Brian Butler, Donald Trump (MSNBC/screengrab)
The person known as 'Trump Employee 5' in legal documents and revealed to be the former valet Brian Butler provided more information about his interviews with the Special Counsel’s Office and testimony before the grand jury that indicted the former president. Mar-a-Lago During multiple sessions with special counsel Jack Smith’s office over months, Butler stated that the prosecutors were highly attentive to everything he shared during the interviews and testimony before the grand jury.
Butler, who used to work at Mar-a-Lago, disclosed that he had multiple meetings with special counsel Jack Smith’s office and testified before the grand jury that proceeded to indict the former president. told NBC News Butler described the grand jury room as a dark and cramped space with about 20 jurors. He noted that the prosecutors were deeply interested in his statements during the interviews.
However, Butler mentioned that at least one of the jurors seemed to have fallen asleep during the proceedings.
Butler also shared his voting history for Trump in the 2016 and 2020 elections, stating that he will not vote for him in 2024. He made these comments during an appearance on MSNBC’s “The Beat with Ari Melber.”
This former Mar-a-Lago employee of 20 years revealed his belief that Trump had wanted surveillance footage deleted because he knew it pertained to national defense, and he was aware that the Presidential Records Act did not protect him, during his first public interview with CNN. first public interview Butler, identified as “Trump Employee 5,” expressed his opinion during a CNN interview, stating that he believed Trump wanted surveillance footage erased because he knew it was related to national defense matters and was aware that the Presidential Records Act did not safeguard him.
Judge Aileen Cannon (inset left) (U.S. Senate via AP), Brian Butler, “Trump Employee 5,” appears on CNN on March 11, 2024 (CNN/screengrab)
Butler questioned the need for inquiries about video footage and the relocation of documents, as well as the positioning of low-level staff, in relation to personal documents. He suspected the possibility of a cover-up, based on what he had seen and the questions asked.
When asked if he had witnessed part of a cover-up, Butler acknowledged the possibility.
Butler stated that questions about video footage and the duration of its deletion were part of conversations that Carlos De Oliveira had with another employee prior to the arrival of Walt Nauta on a secret trip.
In his account, Butler related details allegedly shared by Mar-a-Lago's property manager Carlos De Oliveira about a secret trip involving surveillance camera footage and the arrival of valet Walt Nauta from Bedminister to Mar-a-Lago. indictment.
Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira on June 25, 2022, supposedly informed Trump Employee 5 that valet Walt Nauta was en route from Bedminster, N.J., to Mar-a-Lago for a secretive trip related to surveillance camera footage.
“DE OLIVEIRA also told Trump Employee 5 that NAUTA wanted DE OLIVEIRA to talk to Trump Employee 4 to see how long camera footage was stored,” the indictment said. “Shortly after arriving in Palm Beach on the evening of June 25, NAUTA went to The Mar-a-Lago Club and met with DE OLIVEIRA at 5:46 p.m. At The Mar-a-Lago Club, NAUTA and DE OLIVEIRA went to the security guard booth where surveillance video is displayed on monitors, walked with a flashlight through the tunnel where the Storage Room was located, and observed and pointed out surveillance cameras.”
Two days later, De Oliveira told another employee called “Trump Employee 4” that “the boss” wanted the video footage server deleted, according to the indictment.
On CNN, Butler remembered assisting Nauta in loading boxes of documents onto a Trump plane bound for New Jersey, documents he later realized “were the boxes that were in the indictment, the white bankers boxes.” Prior to leaving Trump’s employment and becoming a witness for the prosecution, Butler considered De Oliveira as one of his “best friends.” Now, he said, they don’t communicate anymore.