According to financial disclosure reports published by the White House, last year U.S. President Donald Trump gave cash gifts worth tens of thousands of dollars to his aide Natalie Harp and three other close staff members working in the West Wing, UNN reports, citing Reuters.
Details
The media outlet notes that the payments raised ethical questions, since federal employees are generally prohibited by law from receiving compensation beyond their government salaries.
Harp, communications adviser Margo Martin, and deputy director of Oval Office operations Chamberlain Harris each received $45,000; the reports described these amounts as a "holiday cash gift."
According to the White House’s annual report to Congress on its personnel, these payments amounted to approximately one-third of the employees’ annual salaries, which are $150,000. Another aide, director of Oval Office operations Walt Nauta, received $20,000 in cash, according to the disclosure data; his annual income is $175,000.
The Washington Post was the first to report on the gifts on Tuesday.
"A White House employee is not a doorman on Fifth Avenue," wrote Richard W. Painter, a law professor who served as the White House’s chief ethics lawyer from 2005 to 2007 under President George W. Bush.
The White House assures that the gifts do not violate the rules
White House spokesman Davis Ingle said that the gifts comply with ethical standards.
"The president has a long-standing practice of giving Christmas gifts to people in his circle, including staff members and aides — both while working in government and during his time in the private sector," Ingle said in a statement published Wednesday. "These gifts have nothing to do with the official duties of these individuals and are therefore entirely permissible under the relevant legal and ethical standards."
Harp and Nauta are among Trump’s most trusted aides; they are always near the president during extended trips or while working at the White House.
In addition
Harp came under public scrutiny last month when The Washington Post reported that she and Nauta were in a catering van in which Trump was secretly transported to an aircraft for a flight from Turkey to the United Kingdom in July — a measure taken because of concerns about possible threats from Iran. According to a source familiar with the nature of her work, Harp manages Trump’s account on the social network Truth Social: she posts messages on his behalf and helps draft social media content. Colleagues sometimes call her a "human printer" because she frequently prints out news and articles that portray Trump favorably on a portable printer she always carries with her.
Nauta, a former White House valet, faced charges from federal prosecutors alleging that he helped Trump conceal documents marked "top secret" that the Republican president took out of the White House after completing his first term in 2021. Nauta pleaded not guilty, and the case was dismissed after Trump returned to the presidency.