(Washington) A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the release of special prosecutor Jack Smith’s report on the Donald Trump investigations, as an appeals court considers a challenge to the release of a highly anticipated document, just days before the president-elect takes office.
Posted at 8:46 p.m.
Eric Tucker
Associated Press
Federal Judge Aileen Cannon’s ruling may represent a short-lived victory for Donald Trump, but it is nonetheless the latest example of Donald Trump’s legal appointee taking action in favor of the Republican. The ruling follows an emergency request Monday from defense lawyers to block the release of a report they said was one-sided and damaging.
Donald Trump responded to Judge Cannon’s order by complaining again at a press conference about Special Prosecutor Smith’s investigation and saying, “It will be a false report, just like it was a false investigation. »
It is unclear what the Justice Department, which has its own guidelines governing special prosecutors and the reports they are expected to produce when they conclude theirs, intended to do following the order. Mme Cannon.
The two-volume report is expected to outline charging decisions made in separate investigations by Mr. Smith into Donald Trump’s hoarding of classified documents from his Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach, Fla. , and his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the lead-up to the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Judge Cannon’s order does not distinguish between the two volumes, instead prohibiting the publication of any information from a report for three days after the dispute is resolved by the 11e United States Court of Appeals based in Atlanta, unless the court orders otherwise. Mr. Smith’s team was expected to respond in a written filing Wednesday to this appeals court.
“Quickly” dismiss special prosecutor Smith
Donald Trump was indicted alongside two co-defendants in the classified documents case, which was dismissed in July by Judge Cannon, who found that Smith’s appointment was illegal. He was also indicted in an election interference case that was significantly reduced by a Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity. Smith’s team dropped both cases in November after Donald Trump’s presidential victory, citing Justice Department policy that bars federal prosecutions of sitting presidents.
Donald Trump’s lawyers, including Todd Blanche, who was chosen by Donald Trump to serve as deputy attorney general, urged Attorney General Garland, in a letter released Monday evening, to block the release of the report and dismiss Mr Smith from office “promptly” – or to delay publication of the report to the new attorney general.
Using language mimicking Donald Trump’s own attacks on Mr. Smith and his work, Mr. Blanche told Attorney General Garland that “the release of any confidential report prepared by this out-of-control private citizen unconstitutionally impersonating a prosecutor would be nothing more than an illegal political stunt, designed to politically damage President Trump and justify the enormous sums of taxpayer money that Mr. Smith has unconstitutionally spent on his failed and rejected cases. »
The letter was included in an emergency request filed Monday evening with Judge Cannon by lawyers for Donald Trump’s co-defendants in the documents case, Donald Trump’s valet Walt Nauta and Mar- a-Lago, Carlos De Oliveira.
They asked Mme Cannon to block release of the report, noting that Mr. Smith’s appeal of his dismissal of the charges against the men is ongoing and that releasing derogatory information about them would be harmful.
In response to that request, Mr. Smith’s team said in a two-page filing earlier Tuesday that it intended to submit its report to Mr. Garland in the afternoon and that the relative volume to the investigation into classified documents would not be made public until 10 a.m. Friday.
Justice Department regulations require special counsel appointed by the attorney general to submit a confidential report at the conclusion of their investigations. It is then up to the attorney general to decide what to make public.
Attorney General Garland released in full the reports produced by the special prosecutors who operated under his watch, including Robert Hur’s report on President Joe Biden’s handling of classified information and John Durham’s report on the FBI investigation into Russian election interference.
