Revealed: Trump and associates' repeated contact with former Mar-a-Lago employee-turned-witness prior to charges

Three months after the FBI confiscated classified documents from Mar-a-Lago in August, a longstanding employee of Donald Trump's private club resigned.

In a rare move, the former president contacted the ex-employee directly on his cell phone to inquire about his departure after twenty years of service at the resort, as reported by two sources and information reviewed by CNN.

The employee informed the ex-president of his intention to pursue another business opportunity. The ex-employee later learned that Trump regarded him as a "good man."

However, this individual was not just an ordinary club staffer - he was a witness to several incidents that special counsel Jack Smith included in his federal criminal indictment against the former president for mishandling classified documents.

The former employee had assisted Trump with moving boxes and was privy to conversations described in the indictment between Trump, Carlos De Oliveira, and Walt Nauta. This puts them in a unique position among Mar-a-Lago staffers to provide valuable information to investigators. The phone call from Trump, as described by multiple sources, was part of a pattern of outreach to the former employee, who later became a key witness. This included offers of legal representation, complimentary tickets to a golf tournament, and repeated reminders that they could return to work for Trump.

Donald Trump and his aid Walt Nauta arrive at an airport after Trump spoke at the Georgia Republican Party's state convention on Saturday, June 10, 2023 in Columbus, Georgia.

The incidents, when considered collectively, may have appeared to be innocent and friendly interactions between friends or colleagues. However, the investigation by the special counsel's office into Trump's activities expressed interest in these incidents. Prior to Trump's indictment, the former employee provided details in interviews with investigators about how associates of the former president maintained contact after the employee had ceased working at Mar-a-Lago, according to sources who spoke with CNN.

The majority of these interactions have never been made public and were not mentioned in the criminal indictments. However, they shed light on a discreet strategy that has been employed by Trump's business and political circles to monitor allies and former associates, a tactic that prosecutors and defense attorneys are closely monitoring as Trump's trials draw near.

A series of interactions

The ex-staff member had a strong bond with De Oliveira, and much of their dealings were with this longtime associate, who has stayed devoted to Trump. The ex-president is covering the legal fees for De Oliveira, as shown in public records.

De Oliveira was the one who gave Trump the former employee's phone number when he left, according to a source. Shortly after, De Oliveira contacted the ex-Mar-a-Lago employee and offered complimentary tickets to an upcoming Trump-hosted golf tournament, believing Trump would like to see him there.

De Oliveira and Nauta both expressed to the former employee that his job at Mar-a-Lago was still open for him to return to. Nauta even went as far as showing up with De Oliveira at the former employee's gym, which was considered unusual by a source. The lawyers for both De Oliveira and Nauta declined to comment, as did the attorneys for the former employee and Trump, along with a spokesman for the special counsel's office.

The former employee found his own attorney in early 2023, suspecting that he might be subpoenaed by federal investigators looking into the classified documents case. During this time, he maintained frequent contact with De Oliveira, who noted that the former employee was not using a lawyer provided by Trump, highlighting the potential costs of hiring a lawyer outside of the Trump circle. Additionally, John Rowley, a top lawyer on Trump's defense team, left a voicemail for the former employee confirming that he had received a grand jury subpoena to testify in the documents case. Despite the voicemail being made public by The New York Times, the former employee never returned the call.

Rowley, in an interview with the newspaper in September, stated that his intention was to assist witnesses in need of lawyers, rather than trying to sway their testimony. It is common for companies to locate and finance legal representation for lower-ranking employees who are caught up as witnesses in an inquiry, and this does not automatically indicate a compromise of ethics.

Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, arrives at the Alto Lee Adams Sr. US Courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida on August 10, 2023. (Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images)

The issue of whether Trump employees would utilize defense attorneys provided by the ex-president has been a concern in the case. One Trump employee, for example, only provided details that led to the indictment of De Oliveira after switching from a Trump-provided lawyer to a federal public defender. Since then, prosecutors have been careful to ensure that Nauta, De Oliveira, and other witnesses are informed about potential conflicts of interest that could arise from having a limited number of Trump-funded attorneys represent multiple individuals in the case.

De Oliveira's use of a lawyer provided by Trump was considered significant by investigators, so much so that it was mentioned in the indictment. The indictment also describes De Oliveira's alleged involvement in the obstruction conspiracy with Trump and Nauta. When Nauta and others questioned De Oliveira's loyalty and whether he was reliable, he ultimately obtained a lawyer paid for by Trump.

During a birthday celebration at a South Florida casino in August 2022, Trump personally called De Oliveira to inform him that he would be providing legal representation.