Mr. LaCivita, who appeared with Mr. Berisha at a press conference in Albania this month, said he would not address the Trump administration on behalf of Mr. Berisha or his party.
"I don't lobby," Mr. LaCivita told the New York Times. "I campaign, and that's what I'm doing - very directly."
The full New York Times article:
Chris LaCivita, a Republican strategist who helped run President Trump's campaign, is advising a conservative opposition party in Albania led by a politician who has faced corruption charges from the U.S. 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 a handful of Trump advisers who have pursued political consulting work around the world for politicians who consider themselves populists or immigration critics along Trump lines.
Mr. LaCivita is working for the Democratic Party of Albania ahead of the country’s parliamentary elections in May, when it will try to oust the left-wing Socialist Party from power. In text messages to The New York Times, Mr. LaCivita characterized his work as an extension of his assistance to Mr. Trump.
"I'm exporting MAGA - Make Albania Great Again!", wrote Mr. LaCivita.
The leader of the Democratic Party of Albania is Sali Berisha, a former president and prime minister who is facing corruption charges in Albania 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 allies and his family.
Mr. LaCivita argued that the accusations against Mr. Berisha were politically motivated and added that the Albanian politician's situation parallels that of Mr. Trump.
“It’s a natural fit — to defeat a socialist who is a pawn and puppet of the Soros family,” Mr. LaCivita said, evoking Mr. Berisha’s unfounded claims that Democratic billionaire George Soros is behind the sanctions. Mr. Berisha has indicated that he intends to ask the Trump administration to reconsider the State Department sanctions.
Mr. Berisha has used his party's hiring of Mr. LaCivita to ally himself with Mr. Trump, even though the U.S. president has not signaled support for a preferred party in the parliamentary elections. Mr. Berisha has also sought to distinguish himself from the ruling party by vowing that if the opposition wins, it will not renew Albania's agreement to accept migrants from Italy. (A2 Televizion)
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