Story perspectives

Campaign Legal Center Urges OGE Probe Into Trump Cash Gifts

By Drooid · Sep 11, 2026, 7:14 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

U.S. President Donald Trump gave three aides $45,000 each and Walt Nauta $20,000 as cash gifts.
Natalie Harp, Margo Martin and Chamberlain Harris earn $150,000 annually.
The cash gifts equal about 30% of their salaries.
Ethics scholars cite 18 U.S.C. § 209, which bars non-government salary supplementation, as potentially violated.
The Campaign Legal Center lodged a complaint with the OGE, urging investigation and possible DOJ referral.

History

Historical Context

The 1978 Ethics in Government Act, enacted after the Watergate scandal, established the independent Office of Government Ethics to oversee financial disclosures for roughly 5,000 senior officials. After OGE fined former Secretary James Watt $10,000 in 1995 for hidden gifts, the agency now faces a case where Trump aide Walt Nauta and three staffers received $45,000 and $20,000 in cash, testing the Act’s enduring enforcement.

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Story summary

U.S. President Donald Trump gave three aides $45,000 each and Walt Nauta $20,000 as cash gifts.
Natalie Harp, Margo Martin and Chamberlain Harris earn $150,000 annually.
The cash gifts equal about 30% of their salaries.
Ethics scholars cite 18 U.S.C. § 209, which bars non-government salary supplementation, as potentially violated.
The Campaign Legal Center lodged a complaint with the OGE, urging investigation and possible DOJ referral.

1 / 2