A federal judge on Monday halted the public release of an investigative report prepared by former special counsel Jack Smith concerning allegations that US President Donald Trump improperly handled classified government records.
District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, had previously thrown out the classified documents case in July 2024, determining that Smith’s appointment as special counsel was not lawful.
Following her decision, the Justice Department initially moved to challenge the ruling but later abandoned the appeal after Trump secured victory in the November 2024 presidential election.
In addition to the classified documents matter, Trump had faced separate allegations that he attempted to reverse the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. That prosecution was also withdrawn by Smith, consistent with longstanding Justice Department guidelines that prohibit the criminal prosecution of a sitting president.
On Monday, Judge Cannon approved a request filed by Trump and two other defendants seeking to prevent the disclosure of Smith’s findings in the classified documents investigation. The motion argued that releasing the report would be inappropriate given that the case did not result in a conviction or formal finding of guilt.
She said it would be unfair to release evidence gathered by prosecutors in a case where there had been no finding of guilt.
“Disclosure of non-public discovery material… would contravene basic notions of fairness and justice,” Cannon wrote. “The former defendants in this case, like any other defendant in this situation, still enjoy the presumption of innocence.
“The Court strains to find a situation in which a former special counsel has released a report after initiating criminal charges that did not result in a finding of guilt,” she said.
The classified documents case centered on claims by Smith that Trump retained sensitive government materials at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida after departing the White House in January 2021 and allegedly obstructed efforts by authorities to retrieve them. Trump denied any wrongdoing throughout the investigation.
The ruling effectively prevents the public from accessing the investigative report, at least for now, and marks another development in a series of legal battles that have surrounded the president before and after his return to office.
What You Should Know
A federal judge has stopped the release of former special counsel Jack Smith’s report on the classified documents case involving President Donald Trump.
The case had previously been dismissed after the judge ruled Smith’s appointment unlawful, and the Justice Department later dropped its appeal.
Trump also faced a separate 2020 election-related case, which was withdrawn in line with policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
The court held that releasing the report without a conviction would undermine the presumption of innocence.
