(RepublicanNews.org) – A former employee at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida recently told reporters that he was unaware that he helped the former president move boxes that may have contained classified government documents, for which Trump is currently facing litigation.
In an extensive report, Brian Butler told CNN on Monday, March 11th, that he worked for the former president for two decades and discussed his role as a key witness in the case against Trump for allegedly improperly handling classified documents after leaving the White House. The former president is facing 40 charges in the case, which was brought forward in Florida, and is one of four indictments the presumptive GOP nominee is up against leading into the presidential election.
Butler said that he’s referred to in court documents by prosecutors as “employee 5.” He and two other longtime Trump employees are all facing charges in the Florida case headed by special counsel Jack Smith. The other two defendants are Carlos De Oliveira, who worked as a maintenance supervisor at Mar-a-Lago, and Walt Nauta, a long-term aide for Trump. All three men pleaded not guilty.
During his CNN interview, Butler told correspondent Kaitlan Collins that he and De Oliveira were best friends and that the trial has forced the two to remain out of contact, which Butler said “hurts.” He said it has created a “no-win situation” for him because he was worried he would get De Oliveira in trouble.
Butler did not have favorable words about his former boss, though, who he criticized for dismissing the allegations as ”a witch hunt,” which he said indicates Trump “can’t take responsibility for anything.”
De Oliveria and Butler took different approaches to how they responded to the FBI. Butler met with them willingly and cooperated, while his best friend waited and was later accused of withholding information from them. De Oliveira also lawyered up through the former president’s network while Butler distanced himself from Trump.
The two friends live in the same neighborhood and used to go on walks together. During one such walk, Butler claims that De Oliveira said that the former Trump employees were all technically “dirty” because they moved boxes for Trump that most likely contained the classified materials in question.
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