The day after the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals he denied the effort To prevent the release of special counsel Jack Smith’s final report on two investigations into Donald Trump, the president-elect’s former accusers are trying to prevent US Attorney General Merrick Garland from releasing the report to members of Congress.
Attorneys for Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira on Friday asked U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who earlier this week temporarily blocked the release of the report while the Eleventh Circuit considered the matter, to extend a three-day restraining order barring the release of the report. Held hearing to publish portion of Smith’s report on Garland’s proposed plan investigation of classified documents To the senior members and chairmen of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.
If successful, the move could lead to a further delay in the report’s release before Trump’s January 20 presidential inauguration.
“Once the report is released to Congress, this Court will lose its ability to control the flow of information related to privileged and confidential matters in a criminal proceeding,” wrote lawyers for Nauta, a longtime Trump aide, and De Oliveira. -a-Lago employee. This makes it imperative to delay the issuance of the Final Report until this matter is resolved, as there will be no way to put the proverbial cat back in the bag after the Final Report is shared with Congress, and there will be no way to control the conversation in Congress about what lies ahead. criminal case”.
It is unclear whether Judge Cannon has the authority to extend his restraining order after the Eleventh Circuit’s ruling left Cannon’s temporary injunction to stop the release of the report the only challenge. The Justice Department notified Judge Cannon earlier Friday of its intention to appeal his order, seeking to overturn the three-day restriction.
Garland has indicated his intention to make Volume Two of the report, on Trump’s classified documents, available to the leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees as soon as he is authorized to do so, and Volume One. of the report on Trump’s efforts Flip the 2020 electionavailable to the public.
Lawyers Nauta and De Oliveira asked Cannon last year dismissed the classified documents caseGarland to hear whether the release of the report should be blocked while the government appeals the dismissal of the case against Nauta and De Oliveira.
President-elect Donald Trump delivers remarks at Mar-a-Lagon in Palm Beach, Florida, on January 7, 2025.
Carlos Barria/Reuters
“”This court presides over the criminal matter and is best suited to resolve the questions presented by Defendants’ petition for injunctive relief,” the attorneys wrote.
Trump He pleaded not guilty Up to 37 criminal charges related to the handling of classified material in June 2023, after prosecutors said he repeatedly refused to turn over hundreds of documents containing classified information ranging from US nuclear secrets to national defense capabilities, and took steps to thwart the government’s efforts to obtain them. documents back Trump, Nauta and De Oliveira too He pleaded not guilty In a superseding indictment for trying to delete surveillance footage from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
Friday’s filing comes amid heightened tensions between Trump’s lawyers and the Justice Department. On Thursday, Trump’s accusers suggested the DOJ violated Cannon’s order by sending a letter to Congress about Smith ending his investigation. Smith, on the other hand, filed a statement saying that the defense’s assertion is baseless.
“There is nothing about the government’s submission to President-elect Trump’s counsel, the government’s submission to the Eleventh Circuit, or the Attorney General’s letter to Congress that violates this Court’s Order,” Smith wrote.
