Garland Plans to Make Special Counsel Report on Trump Election Case Public
Attorney General Merrick Garland has confirmed plans to release Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report on alleged 2020 election interference involving President-elect Donald Trump. According to a court filing, the Department of Justice will provide both Congress and the public with access to Volume One of Smith’s final report.
The first volume reportedly outlines claims that Trump unlawfully attempted to alter the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. However, Garland has decided to withhold Volume Two, which deals with the classified documents case against Trump, due to ongoing criminal proceedings involving two defendants. The restricted access report will only be shared with the chairpersons and senior members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, who will be barred from disclosing its contents publicly.
“This limited disclosure will further the public interest in keeping congressional leadership apprised of a significant matter within the Department while safeguarding defendants’ interests,” stated attorneys from the Justice Department in response to an appeal seeking to block the report’s release.
Fox News noted that it is customary for special counsels to issue a final report summarizing their investigative findings and decisions regarding prosecutions. In Smith’s case, Fox News added, the decision to prosecute Trump is irrelevant because of the Justice Department’s long-standing policy against criminally charging a sitting president.
Smith’s report was anticipated to be released as early as this week, with plans for him to step down from his position before Trump assumes office on January 20. However, Trump’s co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, filed an emergency motion to prevent the report’s imminent publication. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon from the Southern District of Florida ruled in their favor, issuing a temporary order to block the release to prevent potential harm to the defendants.
Smith acknowledged that he is currently “temporarily enjoined” from “releasing, sharing, or transmitting the Final Report or any drafts of such Report outside the Department of Justice.” This injunction will remain effective until three days after the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals announces its decision on the matter.
Nauta and De Oliveira have both pleaded not guilty to federal charges accusing them of obstructing an FBI investigation into classified documents discovered at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. Garland appointed Smith in 2022 to investigate allegations of election interference by Trump and his associates, as well as the handling of classified documents at Trump’s Florida property.
Trump, for his part, has maintained his innocence in all related matters. Earlier this year, Judge Cannon dismissed Smith’s classified documents case against Trump, arguing that Smith had been improperly appointed as special counsel. Similarly, in November, Judge Tanya Chutkan dismissed the election interference charges brought by Smith, and he subsequently withdrew his appeal of Cannon’s decision.
Garland has previously released reports from other special counsel investigations conducted during his tenure. For instance, he made public the findings of John Durham, who investigated the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, as well as Robert Hur’s report on President Biden’s handling of classified documents.
Separately, Jack Smith could face repercussions once Trump takes office. Former federal prosecutor Andrew Cherkasky suggested that Smith and other prosecutors might be subject to investigations due to the high costs and perceived failures of the prosecutions.
“Whether that yields findings of criminality is unlikely. However, I think it will find that Smith’s novel legal approach was fraught with issues that should have led a reasonable prosecutor to decline prosecution,” Cherkasky told the Daily Caller News Foundation in an exclusive interview. He further predicted that some of Smith’s team members at the Department of Justice could face removal for pursuing legally questionable cases.
Cherkasky also pointed to evidence suggesting that the congressional January 6 committee deliberately ignored exculpatory evidence favoring Trump. If Smith similarly disregarded such evidence, his conduct could warrant harsher consequences.
The Heritage Oversight Project announced its intention to draft a “model indictment” against Smith. The organization indicated that Smith could potentially face charges for conspiring to violate civil rights, among other legal avenues.
Mike Davis, president of the Article III Project, echoed these sentiments, stating on X (formerly Twitter) that Smith and his team must face accountability. “Jack Smith and his office must face severe legal, political, and financial consequences for their blatant lawfare and election interference,” Davis wrote. He further suggested that Smith could be investigated for violating 18 U.S.C. § 241, which pertains to conspiracy against rights.