U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has authorized the release of a report by special counsel Jack Smith on President-elect Donald Trump‘s alleged interference in the 2020 election. The decision, announced on Monday (January 12), allows the Department of Justice (DOJ) to make public the findings of Smith’s investigation, which accused Trump of attempting to overturn his election loss to Joe Biden. However, a temporary injunction remains in place until Tuesday (January 14), and defense lawyers may challenge the release up to the Supreme Court.
The report is part of Smith’s work as special counsel, a role he resigned from after submitting the document to Attorney General Merrick Garland. The DOJ has been engaged in a legal battle over whether it can release Smith’s final report, which includes two volumes. Volume One covers the election interference case, while Volume Two addresses Trump’s handling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Judge Cannon has allowed the release of the first volume but has reserved judgment on the second, citing ongoing legal proceedings involving Trump’s co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira.
Cannon’s ruling comes after she previously blocked the DOJ from releasing the entire report. The DOJ agreed not to release the second volume to avoid interfering with the ongoing case against Nauta and De Oliveira.
Cannon’s decision to allow the release of Volume One does not affect the ongoing criminal proceedings against Nauta and De Oliveira. The DOJ has stated that the election interference volume does not impact the evidence or charges related to the co-defendants.
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