Susie Wiles' Daughter Photographed With Rifle in Dodik's Bosnia as Her Firm Lobbies for the Region

A photo circulating on social media shows Katie Wiles, the daughter of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, holding a rifle in Republika Srpska, the Serb-led, semi-autonomous territory inside Bosnia and Herzegovina. The territory is led by the pro-Russia strongman Milorad Dodik. CBS News Confirmed verified that the image shows Wiles and was taken in Republika Srpska.

Conservative Albanian American activist Evi Kokalari first posted the image on X and said it was taken in August. It shows Wiles beside Željko Budimir, the interior minister of the Republika Srpska administration. It appears to be a screenshot of her Instagram story, captioned "mostly work + some serious fun!" CBS based its verification on satellite imagery, earlier posts from the shooting range and the position of the sun, which indicates summer.

Katie Wiles is a partner at Continental Strategy, a Washington lobbying firm. A spokesperson said she visited the country for two days in mid-August on business for another client, a U.S. company conducting a feasibility study in the region. The spokesperson said Wiles "has not spoken with any United States Government official regarding Srpska." CBS has asked the firm to name the company.

Foreign Agent Registration Act filings reviewed by CBS show that Continental Strategy registered in early 2026 to lobby for Republika Srpska. Another filing lists Alejandro Garcia, a former deputy political director for Trump's campaign and a Continental partner, as a consultant for the territory. Garcia attended Bosnia's October 4 election day. A White House official said Susie Wiles met Željka Cvijanović, a close Dodik ally, last month, and that Garcia arranged the meeting. The official added, "Susie does not discuss work matters with her daughters."

The New York Times reported on October 6 that James Blair and Chris LaCivita, two Republican strategists involved in the midterm effort, spent part of the previous week in Bosnia helping Dodik's party campaign. On October 7, Trump said on Truth Social that he did not "have any idea" who they worked for and would fire them if there was a conflict. Later that day he softened his stance, calling them "independent people" who "don't work for me."

CBS also reported that a U.S. firm linked to Trump associates is involved in an energy project in Bosnia worth more than $1.5 billion. House Democrats released a report last month accusing the administration of lifting sanctions on Dodik to benefit Trump allies. The firm, AAFS Infrastructure & Energy, was incorporated in the United States last year. It is headed by Jesse Binnall, Trump's former personal attorney, and Joseph Flynn, the brother of Gen. Michael Flynn, and it is tied to a gas pipeline between Bosnia and Croatia. Filings show Michael Flynn worked as a paid lobbyist for Republika Srpska in October 2025, the month sanctions on Dodik were lifted. Within six months, Dodik's party, which holds veto power in Bosnia's legislature, dropped its opposition, and parliament named AAFS lead developer of the project.

Dodik is a Serbian secessionist who critics say has undermined the 1995 Dayton Accords that ended the Bosnian war. A Sarajevo court convicted him last year of failing to comply with the peace accords, and he was removed from office and barred from politics. The White House declined to comment on the pipeline. An administration official said the sanctions were lifted to prevent instability in the Balkans and described the policy as "pragmatic, farseeing foreign policy."