The federal judge overseeing President-elect Donald Trump’s now-dismissed case related to classified documents in Florida has temporarily blocked the Justice Department from releasing a report prepared by special counsel Jack Smith.
Judge Aileen Cannon issued an order on Tuesday preventing the Justice Department from releasing the report while a legal battle plays out. Prosecutors said in an earlier filing that the two-volume document could be released as early as Friday, pending a decision by Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Earlier on Tuesday, attorneys for Trump’s former codefendants Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira filed an emergency motion similar to that which they filed earlier in Cannon’s court, asking the appeals court to block the release of Smith’s report.
Cannon ruled Tuesday that her order “remains in effect until three days after resolution by the Eleventh Circuit of the Emergency Motion, unless the Eleventh Circuit orders otherwise,” meaning the appeals court will be left to decide whether the special counsel report can be released.
The legal wrangling over the report comes less than two weeks before Trump’s inauguration to a second term in the White House, with the special counsel wrapping up its work before he takes office. Smith oversaw two cases against Trump: the documents case in Florida, and a case related to Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Washington, D.C. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges, which have since been dismissed.
The classified documents case remains ongoing in the appeals court. Federal prosecutors opted to keep the case alive in an effort to reverse Cannon’s previous finding that Smith was unlawfully appointed. Smith dismissed the case against Trump, but opted to keep the appeal going as it relates to his codefendants.
Cannon’s order on Tuesday noted that she did not make any determination as to whether the special counsel report should be released, but instead left the entire matter to the appeals court to decide.
The Justice Department and the special counsel’s office both declined to comment on Cannon’s latest move.
