A panel of judges on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has denied an effort to block the release of special counsel Jack Smith’s final report on his two investigations into Donald Trump. The panel declined to immediately overturn a temporary injunction granted by U.S. Judge Aileen Cannon, which blocks the report’s release until this Sunday. Instead, the Justice Department can file a separate appeal to release the report earlier than scheduled.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has notified Judge Cannon of his intent to appeal her injunction, which would allow the Justice Department to release the report earlier. Garland has also confirmed that he plans to make Volume One of the report, which concerns Trump’s efforts to subvert the 2020 election, available to the public once he is permitted to do so by the courts. Volume Two, which focuses on Trump’s handling of classified documents, will be made available to leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees for closed-door review as soon as the Eleventh Circuit permits it.
Trump’s lawyers have argued that the release of the report would harm the transition to his presidency and should be blocked. They claim that the report is biased and offers a one-sided view of the evidence, without giving Trump the opportunity to defend himself. Trump has downplayed the significance of the report, describing it as a “fake report” and a “fake investigation.”
The Justice Department has filed an appeal to the Eleventh Circuit to block Trump’s lawyers’ efforts to block the report’s release. The outcome of the appeal is still pending.
