James Blair and Chris LaCivita did not break the law by taking paid consulting work in the Balkans, according to legal experts cited by POLITICO on Tuesday, even as the White House reportedly bristled at not being told in advance about the trips.
The two Trump advisers, Blair a former deputy White House chief of staff and LaCivita the co-manager of President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign, were reportedly each paid hundreds of thousands of dollars through a Washington law firm for a few days of consulting in Republika Srpska, a Serb territory within Bosnia and Herzegovina. The work drew headlines after The Guardian reported that Trump distanced himself from the pair, saying he did not have “any idea who else they work for.”
No FARA registration required for foreign campaign work
The legal question centers on the Foreign Agents Registration Act, a transparency law covering foreign efforts to influence American public opinion and policymakers. According to POLITICO, the Justice Department issued an advisory opinion in 2010 stating plainly that political consultants working on foreign elections do not need to register as foreign agents.
“This is actually the inverse of a FARA issue,” said Matthew Sanderson, who leads the political law group at Caplin & Drysdale.
Joshua Rosenstein, a partner at Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock who advises clients on FARA compliance, said the practice is nothing new and has never drawn Justice Department concern.
“This has come up for generations, where you have both Democratic and Republican political consultants who are good at what they do here and then a foreign party or foreign candidates wants to hire them to essentially replicate the work abroad,” Rosenstein told POLITICO. “To my knowledge [the Justice Department] has never cared.”
Consultants from both parties sell their skills overseas
The cross-border consulting trade is bipartisan. Republican pollster Frank Luntz's website highlights election consulting and commentary in more than two dozen countries. Jim Messina, one of former President Barack Obama's top strategists, has worked on campaigns in the United Kingdom, Spain, Argentina, Mexico and Italy.
LaCivita is no stranger to the region. He previously advised Albanian conservative opposition leader Sali Berisha ahead of that country's May 2025 parliamentary elections, alongside one-time Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. LaCivita's firm, Advancing Strategies, was paid more than $1.6 million for the Albanian work, according to the Times.
Democrats have tried to turn the Balkan trips into a political story. CBS News reported on FARA filings showing that Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser, worked as a paid lobbyist for Republika Srpska in October 2025. Yahoo News reported that Democrats are casting the episode as a “pay for play” scheme tied to a Balkan gas project. So far, no evidence has surfaced of any legal violation by Blair or LaCivita.
E15 push lands in Iowa with full-page ads
Closer to home, the Renewable Fuels Association is pressing its case for year-round E15 sales with full-page ads that ran over the weekend in 14 major newspapers, including the Des Moines Register, The Minnesota Star Tribune and The Kansas City Star. The trade group is urging voters to call on candidates to back the fuel blend as a way to ease high gas prices.
The House passed a bipartisan bill allowing year-round E15 sales in May, but the Senate has not taken it up amid a fight between small oil refinery and agricultural interests. The ethanol industry sees the post-election lame-duck session as its best window to finish the job this year.
Two vulnerable Iowa Republicans, Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn, have leaned into gas price concerns to push for year-round E15 in recent weeks. The issue has surfaced on the campaign trail as well, including in the state's high-profile Senate race, where Rep. Ashley Hinson broke with Trump on a Russia diesel deal during an Iowa Senate debate.
New AI super PAC targets four House Republicans
A new Democratic super PAC focused on artificial intelligence, Tomorrow Together, is spending $4 million in four House races this week. The group was created last month by Rob Flaherty, former digital strategy head for President Joe Biden, and Karthik Ganapathy, a former communications director for Sen. Bernie Sanders.
“Our goal is both winning elections, but also figuring out, sort of testing the seeds of the arguments that are going to be important for Democrats as they have to face down this issue in 2028,” Flaherty said. “It's as much an experiment as it is an ad buy.”
The ads target Republican Reps. Rob Bresnahan of Pennsylvania, Juan Ciscomani of Arizona, Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin and Tom Barrett of Michigan. All four backed last year's unsuccessful push to block states from regulating the AI industry, a position the ads attack.
Crypto super PAC backs Ricketts in Nebraska
Fairshake, the cryptocurrency industry's leading super PAC, plans to spend on behalf of Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts in his Nebraska reelection campaign. Nebraska typically votes red, but polls show a competitive race as independent Dan Osborn, a former labor union leader, runs on a populist platform.
The PAC network is funded primarily by Coinbase, Ripple and the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen split from the group just days earlier over its $30 million spend against Democrat Sherrod Brown in the Ohio Senate race.
FAQ
Did Blair and LaCivita violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act?
No. Legal experts cited by POLITICO said a 2010 Justice Department advisory opinion exempts political consultants working on foreign elections from FARA registration.
How much were the Trump advisers reportedly paid for the Balkan work?
According to POLITICO, Blair and LaCivita were each paid hundreds of thousands of dollars through a Washington law firm for a few days of consulting in Republika Srpska.
What is the status of the year-round E15 bill?
The House passed it in May on a bipartisan vote. The Senate has not acted, and the ethanol industry hopes to get it done in the lame-duck session.