TOWNHALL | Published January 10, 2025
On Thursday, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals denied a motion from President-elect Donald Trump and co-defendants in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case, Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira, who asked the court to block the release of the final report from Special Counsel Jack Smith.
As The Hill reported:
A federal appeals court on Thursday rejected a bid from President-elect Trump’s two co-defendants in the Mar-a-Lago documents case to block the release of special counsel Jack Smith’s final report.
The court’s swift decision comes after the Trump team late Monday asked two different courts to bar the release of Smith’s report, set to cover both the Mar-a-Lago investigation and that into Trump’s efforts to block the transfer of power after he lost the 2020 election.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals denied the emergency motion. It did not, however, speed a lower court ruling that limits their decision from taking effect for three days.
Federal prosecutors argued there was no need to enjoin the release of Smith’s report. In a Wednesday filing, they wrote Attorney General Merrick Garland had determined it would be appropriate to publicly release only the Jan. 6 portion of the two-volume report.
At Smith’s advice, Garland committed to not releasing the volume of the report dealing with the Mar-a-Lago documents probe to avoid prejudicing a future jury. Valet Walt Nauta and property manager Carlos de Oliveira remain on trial even after charges were dropped with regard to Trump due to Justice Department policy barring the prosecution of a sitting president.
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The decision also unwinds a lower court ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon, who on Tuesday issued an order barring Garland from releasing both volumes of his report.
Attorney General Merrick Garland’s intentions to release Smith’s reports have been news for months, even after Trump won the election, though Smith did move to drop all of his cases. He did so without prejudice, though, meaning the charges could theoretically be brought back when Trump has left office in 2029. Such requests from the co-defendants, have also been in the news this week.
Steven Cheung, the Trump Communication Director, sent out a statement that was also emailed from the Trump-Vance transition team. Such a statement focused heavily on calling out Smith, as well as the “the political weaponization of our Justice system.”
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SOURCE: www.townhall.com
RELATED: 11th Circuit Makes Key Decision on Release of Jack Smith’s Report
REDSTATE | Published January 10, 2025
Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report on investigations involving former President Donald Trump has been at the center of a legal tug-of-war, but on Thursday night, the 11th Circuit blocked the effort to thwart the report’s release.
Smith’s report primarily addresses Trump’s alleged efforts to challenge the 2020 election results, but it also includes a section on the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case—a case Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed last year. Cannon initially ordered the release be put on hold pending further legal proceedings. The 11th Circuit ruled, however, that the report could be released.
The court did uphold the three-day delay for release, though, meaning the soonest it can be made public is Sunday.
BREAKING: 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has *DENIED* effort to block Jack Smith’s final report.
But Cannon’s order keeping a hold in place for three days remains in effect. This means Garland can’t release it until Sunday or later. pic.twitter.com/XFr2bYSMtV
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) January 10, 2025
Attorney General Merrick Garland plans to release the first volume of the report, which focuses on election-related matters, to Congress and the public. However, Judge Cannon ordered a three-day delay following any ruling by the 11th Circuit, a move the DOJ has criticized as unnecessary. The Justice Department argued that the delay hampers its ability to provide transparency on an issue of national importance.
The second volume of the report, which pertains to the classified documents case, will not be released publicly while the legal battle over the Mar-a-Lago documents case continues. Instead, the DOJ has stated it will only allow private access to this material for key congressional leaders.
Even with these assurances, Trump’s former co-defendants expressed concern in a recent filing about potential leaks from Democrats in Congress, warning that political motives could undermine the integrity of the case.
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SOURCE: www.redstate.com
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