A former employee of Mar-a-Lago, who is a key witness in the case involving former President Donald Trump’s secret documents, is going public with his account of what happened before the FBI raid. Brian Butler said in a televised interview with CNN that in June 2022, he assisted Trump aide Walt Nauta in loading ten to fifteen boxes onto Trump’s plane at the West Palm Beach airport near his resort.
Former Mar-a-Lago employee Brian Butler says the American people should hear the truth about Trump and the classified documents case before the election: “The American people have the right to know the facts, that this is not a witch hunt.” pic.twitter.com/WuPPeoX1J2
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) March 12, 2024
The indictment against Trump names Butler as ‘Trump Employee 5’ and mentions him as a valet at Mar-A-Lago. Butler, whose identity remained undisclosed until Monday, claimed to the channel that he assisted Nauta and De Oliveira in moving boxes from Mar-a-Lago to Trump’s aircraft in June 2022 while the President was traveling to New Jersey. As reported by Mediate , Collins questioned Butler, “How secure would you say Mar-a-Lago is?” Butler replied, “Well, I mean, there’s been some very public instances of people sneaking on property. Look, I think it’s secure, but there were definitely a lot of gaps where people could get in very easily.”
BREAKING IT WAS ALWAYS ABOUT ELECTIONS: As you read this, know that it’s from @CNN . CNN just released what they described as an “exclusive interview” with Mar-a-Lago employee, identified as Brian Butler, who reportedly played a significant role in the investigation into Donald… pic.twitter.com/RSg7ppyxhr
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) March 12, 2024
The journalist inquired about who had access to the Mar-a-Lago spaces containing the documents —a ballroom, a restroom, and a storage room. Butler said that he had no idea but that he and others might have obtained a master key to get entry to every place. He added, “I could’ve went and got a master key to all the rooms, you know, for check-ins. I oversaw all the check-ins with the valets, all of that. So, I mean, feasibly at night anybody could.”
CNN reported that Butler resigned from his position as manager and club valet at Mar-a-Lago three months after the FBI search, partly due to a desire to move on. Butler said he has spoken out now with the hope that by doing so, “at least I can move on with my life and get over this.” He described the last year as a ‘roller coaster’ and explained why he made the decision: “Instead of just waiting for it to just come out, I think it’s better that I get to at least say what happened then it coming out in the news, people calling me, like, crazy.”
In the case of classified materials, Nauta and De Oliveira are co-defendants. Nauta has entered a not-guilty plea to counts about hiding or withholding papers, while De Oliveira has entered a not-guilty plea to four felony charges concerning an alleged effort to remove surveillance video at Mar-a-Lago. Under the Presidential Records Act, Trump has maintained that he was entitled to keep the records at his property and that, in his capacity as president, he was also permitted to declassify sensitive information. In four criminal cases total, including federal and state accusations of meddling in elections and a hush-money case that is scheduled for trial later this month, Trump had been charged with 91 counts.