The Justice Department is currently embroiled in a legal battle to release a portion of special counsel Jack Smith’s report regarding his investigations into President-elect Donald Trump. In a recent court filing with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, the government revealed that Attorney General Merrick Garland has decided not to release the volume of Smith’s report that pertains to the classified documents case. This decision is contingent upon the ongoing criminal proceedings involving co-defendants Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira.
While Garland has opted not to release Volume Two of the Final Report to the public, which concerns the proceedings against the defendants, he does plan to submit the first volume of Smith’s report to Congress and the public. This initial volume focuses on Smith’s investigation and prosecution of Trump in connection to the 2020 presidential election. The Justice Department argued in court documents that an injunction is unnecessary since the Attorney General has already made the decision not to release Volume Two while the defendants’ case is pending.
It was disclosed that Smith delivered his report to Garland on Tuesday, along with a cover letter emphasizing that the portion pertaining to Nauta and de Oliveira should remain confidential until their cases are resolved. Additionally, Garland officially notified the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Judiciary committees that Smith had concluded his probe, completed the report, and it was ready for release. However, Garland reiterated that he would only release the report once the courts give the green light, and even then, the volume related to the classified documents probe would be withheld due to the pending cases.
In response to an emergency request for an injunction by Trump’s former co-defendants, Nauta and de Oliveira, the Justice Department lawyers outlined their plan for a redacted version of the second volume of the report. This redacted version, which focuses on the alleged mishandling of classified documents, would be made available for review solely by the top Republicans and Democrats on the House and Senate Judiciary Committees at their request. These committee members would also need to agree not to release the information publicly.
The ongoing legal battle involves efforts by Trump and his allies to prevent federal prosecutors from disclosing the contents of Smith’s report. Smith had conducted two investigations into the president-elect, one related to his alleged attempts to undermine the peaceful transfer of power and overturn the results of the 2020 election, and the other concerning accusations that Trump unlawfully retained sensitive government records after leaving office in 2021. Although criminal indictments were initially brought against Trump, they were later dismissed, prompting Smith to withdraw from the case and pass it on to the U.S. attorney in South Florida.
Despite Trump’s attorneys urging Garland to remove Smith from his position and halt the report’s release, the Justice Department insisted that the President-elect had not made any requests to the appeals court regarding the release of Volume One of the report. In the classified documents case, Trump, Nauta, and de Oliveira were charged in an alleged scheme to obstruct the federal probe. Both Nauta and de Oliveira pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Smith eventually decided to drop his pursuit of prosecuting Trump due to Justice Department regulations prohibiting the prosecution of a sitting president. However, he continued with an appeal of the dismissal of the case against Nauta and de Oliveira to challenge the ruling that his appointment as special counsel was unlawful. As a result, the defendants sought to prevent the release of the report while the case proceeded.
During a press conference, Trump criticized Smith as a “bad guy” and praised Judge Aileen Cannon, whom he appointed during his first term, as a “brilliant judge.” The legal battle continues, with Cannon issuing an order temporarily enjoining the Justice Department from publishing the report until the 11th Circuit makes a decision on the matter. Garland has vowed to release all special counsel reports completed under his tenure, despite objections from Trump and his legal team.
