Trump privately infuriated by staffers' plot to profit off White House jobs: report

President Donald Trump is presenting himself as out of the loop after a New York Times report revealed that two of his top political operatives took lucrative consulting work for a Russia-aligned government in the Balkans, CNN reported on Wednesday — and is reportedly furious that they have been using their association with the White House for personal profit.

The Times reported that James Blair and Chris LaCivita traveled to Republika Srpska, a self-governing part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, just ahead of local elections there. Each reportedly received several hundred thousand dollars via a Washington law firm that the regional government retained to counsel it on voting issues.

Trump moved to distance himself. On Truth Social, he said he knew nothing about the work and that he'd fire the two "immediately" if there's a conflict.

"They do not work for me, other than as outside consultants," Trump wrote.

But that framing sits uneasily with their roles. Blair quit his White House job in May to run midterm strategy at the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc., which had about $415 million on hand at the end of August. LaCivita, who co-managed Trump's 2024 campaign, advises the group. A CNN reporter said Blair in effect runs Trump's whole political operation from outside the White House.

The disclosure also puts LaCivita's overseas work back in the spotlight. The Times previously reported that his firm collected $1.6 million from Albania's opposition to help former leader Sali Berisha's campaign.

Neither Blair nor LaCivita had publicly responded to Trump's comments.

Trump has been dogged for years by allegations of close ties to Russia, even before the special counsel report detailing Russia's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. The president has repeatedly claimed the whole thing was a "hoax," despite it being well-documented and confirmed by multiple lines of evidence.