A federal judge has blocked Jack Smith, who acted as a federal special counsel even though he never was confirmed by the Senate, from releasing his final arguments and rantings against President-elect Donald Trump, at least temporarily.
Smith was in charge of two fronts of the Democrats’ lawfare against Trump: the dispute over Trump’s possession of certain documents after his presidency and his opinions about the failings of the 2020 presidential election tabulation.
BREAKING: Judge Cannon Blocks Release of Special Counsel Report on Trump’s Criminal Cases, Trump Reacts at Mar-a-Lago |
Not a good day for Jack Smith.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has temporarily blocked the release of special counsel Jack Smith’s report on the criminal… pic.twitter.com/xMk8axWJCI
— Overton (@overton_news) January 7, 2025
It is Just the News that explained it is Judge Aileen Cannon who said Smith could not release his “final report” on his attacks on Trump for now.
“Cannon delayed the release until the court has time to review an emergency motion Monday that made such a request from two Trump co-defendants,” the report said.
At issue are Smith’s already-widely publicized opinions about Trumps actions and comments about the 2020 election and his possession of classified documents.
Smith had planned to release his opinions just as Trump is preparing to resume occupancy of the White House on Jan. 20.
Trump’s lawyers also told Attorney General Merrick Garland that the decision should be left to the incoming administration. Also, Trump co-defendants Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira said Smith does not have the authority to serve as special counsel and should not have access to the materials in the report.
That’s based on the fact that Smith was in private practice before suddenly being named special counsel, a position that needs confirmation from the Senate, which he never got.
Both cases have been suspended and essentially are dead, given presidential immunity rulings and precedents, leaving Smith, who is expected to leave his post soon, without options other than to try to lobby the public through his claims against Trump.
To prevent “harm,” Cannon, a judge in Florida, ruled that Smith is “temporarily enjoined” from “releasing, sharing, or transmitting the Final Report or any drafts of such Report outside the Justice Department.”
Typically special counsels report to the attorney general, not necessarily the public, anyway.
Cannon’s decision remains in effect until three days after a resolution is announced from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
A report in Forbes said Smith, in preparation for his departure, drafted a “final report” regarding his opinions about Trump.
The report said Trump’s lawyers told Merrick the report should remain private, or it should be left to Trump’s incoming DOJ.
The report noted most of Smith’s claims about Trump have been publicized already, including in multiple court filings just before the election, when any information that might have been damaging would have had the highest level of impact.
Smith announced his intention to leave his position after Trump assured supporters that Smith could be fired on day one.
Curiously, and in an indication the DOJ was not handling all similar cases evenly, another special counsel found Joe Biden did have classified government documents in several locations, including in his unsecured garage next to an antique car, but decided against any charges against Biden.
Further, members of Congress already have instructed Smith to preserve all his investigative documents in preparation for a congressional investigation of Smith himself.
Trump has repeatedly called Smith’s attacks “witch hunts.”
In reaction to Tuesday’s decision, Trump told reporters in Palm Beach, Florida: “People are destroyed because of what they did. Destroyed. But we got to be president.”
