NYT: Democratic Party paid consultant Chris LaCivita $1.62 million

2025-11-04 11:51:00, Aktualitet CNA

The prestigious American media outlet "The New York Times" has published an article, which highlights that the largest Albanian opposition party, the Democratic Party, paid President Donald Trump's advisor, Chris LaCivita, an amount of $1.62 million for consultancy during the campaign for the May 11 elections.

Full article:

Consultants who worked on Donald J. Trump's presidential campaigns were paid more than $1.6 million to advise a conservative Albanian opposition party on its strategy for parliamentary elections in May, according to a financial report filed Monday.

In the report, submitted to Albania's electoral commission, the Democratic Party of Albania revealed payments totaling the equivalent of more than $1.62 million to the consulting firm of Chris LaCivita, which helped manage Mr. Trump's 2024 campaign, and nearly $65,000 for polling from the firm of Tony Fabrizio, which has advised Trump's political operation.

The Democratic Party of Albania lost badly in the May elections, despite efforts by Mr. LaCivita and Paul Manafort, who briefly ran Mr. Trump’s campaign in 2016, to position the party’s leader, former President Sali Berisha, as some kind of Trump-like figure.

The payments, which were listed in Albanian currency, came over a period of less than four months, starting in mid-February and ending in late May, according to the report.

LaCivita worked as part of a team in Albania with Fabrizio and Manafort. The agreement raises the possibility that LaCivita’s firm, Advancing Strategies, may have subcontracted Fabrizio and Manafort, which is a standard structure for campaign consultants. The three men have offered their services as a team to other campaigns abroad since Trump’s victory last fall.

American political consultants who win US presidential races are often in high demand around the world, and it is not uncommon for them to benefit from lucrative salaries from foreign campaigns.

LaCivita, who traveled to Albania several times during the campaign to support Mr. Berisha, declined to comment. Manafort and Fabrizio did not respond to requests for comment.

LaCivita and Manafort portray Berisha as the victim of a witch hunt organized by domestic rivals and Democrats, including billionaire megadonor George Soros and the administration of former President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Berisha is facing corruption charges in Albania over a property deal, and in 2021 he was sanctioned by the Biden administration for “significant corruption,” according to a statement from former Secretary of State Antony Blinken. He accused Mr. Berisha of embezzling public funds and using his power to enrich allies and his family.

After Berisha's party lost to the ruling Socialist Party of Prime Minister Edi Rama, LaCivita reinforced Berisha's claims that the elections were rigged.

A recount requested by Berisha's party did not support these claims.