Garland says he will release Trump’s election report when the court allows it

On January 10, 2025By Littum

WASHINGTON – Attorney General Merrick Garland told Congress late Wednesday he would release special counsel Jack Smith’s report on the investigation into President-elect Donald Trump’s alleged 2020 election meddling “when the court allows it,” creating a potential embarrassment for Trump as he prepares for his return to the White House.

Smith’s report is expected to provide the most detailed explanation yet of what evidence the special counsel uncovered during his two-year investigation and why the Justice Department decided to indict Trump on two counts: on charges of election interference and mishandling classified documents.

Trump has tried to block the report, which his lawyers said would perpetuate false accusations from cases that have now been dismissed. A potential legal battle before the U.S. Supreme Court also makes the timing of any public release of Smith’s report uncertain as Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration approaches and several of the president-elect’s personal lawyers are set to take on senior leadership roles in the Justice Department and the White House.

A federal judge in South Florida on Tuesday blocked the release of the report at the request of two Trump co-defendants, who said it could harm their case on charges of mishandling classified documents.

Government lawyers have asked a federal appeals court to overturn her decision and allow the release of part of the report dealing with the investigation into election interference. The rest of the report dealing with classified documents will be released after the classified documents case is resolved.

The 11th^th The US Circuit Court of Appeals has not yet ruled on the department’s request. If Trump loses in the Atlanta-based court, the president-elect’s lawyers are expected to ask the US Supreme Court to block the release of the Smith report.

“As stated in the department’s filings in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals today, when the court permits, I intend to provide you and the public with volume 1 of the report,” Garland wrote in a letter to top House Republicans and Democrats and the Senate Judiciary Committee. “I have determined that release of these materials to you and the public at this time is consistent with … applicable law and that this release is in furtherance of the public interest in informing a peer department and the public of this important matter .”

Trump has tried to block the release of the report as he prepared to return to the White House on January 20. Judges have dismissed both cases at Smith’s request because of a longstanding Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president.

Trump, who claims Smith’s appointment was illegitimate, asked to file an argument in the case to bring the perspective of a former and future president on how officials are appointed. As to the subject of the report, Trump’s lawyers said the report “threatens” his “interest in a smooth, orderly transition and in the effective transfer of executive power.”

Trump’s co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, argue that the report could harm them in any possible lawsuits they face.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, dismissed the case over classified documents, ruling that Smith was illegitimately appointed. Smith appealed to the 11th^th Circuit, but dropped the case against Trump after the election. The appeal of his legitimacy remains with Nauta and De Oliveira.

Cannon also temporarily blocked the release of Smith’s report pending the appeals court’s decision. Trump welcomed her decision, calling it “good news.”

But government lawyers said Smith’s report should come as no surprise because special counsels traditionally file reports explaining their investigations and decisions on charges. In recent years, these have, among other things, Robert Mueller, who investigated Russian interference at the 2016 election; Robert Hur, who investigated President Joe Biden’s handling classified documents when not in a public position; and John Durham, who reviewed the 2016 probe.

Nauta and De Oliveira have asked the appeals court to return the case to Cannon to determine whether the report can be released.

But government lawyers argue that Cannon, who presides in Florida, has no jurisdiction over the election interference portion of the report, which was examined in Washington, D.C.

“In accordance with local court rules and department policy, and to avoid any risk of injury to the defendants Waltine Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, whose criminal cases are still pending, I have decided, upon the recommendation of the special counsel, that Volume 2 should not be released, so as long as the defendants’ criminal cases are pending,” Garland wrote.

Although he is not releasing the volume of classified documents immediately, Garland plans to make it available to top Republicans and Democrats on the House and Senate Judiciary committees. Nauta and De Oliveira themselves said limited release could harm their criminal case.