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The New York Times article: One of Trump's campaign strategists is helping an Albanian politician accused of corruption.
2025-02-19 11:47:26 / POLITIKË
Chris LaCivita, a Republican strategist who helped President Trump's campaign, advises an opposition party in Albania, led by a politician who is facing corruption charges from the State Department and prosecutors in the country.
Mr. LaCivita, who became an advisor to a pro-Trump nonprofit group after the U.S. presidential election in November, is among several Trump advisers who are providing political consulting services around the world to politicians who present themselves as populists or critics of Trump-style migration policies.
Currently, Mr. LaCivita is working for the Democratic Party of Albania, ahead of parliamentary elections in May, when it will try to defeat the Socialist Party. In messages to The New York Times, Mr. LaCivita characterized his work as a continuation of the assistance he has provided to Mr. Trump. “I’m exporting MAGA — Make Albania Great Again!” he wrote.
The leader of the Democratic Party of Albania is Sali Berisha, a former president and prime minister who faces corruption charges related to a property deal. The Biden administration imposed sanctions on Mr. Berisha in 2021 for “significant corruption,” according to a statement from former Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, who accused him of misusing public funds and using his power to enrich his friends and family.
Mr. LaCivita argued that the charges against Mr. Berisha were politically motivated and suggested that the Albanian politician’s experience was similar to that of Mr. Trump. “It’s a natural fit — to defeat a socialist who is a small player and a puppet of the Soros family,” he said, citing unsubstantiated claims by Mr. Berisha that Democratic megadonor George Soros was behind the sanctions. Mr. Berisha has indicated that he intends to ask the Trump administration to review the State Department sanctions.
Mr. Berisha has used Mr. LaCivita’s employment in his party to connect with Mr. Trump, even though the U.S. president has not shown support for any preferred party in the parliamentary elections. He has also sought to distance himself from the government, promising that if the opposition wins, Albania’s agreement to accept migrants from Italy will not be renewed.
Strategists of winning presidential campaigns have been known to market their services abroad. There is a high demand for advisers with connections to the new US president from foreign politicians who want to present themselves as Washington's preferred candidate, an advantage that can be exploited in many regions.
But Mr. LaCivita, appearing with Mr. Berisha this month at a news conference in Albania, said he would not contact the Trump administration on behalf of Mr. Berisha or his party. “I don’t lobby,” he said. “I campaign, and that’s what I do — very simple.”
After Mr. Trump’s election in November, Mr. LaCivita became involved in many ventures; he accepted a position on the board of advisors of the firm Michael Best Strategies, which lobbies for corporate clients including T-Mobile and cryptocurrency company Ripple Labs, although he did not register to lobby himself.
He also joined the Global Council of Advisors for cryptocurrency trading at Coinbase and collaborates with other Trump-linked advisors, including Paul Manafort, Trump's former 2016 campaign chairman, to provide political consulting services to far-right politicians around the world.
Mr. LaCivita would not comment on the participation of other advisors in the work in Albania, nor would he state whether he has taken on other foreign clients, but suggests that he has traveled widely.
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