WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Thursday denied a bid to block the public release of special counsel Jack Smith’s report on President-elect Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals turned down a emergency challenge from Trump and his co-defendants in his classified documents case, who are fighting to keep the report under wraps because they say it’s one-sided and prejudicial.
The report, however, will not immediately be released, and there’s no guarantee it will as more legal wrangling is expected. A lower court ruling from Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon temporarily blocking the Justice Department from releasing the report remains in place for three days.
The defendants could also conceivably ask the conservative-dominated Supreme Court to intervene.
Justice Clarence Thomas, in a concurring opinion last summer to the landmark ruling conferring broad immunity on former presidents, signaled his deep misgivings about the authority of Justice Department special counsels.
A Trump spokesperson called Smith’s report an “unconstitutional, one-sided, falsehood-ridden screed.”
“It is time for Joe Biden and Merrick Garland to do the right thing and put a final stop to the political weaponization of our Justice system,” spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement after the ruling.
The Justice Department said Wednesday that it plans to release the volume detailing Smith’s findings on Trump’s efforts to undo his 2020 election loss, but will withhold for now the section on Trump’s classified documents case while legal proceedings against his co-defendants are ongoing.
The two-volume report is expected to detail findings and explain charging decisions in Smith’s two investigations, though the prospect for significant new information is unclear given the extensive details already disclosed in separate indictments against Trump.
The classified documents inquiry was dismissed in July by Cannon, who concluded that Smith’s appointment was illegal. Smith’s appeal of the dismissal of charges against Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, who were charged alongside Trump with obstructing the investigation, is still active, and their lawyers argued this week that the release of a report while proceedings were pending would be prejudicial and unfair.
The election interference case was significantly narrowed by a Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity. The court ruled then for the first time that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution, all but ending prospects Trump could be tried before the November election.
Smith’s team abandoned both cases in November after Trump’s presidential victory, citing Justice Department policy that prohibits the federal prosecutions of sitting presidents.
Justice Department regulations call for special counsels appointed by the attorney general to submit a confidential report at the conclusion of their investigations. It’s then up to the attorney general to decide what to make public.
