Judge clears way for release of Jack Smith report on Trump's Jan. 6 case

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Jan 13, 2025

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Judge Aileen Cannon on Monday cleared the way for the release anytime after midnight Tuesday morning of special counsel Jack Smith’s report into President-elect Donald Trump’s Jan. 6 election interference case.

The Florida federal judge, who has delivered a series of Trump-friendly rulings, ruled that Attorney General Merrick Garland may release the portion of Smith’s report dealing with Trump’s effort to overturn his loss in the 2020 election when a previous order expires at the end of Monday.

Garland has said he will release the report unless an appeals court or the Supreme Court steps in. There was no immediate word on whether Trump or others were seeking such an order from a higher court.

Trump railed against the forthcoming report before even knowing its contents, predicting it will be little more than a smear from Smith.

Cannon ordered a Friday hearing to consider whether prosecutors can release a separate volume of Smith’s report related to Trump’s classified documents case, which she presided over. Garland has said he planned to hand that over to congressional leaders, but to keep it sealed from public view.

It’s not known if the Jan. 6 report may include any significant new information about Trump’s failed scheme to stay in power after losing to President Joe Biden.

Before Trump won reelection, Smith was seeking to continue a narrower prosecution of Trump in the Jan. 6 case after the Supreme Court granted Trump significant criminal immunity for official acts taken while serving in the White House.

Smith later dropped the indictments against Trump in the Jan. 6 case and the separate charges against him for improperly taking classified documents when he left the White House in 2021, bowing to DoJ policies barring prosecution of sitting presidents.

Smith resigned from his post as special counsel Friday after submitting one volume on each case.

Cannon had previously dismissed the classified documents case against Trump and two Mar-a-Lago employees on the grounds that Smith was improperly appointed. Smith dropped his appeal of that ruling when Trump won the November vote.

Despite having dismissed the case, Cannon surprised many legal observers last week when she blocked release of Smith’s report on the grounds it could compromise the rights of Trump’s co-defendants in the documents case.