USA · updated 36m ago · 2 min read
Donald Trump Gave Natalie Harp, Chamberlain Harris, and Margo Martin $45,000 Each in Cash Gifts
Trump gave $45,000 cash gifts to Natalie Harp, Margo Martin, and Chamberlain Harris. The gifts were described as 'cash gifts for the holidays' in disclosures.
Whether ethics experts say the gifts may be illegal.
6 of 8 outlets skipped it: harp was nicknamed the human printer for printing posts.
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CNN
“entirely permissible under relevant legal and ethical standards,” the statement said.”Read the original ↗
The Daily Beast leads with ethics experts saying the gifts may be illegal, while CNN foregrounds the White House view that they are permissible.
Cash Gifts Disclosed
President Donald Trump gave Natalie Harp and two other White House aides $45,000 each in cash gifts for the holidays, according to financial disclosure statements released by the administration.
“President Donald Trump gave Natalie Harp and two other White House aides $45,000 each in cash gifts”
CNN reported that Harp, Chamberlain Harris, and Margo Martin each reported the money as a “cash gift for the holidays” in their annual executive branch disclosure forms.C
The gifts were accompanied by a White House defense that “The President has a longstanding practice of giving Christmas gifts to people in his orbit,” and that the payments “have nothing to do with any of these individuals’ official government duties.”
CNN also tied the scrutiny to Harp’s role in Trump’s orbit, noting she “frequently types the president’s Truth Social posts as he dictates them to her” and that allies dubbed her the “human printer.”
Ethics Questions and Salaries
News4JAX said the disclosures also listed a $20,000 gift to Walt Nauta, director of Oval Office operations, alongside the $45,000 payments to Natalie Harp, Margo Martin, and Chamberlain Harris.
News4JAX reported that Harp, Martin, and Harris make $150,000 annually, while Nauta is paid $175,000 a year, citing the White House’s salary disclosure report to Congress.
The Daily Beast quoted former White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter saying, “He’s clearly trying to make it easier for them financially to work in government service at the White House,” and added, “You can’t do that.”T
The Daily Beast also quoted Office of Government Ethics acting director Don Fox saying, “I would feel somewhere between really uncomfortable and then beholden to the person who gave me such a large gift.”T
Political Scrutiny and Travel
CNN said the spotlight intensified on Harp after Sen. CJon Ossoff mentioned her by name in a now-viral speech attacking Trump, and it described Ossoff’s reference to “travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar.”
“travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar”
CNN linked that scrutiny to Harp joining Trump when he “secretly boarded a smaller aircraft to leave Turkey due to a threat from Iran in July,” and it described Harp as part of the “very limited group” that traveled with him.C
The Daily Beast reported that Harp and Nauta were among the select few who accompanied Trump on his secret flight out of Turkey, and it said the covert move required “first spending time in a catering truck.”T
The Daily Beast further described Harp’s proximity to Trump’s communications, noting she helped him post on Truth Social and that her typed communications included the line “You are all that matters to me,” as published by the outlet.T