A U.S. judge temporarily blocked special counsel Jack Smith from releasing a report on his investigations into President-elect Donald Trump for his mishandling of classified documents and attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, an order showed Tuesday of the court.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who presided over the now-closed case accusing Trump of illegally possessing classified documents, ordered the Justice Department not to release the report until a federal appeals court rules on a request from Trump’s two former co-defendants in the lawsuit. case.
The lawyers of the co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, accused of obstructing the investigation into the documents, decided Monday evening to block the publication of the report.
Nauta and De Oliveira argued that the report would inappropriately interfere with their case, which remains ongoing.
Smith led both the classified documents case against Trump and a second lawsuit accusing Trump of trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat. Both cases have since been dropped.
Trump, who has dismissed the federal probe and two other criminal probes he faces as a politically motivated attempt to prevent him from returning to power, said he welcomed the news.
“This was a false case against a political opponent,” Trump told reporters at his Florida resort on Tuesday. “If they’re not allowed to release the report, that’s how it should be…that’s great news.”
A spokesperson for Smith’s office declined to comment on the order.
Justice Department regulations require Smith, who plans to conclude his investigation before Trump returns to office on Jan. 20, to submit a final report to Attorney General Merrick Garland. Garland previously pledged to make all special counsel reports public during his term.
Prosecutors said in a court filing Tuesday that Garland, who named Smith, had not yet decided how to handle the portion of the report relating to the classified documents case.
Cannon, a Trump appointee, dismissed charges against Trump and his two co-defendants in July 2024 after ruling that Smith was inappropriately appointed. Prosecutors are appealing the decision regarding Nauta and De Oliveira.