POLITICS

Judge clears way for release of special counsel Jack Smith report on Trump’s Jan. 6 case

Jan 13, 2025, 11:02 AM | Updated: Jan 14, 2025, 11:22 am

Image: Special counsel Jack Smith speaks about an indictment of former President Donald Trump on Tu...

Special counsel Jack Smith speaks about an indictment of former President Donald Trump on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, at a Department of Justice office in Washington, D.C. (File photo: Jacquelyn Martin, AP)

(File photo: Jacquelyn Martin, AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department can publicly release special counsel Jack Smith’s investigative report on President-elect Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case, a federal judge said Monday — the latest ruling in a court dispute over the highly anticipated document days before Trump is set to take office again.

But a temporary injunction barring the immediate release of the report remains in effect until Tuesday, and it’s unlikely U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s order will be the last word on the matter. Defense lawyers may seek to challenge it all the way up to the Supreme Court.

Cannon, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, had earlier temporarily blocked the department from releasing the entire report on Smith’s investigations into Trump that led to two separate criminal cases. Cannon’s latest order on Monday cleared the way for the release of the volume detailing Smith’s case that accused Trump, a Republican, of conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden, a Democrat.

More on the special counsel: Jack Smith resigns after submitting his Trump report, Justice Department says

She set a hearing for Friday on whether the department can release to lawmakers the volume on the case that accused Trump of hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate after he left the White House in 2021. The department has said it will not publicly disclose that volume as long as criminal proceedings against two of Trump’s co-defendants remain pending.

Cannon dismissed the classified documents case in July, ruling that Smith’s appointment was illegal. And the Justice Department abandoned both cases after Trump’s presidential victory in November, citing department policy that prohibits the federal prosecutions of sitting presidents.

Smith resigned his position on Friday after transmitting his report to Attorney General Merrick Garland, the Justice Department revealed in a footnote in a court filing over the weekend.

The ruling, if it stands, could open the door for the public to learn additional details in the coming days about Trump’s frantic but ultimately failed effort to cling to power in the run-up to the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol.

But even as Cannon permitted the release of the volume on election interference, she halted the Justice Department from immediately sharing with congressional officials a separate volume related to Trump’s hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

Lawyers for the Republican president elect’s two co-defendants, Trump valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira, had argued that the release of the report would prejudice them given that criminal proceedings remain ongoing against them in the form of a Justice Department appeal of Cannon’s dismissal of charges.

As a compromise, the Justice Department said that it would not make that document public but would instead share it with select congressional officials for their private review. But Cannon halted those plans and instead scheduled a hearing for Friday afternoon.

“All parties agree that Volume II expressly and directly concerns this criminal proceeding,” she wrote. “All parties also appear to agree that public release of Volume II would be inconsistent with the fair trial rights of Defendants Nauta and De Oliveira and with Department of Justice Policy governing the release of information during the pendency of criminal proceedings.”

Politics

FILE - State Sen. Niraj Antani, R-6th District, listens during a debate in the Senate Chambers in C...

Associated Press

Amid ‘new dynamic,’ former state Sen. Niraj Antani drops one statewide campaign, launches another

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Former Republican state Sen. Niraj Antani is suspending his 2026 campaign for Ohio secretary of state to run for state treasurer. Antani, 33, of Miamisburg in the Dayton area, on Wednesday cited the “new dynamic” injected into the contest last week when Ohio’s sitting statewide officeholders finally settled into their lanes. […]

1 hour ago

A bouquet of white flowers placed outside the headquarters of the United States Agency for Internat...

Associated Press

USAID employees want a judge to keep blocking Trump’s effort to pull most of them off the job

WASHINGTON (AP) — Employees at the U.S. Agency for International Development are asking a federal judge on Thursday to keep blocking an effort by President Donald Trump’s administration meant to pull all but a fraction of worldwide staffers off the job. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, who was nominated by Trump, handed the administration and […]

2 hours ago

Associated Press

The Latest: Trump prepares broad tariffs order ahead of meeting with India’s Modi

President Donald Trump meets Thursday with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has heaped praise on him and is hoping to avoid tariffs that Trump has ordered for imports from other countries. The White House said Trump would sign a new order ahead of their meeting that could impose reciprocal tariffs across the global economy. […]

3 hours ago

President Donald Trump attends the National Prayer Breakfast at Washington Hilton, Thursday, Feb. 6...

Associated Press

Given Christianity’s dominance in US, Trump raises eyebrows with anti-Christian bias initiative

Christianity is by far the largest faith in America, and Christian conservatives have a strong grip on the levers of government. That dominance is leaving many to question why President Donald Trump’s new task force on eradicating anti-Christian bias is needed. Critics see the task force initiative as unnecessary and pandering to Trump’s base. But […]

3 hours ago

President Donald Trump speaks as Tulsi Gabbard is sworn in as the Director of National Intelligence...

Associated Press

Trump says he’ll sign sweeping reciprocal tariffs on US trading partners on Thursday

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he’ll sign an order that increases U.S. tariffs to the rates other countries charge on imports. “TODAY IS THE BIG ONE: RECIPROCAL TARIFFS!!!” Trump posted on his social media site, Truth Social. “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” The prospect of a dramatic hike on tariffs could send […]

4 hours ago

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, front left, and Britain's Defense Secretary John H...

Associated Press

NATO is in disarray after the US announces that its security priorities lie elsewhere

BRUSSELS (AP) — In just one speech by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week, the most powerful member of NATO has thrown the world’s biggest military alliance into disarray, raising troubling questions about America’s commitment to European security. Hegseth told almost 50 of Ukraine ’s Western backers on Wednesday that he had joined their […]

4 hours ago

Judge clears way for release of special counsel Jack Smith report on Trump’s Jan. 6 case