Trump promises conflict check for two senior election advisers

Donald Trump said on 7 October that he would ask Chris LaCivita and James Blair about their other clients and end his relationship with them immediately if he found a conflict. He described both men as outside consultants who were free to work for others, and said he did not know who else employed them. His post did not identify a client, define what would count as a conflict or say when he would make the inquiry. [1]

The distinction between their contracts and their responsibilities matters. CNN reports that Blair leads the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. and oversees Trump’s strategy for the 3 November US midterm elections, while LaCivita is a senior adviser to the group. Reuters says Trump had chosen the pair to lead campaign operations. Those roles do not rule out outside consultancy, but the consultant label does not diminish their reported political responsibilities. [8] [9]

Trump’s statement followed a New York Times report about work by the two men in Republika Srpska, a territory in Bosnia and Herzegovina, before its 4 October election. As reproduced by Mediaite, the Times reported that each was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars through a Washington law firm retained by the territory’s government for advice on voting issues. A spokesperson told the Times that Blair and LaCivita continued coordinating US campaign teams during the trip, according to Oslobođenje. [8] [9] [10] [11]