Katie Wiles, daughter of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, works at Continental Strategy, a US lobbying firm that signed a $35,000-a-month contract to represent Republika Srpska, the Balkan entity at the center of a new White House conflict of interest dispute. The firm says Katie Wiles visited Republika Srpska in connection with a different contract and has never lobbied US officials on behalf of the enclave. In September, Susie Wiles met Željka Cvijanović, a Serb member of Bosnia's tripartite presidency, at the White House, a meeting arranged by Continental Strategy partner Alex Garcia.
Garcia, who was registered to lobby for Republika Srpska, was the only firm representative to interact with the US government regarding the entity. Separately, Trump aides Chris La Civita and James Blair were paid for election advice to Republika Srpska ahead of recent Bosnian elections, prompting Trump to distance himself and threaten termination if conflicts exist. Republika Srpska has spent hundreds of thousands on pro-Trump lobbyists to lift sanctions on political figures and re-examine the Dayton peace accords.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing