{"text":[[{"start":8.16,"text":"Donald Trump made a $45,000 payment last year to Natalie Harp, his executive assistant who has emerged as a key member of the US president’s inner circle, according to financial disclosure statements."}],[{"start":20,"text":"The payment, which the president also made to top aides Margo Martin and Chamberlain Harris, came for the holidays and on top of Harp’s $150,000 government salary."}],[{"start":30.24,"text":"Harp’s standing as one of Trump’s closest aides burst into public view in recent weeks after it emerged that she had accompanied the US president when he secretly escaped Air Force One in a catering truck to evade a feared assassination attempt at the G20 summit in Turkey in July."}],[{"start":46.68,"text":"Her proximity to Trump was then highlighted by Jon Ossoff, the Democratic Georgia senator, who quipped last month on the campaign trail that the president preferred travelling with “Natalie” to governing. The statement triggered a fierce defence by the White House and other Republicans."}],[{"start":62.787,"text":"Harp, who has been dubbed the “human printer” for printing out favourable articles about the president for his consumption, has been repeatedly spotted near Trump since the controversy erupted and quickly came to represent the sycophantic devotion to the president within his entourage."}],[{"start":77.72,"text":"The White House defended the $45,000 payment to Harp, saying in a statement on social media that Trump had a “longstanding practice” of giving out Christmas gifts to people “in his orbit”. The Washington Post first reported the payment."}],[{"start":92.44,"text":"“The gifts here have nothing to do with . . . government duties, and are therefore entirely permissible under relevant legal and ethical standards,” the White House said."}],[{"start":105.92,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1788944513_2346.mp3"}