BUSINESS INSIDER
A 20-year Mar-a-Lago employee and key witness in the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump is speaking publicly for the first time, telling CNN that he unknowingly helped Trump staffers move boxes of sensitive records from the Florida resort to Trump’s plane in June 2022.
But the witness’ public recall of his role in the saga could cause complications in special counsel Jack Smith’s case against Trump, a legal expert told Business Insider.
Brian Butler, who up until now has been identified only as “Trump Employee 5” in the federal indictment special counsel Jack Smith brought against Trump last year, went public with his name and recollections in a CNN interview this week, sharing new details about the alleged documents cover-up.
Trump is charged with dozens of felony counts related to allegations that he mishandled national defense information and purposefully withheld classified documents from the government. Walt Nauta, a close Trump aide, faces six counts in the case, including obstruction and concealment, while Carlos de Oliveira, the property manager at Mar-a-Lago, is charged with four counts.
All three men have pleaded not guilty.
Butler, who spoke with federal investigators several times as they prepared a case against Trump, told CNN that he moved 10-15 boxes of records under Nauta’s direction on June 3, 2022 — the same day Justice Department officials were in Florida to meet with Trump and his attorney about the documents.
Butler’s primetime interview offers details not previously included in the indictment and represents a rarity with regards to a cooperating witness speaking publicly about an ongoing case that still doesn’t have a set trial date, Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, told Business Insider.
“If you’re a prosecutor, you can’t force someone not to give an interview, but you certainly don’t like it when your cooperating witness is giving these statements,” Rahmani said.
