Ex-Trump Employee Says He Unknowingly Moved Classified Docs From Mar-A-Lago
The former employee, Brian Butler, is designated as “Trump Employee 5” and identified as a valet at Mar-A-Lago in the indictment against Trump, his aide Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira.
Butler, who hasn’t been publicly named before Monday, told CNN he helped Nauta and De Oliveira transport boxes that turned out to contain classified documents from Mar-a-Lago to Trump’s plane in June 2022, as Trump headed to New Jersey—two months before the FBI seized subpoenaed government materials from the resort.
Butler has already shared what he witnessed at the resort with prosecutors, according to CNN, which reported Butler was told to keep a visit from Nauta secret during a time when Nauta and De Oliveira were allegedly considering the deletion of surveillance footage of a storage room containing boxes of classified material.
Butler told CNN he felt he was put in a “no-win situation” when he was asked by prosecutors for information about De Oliviera, whom he considered one of his closest friends, comparing his legal circumstances with Trump’s and saying the former president’s “witch hunt” comments indicate he “just can’t take responsibility for anything.”
De Oliveira repeatedly encouraged Butler, who is paying for his own attorney, to instead use a Trump-sourced attorney during the classified documents case, according to CNN.
Butler has also provided prosecutors with information on “critical instances related to the disclosure of classified information,” CNN reported, adding Butler informed investigators that Trump once told Australian billionaire Anthony Pratt about classified U.S. and Russian submarine secrets.
BIG NUMBER
40. That’s how many felony charges Trump faces in the classified documents case. His charges include destruction of evidence, conspiracy to obstruct justice and willful retention of national defense information.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
The trial date for the classified documents case has still not been established. Prosecutors are seeking a July date for the trial, while Trump’s team has pushed for some time next year, arguing the former president won’t have access to a fair trial before the presidential election.
KEY BACKGROUND
Nauta and De Oliveira are co-defendants in the classified documents case, with Nauta pleading not guilty to charges including concealing or withholding documents and De Oliveira pleading not guilty to four criminal charges related to an alleged attempt to delete security footage at Mar-a-Lago. Federal authorities say more than 11,000 documents, including 325 classified records, were seized from Mar-a-Lago in 2022. Trump has argued he had the authority to retain the documents at his resort under the Presidential Records Act, also maintaining that as president, he was able to declassify sensitive materials. Trump faces 91 criminal charges across four criminal cases against him, which include federal and state election interference cases and a hush money case set to go to trial later this month.
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