A local political consultant who has served with multiple Jacksonville mayors is now involved in the investigation of former President Donald Trump and his handling of classified documents.
Susie Wiles is now a key advisor to Trump, and ABC News has identified Wiles as one of the unnamed people in the indictment and someone who prosecutors said was shown classified materials.
MORE: Trusted Trump adviser Susie Wiles identified as key individual in classified documents indictment
Top-secret records seized by the FBI from Trump’s Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, included details on foreign nations’ nuclear capabilities according to an indictment unsealed earlier this month that also alleges that he described a Pentagon “plan of attack” and shared a classified map related to a military operation.
Wiles did not return a request for comment on Thursday, but usually, she is not short on words or influence.
She was a key player on former Jacksonville Mayor John Delaney’s staff and also worked with former Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton’s team. She played a background role and helped set policy and get their messages out. Wiles also worked with Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry and helped get Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis elected as governors of Florida.
News4JAX Political Analyst Rick Mullaney knows Wiles well and has worked with her under past mayors.
“What’s interesting with Susie Wiles is that, despite the fact that she’s very smart, very savvy, very experienced politically, she is not someone who seeks a profile,” said Mullaney, Founding Director of the Public Policy Institute at Jacksonville University. “She doesn’t seek the headline, she’s behind the scenes. She’s low, she’s low profile. So when you do see these things, and she is starting to get this attention, that’s usually not her comfort level. That’s not where she wants to be. She likes to be that behind-the-scenes person, the strategic person, the tactical person, but not someone who’s necessarily on the front page.”
New York Times story about Wiles: DeSantis Tried to Bury Her. Now She’s Helping Trump Try to Bury Him.
Lately, after having a falling out with DeSantis, Wiles has been seen with Trump, traveling close by his side during recent events.
Wiles ran Trump’s campaigns in Florida in 2016 and 2020 and is given much credit for Trump’s slim victory in the Sunshine State three years ago.
“Susie Wiles is clearly playing a leading role in the Trump campaign and for the Trump administration,” Mullaney said. “But she’s been on the statewide stage before she’s been on the national stage before she has deep roots in North Florida. She’s very experienced, she goes all the way back to the Reagan White House. Some people forget she was a campaign manager for John Huntsman when he ran for president years ago.”
Wiles was not listed by name in the indictment, but instead was the one described as the “PAC Representative” in the narrative.
According to the indictment, Trump showed the “PAC Representative” a classified map in August or September of 2021 while discussing a military operation that “was not going well” and then added he “should not be showing the map” to her, saying “not to get too close.”
News4JAX did report earlier this year that Wiles did travel to Washington D.C. to testify to a grand jury. It was concerning the documents and not the Jan. 6 uprising at the capital.