Jan. 10 (UPI) — A federal appeals court has blocked a move by Donald Trump’s lawyers to stop the Justice Department from releasing Special Counsel Jack Smith’s final report on two criminal cases against the former and future president.
The Atlanta-based 11th Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling on Thursday night left in place an order from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was the judge in one of those cases, that bars Attorney General Merrick Garland from releasing the report through Sunday at the earliest.
The Justice Department could challenge Cannon’s order, which could lead to yet another round of emergency court proceedings. Trump’s allies could appeal to the Supreme Court, which late Thursday rejected Trump’s last ditch effort to delay the sentencing in his New York hush-money case.
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on whether or when any portion of Smith’s report will be released. The Department of Justice asked the appeals court to resolve the matter by Friday, just 10 days before Trump assumes office and his administration takes control of the Justice Department.
Smith dropped both of his criminal cases against Trump after the New York real estate mogul won the November presidential election, citing the Justice Department’s policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.
One of the cases focused on Trump’s effort to subvert the 2020 election, while the other concerned classified documents stored at his Mar-a-Lago estate after leaving office in 2021.
But the Justice Department is trying to revive charges against two of Trump’s co-conspirators, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, in the documents case.
