WASHINGTON — President Trump’s election advisers Chris LaCivita and James Blair have donated the six-figure consulting fees they earned from a controversial side venture in Bosnia and Herzegovina to Trump’s presidential library, The Post has learned.
A source said Trump was “gloating” and “very braggadocious” in private conversations this week after hearing about the donation, suggesting that his earlier frustration with LaCivita and Blair over their Eastern European work had subsided.
A second source also confirmed that Trump was pleased by the contribution.
Four sources confirmed the transfer. Two of them said Trump learned of the decision indirectly rather than from LaCivita or Blair themselves.
LaCivita, who co-led Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, and Blair, who served as a White House deputy chief of staff until May, will likely still owe income taxes on the earnings. Sources said each man received more than $100,000.
Trump had erupted earlier this month after The New York Times reported that the two men, who hold senior positions at the MAGA Inc. super PAC, had traveled to support a political party in the ethnically Serbian Republika Srpska. They advised the region’s victorious ruling party, led by Milorad Dodik, during its election campaign.
Dodik maintains close relations with both Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The consulting work created the appearance that LaCivita and Blair were using their ties to Trump for personal financial gain while diverting attention from struggling Republican congressional campaigns. Some colleagues, however, said the pair remained involved in US election efforts remotely.
“Chris LaCivita and James Blair are outside consultants. They do not work for me, other than as outside consultants. They most likely have numerous clients, but for that, you would have to ask them,” Trump wrote in an initial Oct. 7 response on Truth Social.
“They are allowed to do work for others, just like all consultants in Washington, D.C. I do not have any idea who else they work for but will, on reflection, ask them and, if there’s a conflict, I will terminate them, immediately!”
Blair, who masterminded a Republican redistricting effort this year aimed at reshaping House districts to benefit the GOP, joined Trump at a campaign rally in South Carolina on Wednesday — another sign that relations had begun to improve.
A White House official told The Post on Thursday that Trump did not appear angry with Blair and was unlikely to hold him responsible if Republicans were wiped out on Nov. 3. The official described their interactions as businesslike and focused on campaign strategy.