Two of President-elect Trump’s former co-defendants in the classified documents case are seeking to block the release of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report to the public.
Walt Nauta, Trump’s valet, and Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, have filed an emergency motion with U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, asking her to keep the report out of the public eye.
The report is expected to be released in the coming days or weeks, and Smith will resign from his position before Trump takes office on January 20.
Nauta and De Oliveira’s attorneys argue that the report relies on materials to which Smith is no longer entitled access, making its release improper. They also claim that the report will be one-sided and slanted, and that its release will irreparably harm their clients.
The motion asks the court for an immediate hearing to establish the impropriety of releasing the report and the scope of the resulting prejudice.
Trump’s attorney, Todd Blanche, has also asked Attorney General Merrick Garland not to release the report, calling Smith’s plan “unlawful, undertaken in bad faith, and contrary to the public interest.”
Garland has previously released reports from other special counsels, but it is unclear whether he will do the same with Smith’s findings, given their sensitivity and Trump’s status as president-elect.
