Judge permanently blocks release of Trump classified documents report
USA TODAY
Judge Aileen Cannon said releasing special counsel Jack Smith's report would detail alleged criminal wrongdoing in a case that never went to trial.
WASHINGTON − A federal judge permanently blocked the Justice Department from releasing former special counsel Jack Smith's report on his criminal case accusing President Donald Trump of mishandling classified documents he took with him following his first term in office and obstructing government efforts to retrieve them.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, on Feb. 23 found that any public release of the report would be a "manifest injustice" to Trump and two associates because it would detail allegations of alleged criminal wrongdoing in a case that was dismissed before ever going to trial.
The ruling is the latest in a series of decisions by Cannon to protect Trump from having the contents of the case made public.
In July 2024, Cannon ruled that Smith's appointment as special counsel under the administration of President Joe Biden was unconstitutional and dismissed the case.
The Biden Justice Department appealed that decision but ultimately dropped the case and another charging Trump with unlawfully trying to stay in power after losing the 2020 presidential election, after Trump was elected to a second term last November. In both, Smith cited a Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
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