President Trump gave three White House aides $45,000 each as holiday bonuses last Christmas, according to financial disclosures released by the administration.

The payments, described in the disclosures as “cash gifts for the holidays,” were awarded to senior aide Natalie Harp, communications adviser Margo Martin and administrative assistant Chamberlain Harris.

Martin, 31, helps document Trump’s daily activities for social media, while Harris, 26, serves as the president’s administrative assistant.

Each $45,000 payment was equivalent to nearly one-third of the aides’ annual White House salaries of $150,000, according to an annual report submitted to Congress.

Richard Painter, who served as the White House’s chief ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush and is a prominent Trump critic, claimed the payments appeared to violate federal law prohibiting outside sources from supplementing the salaries of government employees.

The White House did not immediately respond to the concerns raised over the bonuses.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)