Donald Trump Discovers Identities of Mar-a-Lago Witnesses Who Testified

Donald Trump will now be aware of the identities of two previously unnamed Mar-a-Lago workers who were cited in a superseding indictment as part of the classified documents case.

In a series of tweets, Lisa Rubin, an attorney and legal analyst for MSNBC, wrote how the Department of Justice had provided the former president's legal team, as well co-defendant Walt Nauta's lawyers, with additional information to view in relation to the classified documents case.

Special Counsel Jack Smith's office said that, included in the new evidence it has, there is additional CCTV footage from Mar-a-Lago Club. This had been obtained between May 9 and May 12, 2023, ahead of the upcoming trial. Trump has repeatedly criticized Smith's investigation and argued that it is politically motivated. The former president denies all wrongdoing. Newsweek has contacted Trump's legal team for comment via email.

Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort on April 3, 2019 in West Palm Beach, Florida. The former president's lawyers may now know the identities of two staff members who testified in the classified documents probe. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The apparent new evidence arrives after a superseded indictment, unsealed in late July, revealed Trump has been charged with three additional felony offenses as part of the classified documents on top of the 37 he has already pleaded not guilty to. These include allegations he called on Mar-a-Lago employee Carlos De Oliveira to delete security-camera footage taken at the Florida resort, which had been sought by federal prosecutors.

Rubin added that the new court filings from Smith's office posted on Monday also reveal that federal prosecutors have now "disclosed all unclassified memorialization of witness interviews finalized by today's date and all grand jury transcript" in the government's possession.

"In other words, if Trump & Nauta did not know who Trump Employees 3 and 5 were before today and/or the gist of what they told Smith's team, they do now," Rubin tweeted.

In the new unsealed indictment, a Mar-a-Lago worker only referred to as "employee 3" is alleged to have messaged Nauta on July 24, 2022—the same day that an attorney for Trump spoke with the former president regarding the subpoena for security-camera footage at Mar-a-Lago.

At 3:44 p.m., Nauta received a text message from Employee 3 to say that Trump wanted to see Nauta. Under two hours later, Nauta, who was scheduled to go with Trump to Illinois the following day, began to make arrangements to go to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, instead, according to federal prosecutors.

Prior to Nauta's trip, De Oliveira told a valet at Mar-a-Lago, Employee 5, that Nauta was on his way. De Oliveira allegedly asked Employee 5 not to tell anyone that Nauta was coming down as the trip was meant to be a secret. De Oliveira also told Employee 5 that Nauta wanted De Oliveira to talk to Trump Employee 4—believed to be IT worker Yuscil Taveras— to see how long camera footage was stored at the Florida resort.

Employee 5 is also said to have assured Nauta that De Oliveira, who has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements to the FBI over whether he helped Nauta move boxes of classified documents around Mar-a-Lago, will not be an issue for Trump in the classified documents case.

"Just over two weeks after the FBI discovered classified documents in the Storage Room and Trump's office, on August 26, 2022, Nauta called Trump Employee 5 and said words to the effect of, 'someone just wants to make sure Carlos is good,'" the superseded indictment said.

"In response, Trump Employee 5 told Nauta that De Oliveira was loyal and that De Oliveira would not do anything to affect his relationship with Trump."

The identities of the two Mar-a-Lago workers have not been made public and they have not been charged in connection to the classified documents case.

At least two-dozen people, including Mar-a-Lago restaurant workers and at least one housekeeper, were previously reported to have testified to a federal grand jury as part of classified documents case.

Former Pentagon Special Counsel Ryan Goodman said Smith's team were hoping to obtain key information from those underneath the radar of the former president by seeking testimony from Mar-a-Lago staff.

"They might be invisible to him. But they are the eyes and ears, and they can see things. Or they can know things might even be somewhat rumored, but then they can at least give the investigators leads, so they can tell the investigators who is present in different conversations," Goodman told CNN's OutFront in March.