The federal judge overseeing President-elect Donald Trump's now-dismissed case involving classified documents in Florida has temporarily blocked the Justice Department. issue a report Prepared by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
Judge Eileen Cannon issued an order Tuesday blocking the Justice Department from releasing the report while the legal fight continues. Prosecutors had said in an earlier filing that the two-volume document could be released as soon as Friday pending Attorney General Merrick Garland's decision.
Earlier on Tuesday, attorneys for Trump's former co-defendants Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira filed an emergency motion similar to one they filed earlier in Canon's court, asking the appeals court to block the release of Smith's report. Was asked to stop.
Cannon ruled Tuesday that his order “will remain in effect until three days after resolution by the Eleventh Circuit of the emergency motion, unless the Eleventh Circuit orders otherwise,” meaning he left it up to the appeals court to decide. Will decide whether the special counsel report can be issued or not.
The legal dispute over the report comes less than two weeks before the inauguration of Trump's second term in the White House, with the special counsel completing his work before he takes office. Smith oversaw two cases against Trump: the documents case in Florida, and a case in Washington, D.C. related to Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, in which Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges. , which has since been rejected.
The case over the classified documents is pending in an appeals court. Federal prosecutors opted to keep the case alive in an effort to overturn Canon's previous finding that Smith was hired unlawfully. Smith dismissed the case against Trump, but opted to pursue an appeal as it pertained to his co-defendants.
Cannon's order on Tuesday said he had not made any decision about whether the special counsel report should be released, but instead left the entire case to the appeals court to decide.
Both the Justice Department and the special counsel's office declined to comment on Canon's latest move.