White House Responds To Report About Trump's Jaw-Dropping ‘Gift’ To Natalie Harp

The White House is defending President Donald Trump's newly disclosed cash "gift" to his devoted aide Natalie Harp and other White House employees.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Harp and two other female aides disclosed that they had each received a $45,000 payment directly from Trump as a "cash gift for holidays." The gift amounts to about one-third of Harp's annual taxpayer-funded salary, which a July 1 report to Congress lists as $150,000.

Politics: Trump Addresses Magazine's 9/11 'Lie' Claim In Long, Angry Post

Trump gifted $45,000 to Harp, his communications adviser Margo Martin and deputy director of Oval Office operations Chamberlain Harris. Walt Nauta, who serves as the director of Oval Office operations, reportedly received $20,000.

Richard Painter, the White House's chief ethics lawyer under former President George W. Bush, told the Post that the payments could violate a federal statute that prohibits federal employees from accepting outside salaries. 

"It's not like tipping the doorman on Fifth Avenue," Painter said. "These are U.S. government employees. If you want a job where you get tips, you shouldn't be working for the U.S. government."

Like this article? Keep independent journalism alive. Support HuffPost.

In a statement posted to X late Tuesday, the White House argued that Trump "has a longstanding practice of giving Christmas gifts to people in his orbit, including at times employees and aides, both in government and in his time in the private sector."

"The gifts at issue here have nothing to do with any of these individuals' official government duties, and therefore are entirely permissible under relevant legal and ethical standards," the statement continued. 

Politics: Megyn Kelly Reveals Disgusting New Strategy For Describing Trans People

Harp's working relationship with Trump has fallen under heavy media scrutiny in recent months following the publication of a new book, "Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump." 

In the book, New York Times journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan detail how Harp helps the president draft his often-incendiary social media posts and frequently texts other heads of state on his behalf. 

Meanwhile, Trump and his associates are said to have nicknamed Harp the "human printer," given how she regularly supplies the president with printed copies of positive media coverage. 

Last month, Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) casually name-dropped Harp in a speech criticizing Trump's performance as president. 

Politics: Natalie Harp Repeatedly Declined To Obtain Routine White House Security Clearance: Report

"He doesn't want to do the job. He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the emir of Qatar," Ossoff said, alluding to reports that Harp was among only a handful of staffers to accompany Trump on a secret flight out of Turkey amid security threats. 

Not surprisingly, Trump administration officials quickly fired back at Ossoff, with White House spokesperson Davis Ingle branding the senator "a cringeworthy, feminine theatre kid cosplaying as [former President] Barack Obama."

"Nobody gives a **** what this lightweight loser says," he added.

Related...

Read the original on HuffPost