Trump Allies Attempt to Block Release of Special Counsel Jack Smith‘s Final Report
In a significant legal development, Judge Aileen Cannon blocked the release of the final report from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into President-elect Donald Trump. The move comes amidst a flurry of legal filings that began Monday night and continued into Tuesday.
The report, expected to be published in the coming days before Trump’s second inauguration, covers two volumes: one focusing on the mishandling of classified documents and another on interference in the 2020 elections. However, Cannon’s order does not differentiate between the two, blocking the release of both until the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has reviewed an emergency motion from Trump’s co-defendants.
Trump’s lawyers reviewed a draft of the report, according to a letter included in the legal filings from Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, two men who worked for Trump and pleaded not guilty to obstruction-related charges. In their request to Cannon, Nauta and De Oliveira argued that Smith lacks authority to publish the report because Cannon previously ruled that his appointment as special counsel was illegal. This ruling is currently under appeal by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Cannon, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, did not distinguish between the two volumes in her brief order to block the DOJ on Tuesday. However, Trump’s lawyers have maintained that their arguments against publishing the report apply to both volumes, citing the overlap in evidence.
The legal tussle comes as Trump’s team prepares to take office, with his new administration set to manage the investigation. The attempt to block the report’s release is the latest salvo in Trump’s long-running battle against the institution of the special counsel.
Attorneys for the defense expressed their dissatisfaction with the level of redactions in the draft they reviewed over the weekend. Meanwhile, Attorney General Merrick Garland has informed Congress that he plans to provide legislative bodies with the report, subject to modifications required by DOJ policy. This would likely result in the agency editing parts related to Nauta and De Oliveira to avoid prejudicing their ongoing cases.
The final report is now slated for delivery to the DOJ no earlier than 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday, with the DOJ aiming to publish it by Friday morning. However, the timeline remains subject to change, pending the 11th Circuit’s review of the emergency motion.
Nauta and De Oliveira argue that the report’s release would cause them irreparable harm, given the gag order preventing them from discussing the information provided to them by the government. They contend that being unable to refute the report makes its publication even more unjustly prejudicial.
The contentious legal dispute serves as a precursor to what is expected to be a tumultuous period in Trump’s governance, as his administration takes the reins of an investigation targeting its own leader.