If the headline of this article is giving you a sense of déjà vu, that’s understandable. Less than a week ago, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon temporarily enjoined the Department of Justice from releasing (former) Special Counsel Jack Smith’s “Final Report” regarding his investigation into and prosecution of President-elect Donald Trump. That set off a flurry of filings both in the 11th Circuit and before Cannon over the release of the report, and were I to attempt to diagram them all for our readers, I’d finish sometime around the time of the inauguration and likely pull my hair out in the process.
Advertisement
The crux of it is this: There are two volumes of the report. The first involves the D.C. case brought against Trump regarding alleged 2020 election interference. The second involves the Florida classified documents case. In that second case, Trump has two named co-defendants: Walt Nauta and Carlos DeOliveira, and it is the co-defendants who first raised the issue.
BLOCKED: Judge Cannon Enjoins Jack Smith From Releasing ‘Final Report’
11th Circuit Makes Key Decision on Release of Jack Smith’s Report
While Cannon has previously determined that Smith was not constitutionally appointed to his Special Counsel role, Smith has since dismissed the cases against Trump in light of the fact that he will soon be retaking the presidency. But the case against Nauta and DeOliveira remains live. They contend that releasing the report would prejudice their defense. (Similarly, there are unindicted co-conspirators and others referenced in the D.C. case, some of whom are defending against ongoing prosecutions in Georgia, Arizona, and Michigan, who also contend the release of the report may prejudice their defense.)
Breaking:
Judge Cannon rules Garland can release Vol I of the Smith report about the DC case, but temporarily cannot release Vol II about the Mar-a-lago case.
— Leslie McAdoo Gordon 🇺🇸 (@McAdooGordon) January 13, 2025
After the 11th Circuit ruled that the report could be released, Nauta and DeOliveira filed an emergency motion with Cannon to prevent the release. Cannon has now ruled on that emergency motion and essentially split the baby. (Her full order may be viewed below.)
Advertisement
- Cannon denied the motion as to Volume 1 (the D.C./election interference portion of the report).
- As to Volume 2 (the FL/classified documents portion of the report), she has set a hearing for the afternoon of Friday, January 17, allowing for additional briefing ahead of it, and enjoined release of that volume in the interim.
How this will ultimately shake out remains to be seen. Defendants might appeal her denial as to Volume 1. The Government might appeal her enjoining the release of Volume 2, although given that the hearing will be held on Friday, they may opt not to.
In any event, we’ll continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as they become available.
DJT – FL – Cannon Order – 1-13-25 by Susie Moore on Scribd
