Trump's attorneys ask Garland to stop the release of special counsel report as his former codefendants take the matter to federal court

Attorneys for President-elect Donald Trump asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to remove special counsel Jack Smith from his post and either decline to release Smith's upcoming report detailing his investigations into the president-elect or hand over the matter to Trump's incoming administration, according to a letter released Monday. 

The letter, addressed to Garland and a top career official at the Justice Department, alleged the special counsel did not have the legal authority to submit a final report summarizing his dual investigations into Trump and urged the attorney general to "put an end to this weaponization of the justice system and move forward constructively." The correspondence was written in part by defense attorneys Todd Blanche and Emile Bove, Trump's picks to serve as deputy attorney general and principal deputy attorney general in his upcoming administration. 

Smith led two now-defunct investigations into the president-elect, one tied to his alleged efforts to resist the peaceful transfer of power and overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and another based on accusations that Trump unlawfully retained sensitive government records after he left office in 2021. The probes resulted in criminal indictments against Trump, which have since been dismissed. Trump initially pleaded not guilty and denied all wrongdoing.