A federal appeals court rejected an effort by Donald Trump and his allies to block the Justice Department from releasing special counsel Jack Smith’s final report on his two defunct criminal cases against the president-elect. The fight doesn’t end there. The Atlanta-based 11th Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling Thursday night left in place an order from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon that in its current form bars Attorney General Merrick Garland from releasing the report through at least Sunday. The Justice Department appealed Cannon’s order, likely triggering another round of emergency court proceedings, Politico reports.. At the same time, Trump’s allies may still challenge the original appeals court ruling, perhaps by seeking relief from the Supreme Court.
The fate of Smith’s report — and whether some of it will be released publicly in the coming days — remains a muddle. DOJ asked that the appeals court resolve the matter by Friday, though it appears it will take at least another few days, with just 11 days left until Trump takes control of the department. Smith effectively dropped both of his criminal cases against Trump — one for his effort to subvert the 2020 election, one for hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate after leaving office in 2021 — after Trump won the November election, citing DOJ's policy against prosecuting sitting presidents. The Justice Department wants to revive charges against Trump’s two alleged co-conspirators in the classified documents case, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, challenging a ruling by Cannon that found Smith’s appointment was legally flawed.
The fight over Smith’s report escalated on Tuesday, when Nauta and De Oliveira filed a motion urging Cannon to prevent Smith from releasing his report altogether.
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