A federal judge has permanently barred the release of a report by special counsel Jack Smith on his investigation into President Donald Trump’s hoarding of classified documents.
Smith, 56, investigated Trump over his alleged attempt to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election and over his alleged retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence after leaving office, only for the cases to be dismissed once Trump returned to power.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, granted a request Monday from the Republican president to keep under wraps the report detailing Smith’s findings in the probe that resulted in criminal charges in 2023.
Trump demanded the judge block the DOJ from releasing Smith’s final report on the classified documents affair, filing a motion arguing that its release would “irreparably harm” the president and his former co-defendants because it was “inherently biased.”
Cannon, who in 2024 dismissed the case after concluding that Smith was unlawfully appointed, said the release of the report would present a “manifest injustice” to Trump and his two co-defendants.
“Special Counsel Smith, acting without lawful authority, obtained an indictment in this action and initiated proceedings that resulted in a final order of dismissal of all charges,” she wrote.
The president unceremoniously fired DOJ officials who had worked on Smith’s investigations last January and subsequently threatened five law firms with connections to Democrats.
