<\/h2>\n

Trump initially said he was unaware of Blair and LaCivita\u2019s other engagements and that he would ask them who else they were working for. He added that if he found a conflict of interest, he would fire them immediately.<\/p>\n

Later, responding to questions from reporters in the Oval Office, Trump softened his rhetoric.<\/p>\n

Trump said Blair and LaCivita did not actually have a conflict of interest because they were not currently White House employees and, as consultants, are allowed to have multiple clients.<\/p>\n

Why would Dodik hire Trump\u2019s political operatives?<\/h2>\n

It is unclear what Dodik gains by hiring people close to Trump.<\/p>\n

Aleksandar Trifunovic, editor of Buka magazine in Banja Luka, said he could see no concrete result from their work advising Dodik.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t see anything that would allow us to say: \u2018This is what they taught him, and that is why he won the election.\u2019 Dodik\u2019s rhetoric has not changed. It has been similar to MAGA rhetoric for a long time. But it was important for Dodik to be able to say that he had Trump\u2019s people working for him. So what Dodik paid for and what he got was proximity to Trump through Trump\u2019s people,\u201d Trifunovic told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

Trifunovi\u0107 said he views the answer to why Trump\u2019s political operatives would work for Dodik through the lens of the pragmatic nature of the US political system. The American lobbying system is relatively transparent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more money you give, the more support you get,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

However, Trifunovic singled out the relationship between Trump\u2019s political circle and Dodik as particularly significant, given Dodik\u2019s ties to Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main criticism is actually something else: how is it possible that Trump\u2019s people are on good terms with someone who has such close relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin? You cannot be with both Trump and Putin at the same time. That certainly does not have a great future,\u201d Trifunovic said.<\/p>\n

What effect could this have on Trump-Dodik relations?<\/h2>\n

Dodik\u2019s ties to Trump\u2019s political circle have a broader context.<\/p>\n

Miljan Kovac, an editor and political commentator from Nevesinje in southeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, said Trump and the Republicans have given Dodik political space after years of US sanctions imposed on him, members of his family and his associates.<\/p>\n

The lifting of sanctions against Dodik last October was justified by the US administration as a pragmatic move aimed at easing tensions in Bosnia and Herzegovina.<\/p>\n

\u201cDodik was clearly bargaining with the US administration, in his own way,\u201d Kovac told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

On election night, after declaring victory for his SNSD party, Dodik himself spoke about the significance of Trump\u2019s return to the political stage in the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it had not been for Trump\u2019s magnificent victory, we would probably be political corpses today. But thanks to the new environment, we are now political winners,\u201d Dodik said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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A New York Times report has raised questions about what two key political operatives for US President Donald Trump were doing visiting pro-Russian politician Milorad Dodik in Bosnia and Herzegovina ahead of parliamentary elections there on Sunday. According to sources cited by the US newspaper, James Blair and Chris LaCivita advised Dodik and were paid…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t