Federal judge clears way for release of special counsel report on Trump election case

A federal judge cleared the way for the release of the special counsel report on President-elect Trump’s election interference case on Monday.

Judge Aileen Cannon approved the release of the first of two volumes of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation in her Monday ruling. Cannon will consider releasing the second volume, which relates to Trump’s handling of classified documents, on Friday.

Smith suspended his investigations into Trump after the president-elect secured his return to the White House in November.

Cannon had issued a temporary block on releasing Smith’s reports last week after Trump co-defendants Waltine Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira filed an emergency motion to block the reported imminent release of Smith’s final report.

Cannon prohibited the release of the report as she considered Nauta and De Oliveira’s claims.

Cannon said Smith was ‘temporarily enjoined’ from ‘releasing, sharing, or transmitting the Final Report or any drafts of such Report outside the Department of Justice.’

She ultimately ruled against the pair on Monday, however, arguing that there was ‘insufficient basis’ to grant an injunction against releasing the report.

It is customary for special counsels to release a final report, detailing the findings of their investigation and explaining any prosecution or declination decisions they reached. In Smith’s case, the prosecution decision is immaterial, given Trump’s status as president-elect and long-standing Justice Department policy against bringing criminal charges against a sitting president. 

Trump has blasted Smith’s work as a ‘fake report.’

Attorney General Merrick Garland has opted to release the reports from two other special counsels whose investigations concluded during his tenure – publishing both the summary reports submitted by John Durham, who was tapped by then-Attorney General Bill Barr in 2019 to review the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, as well as the final report from Robert Hur, a former U.S. attorney whom he tapped in 2023 to investigate President Biden’s handling of classified documents.

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.