- Harp's influence has come under close scrutiny this week after her name was invoked by Jon Ossoff, a Democratic US senator for Georgia.
- A report revealed her prolonged lack of security clearance, drawing criticism of the arrangement among former White House officials across the political spectrum.
- The White House faced fresh questions on Thursday over whether Donald Trump’s closest aide, Natalie Harp, had access to US government secrets without security clearance.
- Former White House officials criticized the arrangement, with a former ethics tsar stating: “It is shocking that an aide who has potential exposure to the nation’s most sensitive secrets reportedly went without a security clearance for so long.”
- Eisen, co-founder of a non-partisan group dedicated to free and fair elections, added: “This is the continued incompetence of an administration willing to set aside our country’s interests, ignore established protocol, and make the White House vulnerable to intelligence risks in order to appease Trump. The American people deserve answers.”
- Harp has reportedly sent the US president adoring letters, helps him write social media posts, and has been dubbed “the human printer” because she supplies him with printouts of favourable coverage.
The White House is facing intense scrutiny over Natalie Harp, a close aide to Donald Trump, who reportedly worked for a year without the necessary security clearance.23
According to sources, Harp, who serves as the executive assistant to the president, refused to file the required forms for unknown reasons. It was only after the White House counsel's office intervened and Trump himself became involved that she completed the paperwork for a federal background investigation, ultimately receiving clearance.
A former White House ethics tsar criticized the situation, stating, “It is shocking that an aide who has potential exposure to the nation’s most sensitive secrets reportedly went without a security clearance for so long.” He described the handling of her access as “outrageous” and indicative of a casual approach to national security.
Eisen, co-founder of a non-partisan group dedicated to free and fair elections, added, “This is the continued incompetence of an administration willing to set aside our country’s interests, ignore established protocol, and make the White House vulnerable to intelligence risks in order to appease Trump.”
Harp's influence has been under scrutiny, especially after her name was mentioned by Jon Ossoff, a Democratic senator from Georgia. She has been known to send Trump adoring letters and assist him with social media posts, earning the nickname “the human printer” for providing him with printouts of favorable coverage.16
The report of her prolonged lack of security clearance has drawn criticism from former White House officials across the political spectrum.
“Harp, dubbed 'the human printer,' reportedly sends Trump adoring letters and supplies him with favorable coverage printouts. A former White House ethics tsar said treating access to confidences as a casual job perk is an outrageous way to handle national security.”
The Guardian
