US judge permanently blocks release of Jack Smith report on Trump classified documents case
WASHINGTON, DC: A US federal judge on Monday, February 23, permanently barred the Justice Department from releasing a special counsel report tied to Trump's classified documents case.
US District Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that the second volume of former special counsel Jack Smith’s final report, which examined Trump’s handling of classified records after his first term, cannot be made public.
The decision follows the dismissal of the criminal case in 2024 and the Justice Department’s move to drop its appeal after Trump’s reelection. Absent the court’s order, the report had been scheduled for release on Tuesday, February 24.
Judge Cannon says release would undermine fairness
Aileen Cannon, appointed to the federal bench during Trump’s first term, granted requests from Trump and his former co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira, to block the release of the report’s second volume.
The order prohibits Attorney General Pam Bondi or her successors from releasing or sharing that portion of the report outside the Justice Department.
In a 15-page ruling, Cannon sharply criticized former special counsel Jack Smith for compiling the report after she had ruled in July 2024 that his appointment was unconstitutional and dismissed the charges.
“Special Counsel Smith and his team went ahead for months, undeterred, preparing [the classified documents report] using discovery collected in connection with this proceeding and expending government funds in the process,” Cannon wrote. “To say this chronology represents, at a minimum, a concerning breach of the spirit of the Dismissal Order is an understatement, if not an outright violation of it.”
Cannon further wrote, “Special Counsel Smith, acting without lawful authority, obtained an indictment in this action and initiated proceedings that resulted in a final order of dismissal of all charges. As a result, the former defendants in this case, like any other defendant in this situation, still enjoy the presumption of innocence held sacrosanct in our constitutional order.”
She added, “For obvious reasons, the Court need not take actions in contravention of that protection absent a statutory or other lawful directive to do so.”
Legal and political fallout surrounding the report
The classified documents case focused on allegations that Trump retained sensitive government materials at his Mar-a-Lago residence after leaving office and obstructed efforts to retrieve them.
Trump denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to all charges. In 2024, Cannon dismissed the case, ruling that Smith’s appointment as special counsel was unlawful.
Smith had brought two criminal cases against Trump in 2023, one related to alleged efforts to challenge the 2020 election results and the other concerning classified documents. Both cases concluded following Trump’s reelection. Before resigning, Smith submitted a two-volume report to then Attorney General Merrick Garland outlining his investigations.
Trump’s attorneys argued that making the report public would violate constitutional principles. “The potential, improper release of Volume II would constitute an irreversible violation of this Court's constitutional rulings in the underlying criminal action and of bedrock principles of the separation of powers,” they wrote.
Justice Department lawyers separately argued that Smith’s investigation was “unlawful from its inception,” adding that the report should remain an internal, confidential document.
