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Trump and Co-Defendants Seek to Block Release of Jack Smith's Two-Volume Report on Classified Documents and 2020 Election Cases

Jan 7, 2025, 09:40 AM

President-elect Donald Trump and his former co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, are actively seeking to prevent the release of a final two-volume report by special counsel Jack Smith. The report pertains to two dismissed federal cases against Trump: one related to his handling of classified documents and another concerning his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Trump's legal team reviewed a draft of the report between January 3 and January 6 and is urging Attorney General Merrick Garland to block its release, arguing that it would be contrary to the public interest and disrupt the ongoing presidential transition. They also contend that Smith's appointment as special counsel was unconstitutional, a ruling previously made by Judge Aileen Cannon in the classified documents case. Nauta and De Oliveira, who face ongoing charges related to the documents case, have similarly asked Judge Cannon to block the report's release, citing potential prejudice to their legal proceedings. The special counsel's office has indicated that the report, expected to be submitted to Garland by Tuesday afternoon, will not be released to the public before Friday at the earliest. Smith is reportedly planning to resign before Trump's inauguration on January 20.