A federal judge has granted the U.S. Justice Department permission to publicly release part of a report detailing the investigation into President-elect Donald Trump’s alleged efforts to subvert the 2020 election results.
The decision, issued by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, comes after a protracted legal battle. Cannon, a Trump appointee during his first term, had previously restricted the Justice Department from releasing the full report authored by former Special Counsel Jack Smith.
While the green light applies to the report’s section on election subversion, Judge Cannon held off on allowing congressional leaders access to a related portion concerning Trump’s handling of classified documents. An emergency hearing is scheduled for later this week to address that matter.
Attorney General Merrick Garland had previously announced his intention to release the election-focused portion of the report to the public. However, he refrained from publishing details of the classified documents case due to ongoing criminal proceedings involving Trump allies Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira.
Late Monday, Trump’s legal team filed a request to extend a temporary injunction barring publication of the report, which is set to expire at midnight.
Jack Smith, who resigned as special counsel earlier this month, spearheaded two of the four criminal cases brought against Trump after he left office. However, those efforts faltered when Cannon dismissed the classified documents case and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that former presidents hold sweeping immunity from prosecution for official acts.
Neither of the cases reached trial. Subsequently, the Justice Department dropped its pursuit of the cases, citing policies that shield sitting presidents from prosecution.
This development marks a pivotal moment in a series of legal entanglements that have shadowed Trump’s path to his second presidency. Whether the report’s release will influence ongoing political or legal discourse remains to be seen.