The Justice Department responded strongly after Judge Aileen Cannon, appointed by Trump, temporarily blocked the release of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report about criminal cases involving President-elect Donald Trump. The DOJ told an appeals court it plans to release part of the report focused on the January 6 investigation.
On Tuesday, Cannon stopped the release of the report outside the Justice Department while former Trump aides Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira appealed the case. But on Wednesday, the DOJ asked the 11th Circuit Court to cancel Cannon’s order. They also promised to release the January 6 report but hold back on releasing information related to classified documents until the appeals are resolved.
In its filing, the DOJ outlined Attorney General Merrick Garland’s plans for the report:
- The Special Counsel’s final report has two volumes.
- Volume One covers the investigation into Trump’s actions related to the 2020 election.
- Volume Two deals with Trump, Nauta, and De Oliveira’s handling of classified documents.
The Attorney General plans to release Volume One to Congress and the public, following regulations, to keep people informed about this important issue. However, Volume Two will not be released publicly while the criminal cases against Nauta and De Oliveira are ongoing. Instead, it will only be shared privately with key leaders in Congress under strict conditions to protect the defendants’ rights.
The DOJ argued that the defendants’ claims, which suggest Garland will release the full report immediately and harm their cases, are wrong. They assured the court that Volume Two would remain private during the criminal proceedings.
The DOJ also called the appeal “baseless” and asked the court to cancel Cannon’s order, allowing the Attorney General to move forward with releasing Volume One and sharing Volume Two privately with Congress.
In conclusion, the DOJ asked the court to deny the emergency motion, remove Cannon’s order, and clarify that there is no reason to block the limited congressional review of Volume Two or the public release of Volume One.
