‘Jaw dropping stuff’: Mar-A-Lago staffer drops a bombshell story of sharp categorized documents

America meet Trump employee number five the marago staffer dropping a bombshell in the classified documents case brought by special counsel Jack Smith against Donald Trump in an interview with CNN maralago employee Brian Butler painting a painting a very specific picture of Trump's Inner Circle and how it operated more like a mafia family than anything.

Else with loyalty prized above everything a world where falty to the boss led to criminal exposure Now NBC News has not independently confirmed Butler's identity As Trump employee number five and he declined NBC's request for comment in his interview last night Butler says he helped Trump's codefendants Walt NAA and Carlos Di.

Olivera mov those boxes containing some of our nation's most sensitive National Security Secrets watch he followed me he pulled out and got behind me we got to the airport I ended up loading all the luggage I had and he had a bunch of boxes you noticed that he had boxes oh yeah they were the boxes that were in the indictment the.

White bankers boxes that's what I remember loading and did you have any idea at the time that there was potentially US National Security secrets in those boxes no clue no I had no clue no clue and here's how Carlos De Ola talked about moving classified documents for Trump there was one time towards one of.

The last times I was with him and we're talking about you know boxes and you know well Biden did the same thing you know you can't get it always got brought up about Biden and other people that did the same thing and then there was one time he said uh you know we're all dirty we all move boxes we're all dirty but we're not of.

Course President Joe Biden was not charged with obstructing the government's attempt at retrieving classified documents unlike Donald Trump and his employees who allegedly tried to delete all the surveillance footage that showed the boxes being moved here's Butler describing a conversation he had with diiva about the Widespread Panic.

Around that footage I remember him saying hey by the way Walt's coming tomorrow oh cool that's great I was like okay it wasn't until the following day when we're out walking he's like hey by the way it's a secret don't tell anybody Walt's coming and why well he needs me to he needs me to.

Find something out before he gets here oh what's that he needs me to you know how long the camera footage is saved at maral Lago and I'm like well that's that's odd why why do you need the camera footage why do you need to know how long it's saved and uh his response was I think they're looking for somebody that was.

There as the justice department closed in Trump allies pressured that man Butler offering him an attorney amid a full-blown hysteria now about who was talking to prosecutors and what they were saying Butler now says he would testify in a trial against Donald Trump and that contrary to the ex-president and his wild conspiracies about the.

Weaponization of the government in the Deep State this case is no Witch Hunt do you view Trump as a national security risk um I I personally would just say I just don't believe that he should be a a presidential candidate at this time I think it's time to move on does it concern you that I mean he I think it should concern yeah absolutely.

Um I think we can do better and you know for him to get out up there all the time and say the things he says about you know about this being a Witch Hunt and everything it's it's all you know I just he just can't take responsibility for anything an extraordinary firsthand look through the eyes of a firsthand witness.

In this classified documents case who lays out from the inside the cover up from team Trump it's where we start today with some of our favorite reporters and Friends former Senator and co-host of msnbc's head towin 2024 podcast CLA mccal is back with us National investigative reporter for the Washington Post our friend Carol Len is.

Here with me at the table where he belongs former top official of the Department of Justice MSNBC legal analyst Andrew Weissman is here um let let let me start with you Caroline this was jaw-dropping stuff for me and I watched I watched Caitlyn Collins does a masterful job at sort of bringing the witness through all the parts of the.

Story obviously prosecutors piece together the story with a lot of different witness testimony and she does a good job for the viewer at plugging it all in but he's he's there for the the crime of the hoarding he's there for the crime of the moving of the boxes he's there for the boxes summer trip to Bedminster which was some of the most.

Riveting stuff you know he drove a sprinter van with the bags the boxes removed by someone else who's actually now Trump's Cod offended and he's there for the the the Pratt stuff which which is perhaps the most stomach sinking gut punch for anyone coming at this story as I know you do from from the National Security perspective tell me what it was.

Like to to sort of hear him in his own words describing the anatomy of the crime I couldn't agree more with you Nicole like every time we think and I I I know that Claire and and Andrew and I and you all think we know this down to the studs every time I think I've got this Mar loga story totally understood I see a new character in the Netflix.

Special and that's what Brian became when Caitlyn began to interview him it was like of course he was unwitting but to me the most dramatic moment is actually and this is where I started thinking about the screenplay is June 3rd remember at this point in June 3rd 2022 Donald Trump has tried to get his lawyers to lie asked his lawyers if he.

Maybe could lie about whether or not there are records still at maral Lago he the FBI and the head of the counter Espionage section is coming down from Department of Justice to get whatever documents are still on the premises that are classified and Evan corkrin president Trump's attorney is supposed to hand them over in a redweld envelope.

Sealed with tape at that moment Mr Butler earlier in the morning has been instructed along with Walt NTA to take a bunch of boxes into a van that are going to go to the airport and onto the private plane of the former president where he and Melania and all their luggage is going to be taken for the summer season to Bedminster those boxes.

Are leaving the premises as Donald Trump is jumping into a little June 3rd meeting with the Department of Justice and and Mr career public servant Jay brat just down here to get the rest of the classified records sir Donald Trump says I'm an open book you know look at whatever you need to I just want to give you this stuff back but meanwhile there.

Are documents in a van heading with Brian uh he doesn't realize that there's classified National Security information inside but he but they're being Spirited Away from the from the the Pres the former president's Palm Beach Club at at that exact moment I I just I see the I see the movie yeah I mean you called Trump Gody like yesterday and and if you.

Take classified State Secrets out of the boxes and you put body parts in it it's it's it's no less dramatic right I mean this was someone who was in charge of driving the boxes with the Contraband in them it is haunting to me how he says yeah there was this white-haired tall guy I would later learn was the the attorney the attorney who ends up.

Turning over his notes to Jack Smith's prosecutors I mean this was so many touch points to the criminal conduct both the mishandling and the very very deliberate intent to obstruct yeah well this is a firsthand witness to as you said both the retention part of the case retaining classified documents um also obstructing the investigation and even.

The dissemination um because he overhears the talking about this to somebody who clearly should know about it I have to say the Australian exactly um and um I my reaction though to all of this is it's a huge indictment of our Judicial System we're all listening to this it's riveting that's what a trial is supposed.

To be um you know Donald Trump should have his day in court to be able to cross-examine all of this but the public is entitled to not just hear from Mr Butler but everyone um you know the Supreme Court of the United States that is putting a stay needlessly on the DC case and judge Canon don't get me started you know.

Clearly clearly is not going to have this trial um and that is why you have him speaking and some ways they say thank God he's speaking normally a prosecutor would be like I do not want my witnesses to be doing this you can't prevent them but it's not a good thing in this case my reaction is this is the only way the Public's going to learn it.

And that's really not right the public has a right to um have a speedy trial to hear the evidence um and so it's great that this you know interview happened um he seems very credible but they're entitled to the whole story um to the Butler and everyone else and it really tells you about what the judicial system is doing and closing down accountability.

And so this is the for where we can have some account of what happened but it's it's not really enough it's not what is really the way that we decide things in the United States is when there's a dispute is you have trials and facts and law should matter so that's sort of my main reaction to this is about you know judge Canon has a lot to answer.

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