U.S. briefing
Disclosures show Trump gave three aides $45,000 each
Public financial disclosures list holiday cash gifts to four aides; the White House says the payments were unrelated to their government duties.
President Trump gave Natalie Harp, Margo Martin and Chamberlain Harris cash gifts of $45,000 each last year, public financial disclosures show. The disclosures also show a $20,000 gift to Walt Nauta. They describe the payments as holiday cash gifts. For the three aides receiving $45,000, the money came on top of annual taxpayer-funded salaries of $150,000.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said Wednesday that Trump has long given Christmas gifts to people around him, including employees and aides. Ingle said the practice extended across Trump's time in government and the private sector.
The White House argues that the payments were gifts rather than compensation for work. Ingle said they had no connection to the recipients' official government duties and maintained that they were permissible under the applicable legal and ethical standards.