A federal appeals court has rejected a bid to block the release of a portion of special counsel Jack Smith’s final report detailing his investigation and prosecution of President-elect Trump’s alleged 2020 election interference and alleged improper retention of classified records. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit denied a request from Walt Nauta, an aide to Trump, and Carlos de Oliveira, the former property manager at Mar-a-Lago, who were charged with obstructing a separate federal investigation into Trump’s handling of sensitive government records.
The court left a three-day hold on the DOJ’s release of the report. The Justice Department stated it would proceed with plans to release the first of two volumes centered on the election interference case, but would make the classified documents section of the report available only to the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees for their private review as long as the case against Trump’s co-defendants is ongoing.
The election interference case was narrowed by a Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity, which ruled that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution. Following Trump’s presidential victory, Smith’s team abandoned both cases in November, citing Justice Department policy that prohibits federal prosecutions of sitting presidents.
The Justice Department regulates the release of special counsel reports, and it is up to the Attorney General to decide what to make public. In previous cases, Attorney General Merrick Garland has made public the reports produced by special counsels who operated under his watch.
The court’s decision has been met with criticism from Trump’s team, with Trump Communications Director Steven Cheung stating that it was time to “put a final stop to the political weaponization of our Justice system.” Cheung also accused Smith of being “deranged” and unconstitutionally appointed, and called for President Joe Biden and Attorney General Garland to stop the “political weaponization of our Justice system.”