Susie Wiles’ daughter pictured with Bosnia official amid scrutiny of Trump allies’ Russia ties

WASHINGTON, DC: A CBS News-verified photograph shows Katie Wiles, daughter of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, posing with a rifle alongside a senior official from Bosnia’s Republika Srpska region, a territory led by pro-Russian Serb leader Milorad Dodik.

The image has raised questions about ties between people close to President Donald Trump and the territory’s pro-Russian leadership.

Katie Wiles’ Bosnia photo raises lobbying concerns

The photograph, shared online by conservative Albanian American activist Evi Kokalari, shows Wiles holding a rifle and standing next to a man CBS News identified as Zeljko Budimir, the interior minister of the semi-autonomous Republika Srpska administration.

In a post on X, Kokalari claimed the photograph was taken in August.

CBS News Confirmed verified that the photograph shows Wiles and was taken in Republika Srpska. The image appears to be a screenshot of a story from Wiles’ personal Instagram account, captioned "mostly work + some serious fun!"

The outlet confirmed the photograph’s authenticity by cross-checking satellite images and older social media posts from the same shooting range. The location is in northern Republika Srpska, an area Budimir frequently visits.

Katie, a partner at Washington-based political lobbying firm Continental Strategy, appears in foreign agent registration filings. CBS News found that the firm registered to lobby for Republika Srpska in early 2026.

A spokesperson for the firm told CBS News on Thursday, October 8, that Wiles had travelled to the region in mid-August on business for another Continental Strategy client.

Trump allies face scrutiny over Bosnia lobbying ties

"Katie Wiles visited the country in mid-August for two days with a US-based company who was invited to do a feasibility study in the region," the spokesperson said.

"Wiles provides strategic communications support to this US company and has done so for over two years. Wiles has not spoken with any United States Government official regarding Srpska."

"Susie does not discuss work matters with her daughters," a White House official told CBS News on Thursday.

The photograph surfaced as questions grew over the role of Trump-associated political advisers in Republika Srpska.

According to The New York Times, Republican strategists James Blair and Chris LaCivita had recently travelled to the region to help Dodik’s party with its election campaign.

When asked about the matter, Trump initially said he did not know whom the two advisers had been working for and threatened to fire them if there was a conflict of interest.

He later changed his position, saying they were independent consultants rather than members of his team and that he had no idea who their clients were.

Another Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) filing from the same firm this year lists Alejandro Garcia, a former deputy political director for Trump’s presidential campaign, as a consultant for Republika Srpska. Garcia is also a partner at Continental Strategy.

Susie met with Zeljka Cvijanovic, a close ally of Milorad Dodik, last month. A White House official told CBS News that Garcia, rather than Katie Wiles, had arranged the meeting.

"They don't have a conflict, because they're independent people. You know, they don't work for me," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

"They are consultants and I assume they have a lot of clients. I don't know who their clients are. If I thought they had a conflict here, I would terminate them."