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Federal Court Bars Public Access to Trump Classified Documents Report
(MENAFN) A federal judge on Monday barred the public from accessing the report compiled by special counsel Jack Smith regarding President Donald Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents and obstruction of justice following his departure from office in 2021.
The ruling, issued by US District Judge Aileen Cannon—appointed by Trump—represents a setback for advocacy groups that had long sought public disclosure of the document.
This report is the second volume produced by Smith. The first volume examined Trump’s alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Joe Biden, and was released in January 2025 during the final days of Biden’s term.
Trump had sought to prevent the release of the second volume, which addresses his handling of classified government records after leaving office and his alleged efforts to obstruct federal investigators attempting to recover them from his Mar-a-Lago residence.
Cannon previously ruled in July 2024 that Smith’s appointment by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland was unconstitutional. In her latest order, she criticized Smith for producing the report, describing it as a "brazen" violation of her prior instructions.
She further condemned the decision allowing Smith to write the report, stating, "it is certainly not customary for a prosecutor, who obtains an indictment and initiates a criminal prosecution that is later dismissed in a final order without an adjudication of guilt, to publicly disseminate large swaths of discovery generated in the case."
“The Court strains to find a situation in which a former special counsel has released a report after initiating criminal charges that did not result in a finding of guilt, at least not in a situation like this one, where the defendants contested the charges from the outset and still proclaim their innocence,” Cannon wrote in her 15-page ruling.
The ruling, issued by US District Judge Aileen Cannon—appointed by Trump—represents a setback for advocacy groups that had long sought public disclosure of the document.
This report is the second volume produced by Smith. The first volume examined Trump’s alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Joe Biden, and was released in January 2025 during the final days of Biden’s term.
Trump had sought to prevent the release of the second volume, which addresses his handling of classified government records after leaving office and his alleged efforts to obstruct federal investigators attempting to recover them from his Mar-a-Lago residence.
Cannon previously ruled in July 2024 that Smith’s appointment by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland was unconstitutional. In her latest order, she criticized Smith for producing the report, describing it as a "brazen" violation of her prior instructions.
She further condemned the decision allowing Smith to write the report, stating, "it is certainly not customary for a prosecutor, who obtains an indictment and initiates a criminal prosecution that is later dismissed in a final order without an adjudication of guilt, to publicly disseminate large swaths of discovery generated in the case."
“The Court strains to find a situation in which a former special counsel has released a report after initiating criminal charges that did not result in a finding of guilt, at least not in a situation like this one, where the defendants contested the charges from the outset and still proclaim their innocence,” Cannon wrote in her 15-page ruling.
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