Judge blocks DOJ from sharing Jack Smith's classified docs report with members of Congress
The federal judge who oversaw Donald Trump's classified documents case has blocked the Department of Justice from sharing special counsel Jack Smith's final report on his probe with select members of Congress.
Judge Aileen Cannon, in an order issued one day after Trump's inauguration, offered a scathing criticism of the Department of Justice's "startling" conduct and willingness to "gamble" with the rights of Trump's former co-defendants by attempting to allow four members of Congress to review Smith's final report as directed by DOJ policy.
"Prosecutors play a special role in our criminal justice system and are entrusted and expected to do justice," Cannon wrote. "The Department of Justice's position on Defendants' Emergency Motion ... has not been faithful to that obligation."
Trump pleaded not guilty in June 2023 to 37 criminal counts related to his handling of classified materials, after prosecutors said he repeatedly refused to return hundreds of documents containing classified information. The former president, along with his longtime aide Walt Nauta and staffer Carlos De Oliveira, also pleaded not guilty in a superseding indictment to allegedly attempting to delete surveillance footage at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.
Judge Cannon dismissed the case in July based on the constitutionality of Smith's appointment, and Smith dropped Trump from his appeal of the case after the election due to a longstanding Department of Justice policy prohibiting the prosecution of a sitting president -- but the Justice Department appealed the dismissal of the case against Nauta and De Oliveira.
Cannon, in her ruling issued Tuesday, criticized prosecutors for being willing to release sensitive court materials -- including material pursuant to grand jury subpoenas -- while the case against Trump's former co-defendants is ongoing.
"In short, the Department offers no valid justification for the purportedly urgent desire to release to members of Congress case information in an ongoing criminal proceeding," Cannon wrote.
Cannon expressed concern that the report, if shown to members of Congress, could be leaked publicly and prevent Trump's former co-defendants from having a fair trial.
"This Court lacks any means to enforce any proffered conditions of confidentiality, to the extent they even exist in memorialized form. And most fundamentally, the Department has offered no valid reason to engage in this gamble with the Defendants' rights," the order said.
Cannon's order remains in effect at least 30 days after the case proceedings conclude, at which point the Justice Department can advise the court about their position on the order.
The DOJ's new leadership under the Trump is not expected to press for the report's release, making it unlikely that the report will ever see the light of day.
