For those who’ve followed Donald Trump’s classified documents scandal closely, the name Walt Nauta is no doubt familiar. He is, after all, the long-serving aide to the former president who was allegedly seen on security camera footage moving boxes out of a Mar-a-Lago storage room before and after the Justice Department issued a subpoena.
Nauta is also, of course, among the people close to Trump who’ve been indicted by federal prosecutors. (He’s pleaded not guilty.)
The name Brian Butler is far less familiar, though as NBC News reported, he apparently has some relevant insights to share about the work he did alongside Nauta.
A man who says he worked at Mar-a-Lago is going public with his recollection of events leading up to the FBI’s search of Donald Trump’s Florida residence over the former president’s alleged mishandling of classified documents. In a televised interview with CNN, Brian Butler said he helped Trump aide Walt Nauta load about 10 to 15 boxes onto Trump’s plane at the West Palm Beach airport near his resort in June 2022, when representatives from the Justice Department were meeting with Trump and his attorneys about unreturned classified material.
When special counsel Jack Smith’s office issued its indictments in this case, some of the former president’s employees were identified solely with numbers, instead of their full names. With this in mind, CNN’s report identified Butler, who worked at the glorified country club for more than 20 years, as “Trump Employee 5.”
That said, MSNBC and NBC News have not independently confirmed Butler’s identity as “Trump Employee 5.”
Nevertheless, he told CNN that he believes he moved sensitive documents, though he didn’t know it at the time. “I had no clue. I mean, we were just taking them out of the Escalade, piling them up,” Butler told CNN, adding that he told federal investigators about the movement of boxes. “I remember they were all stacked on top of each other, and then we’re lifting them up to the pilots.”
As for his former employer, the longtime Mar-a-Lago employee apparently isn’t a Trump fan.
“I personally would just say I just don’t believe that he should be a presidential candidate at this time. I think it’s time to move on,” Butler added. “I think the American people have the right to know the facts, that this is not a witch hunt.”
Butler concluded, in reference to Trump, “He just can’t take responsibility for anything.” A HuffPost report went on to note that Butler was urged to get an attorney aligned with the former president, but he instead relied on his own counsel. “I think it’s better to look after yourself and take care of it yourself,” he told CNN. “You know, even the voicemail by the attorney that called me, you know, he says, “I’m representing former President Trump.’ Well, that does me no good. You’re representing him, not me. I mean, I wouldn’t even consider that.” If recent history is any guide, the former president will soon be lashing out wildly at Butler, and at least we’ll know why.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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