Jack Smith Suffers One Final Legal Defeat On His Way Out The Door
After years of striving to put President Donald Trump behind bars, much of Jack Smith’s work might never see the light of day.
On his way out the door, the former special prosecutor suffered one final humiliation at the hands of Florida U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who ruled that Smith would not be allowed to present his findings in the classified documents case to Congress. A ruling by Cannon on Tuesday prevents the U.S. Department of Justice from sending copies of Smith’s report to the House and Senate Judiciary committees.
Cannon wrote in her decision that there is “no urgent need” for Smith to inform lawmakers about his investigation, given that Trump has been elected and carries the power to dismiss his own federal cases.
“Given the very strong public interest in this criminal proceeding and the absence of any enforceable limits on the proposed disclosure, there is certainly a reasonable likelihood that review by members of Congress as proposed will result in public dissemination of all or part of Volume II,” she wrote.
Earlier this month, Smith released his first report on the election interference case, which relied on mostly public information and did not shed much new light on Trump’s words or statements around the 2020 election. However, the release of the classified documents report would publicize “detailed and voluminous” information outlining why Trump was charged, much of which “has not been made public in court filings,” the judge wrote.
Cannon also rebuked former U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland for rushing the timeline “to comply with the historical practice of all Special Counsel” before the end of the Biden-Harris administration.
“These statements do not reflect well on the Department,” she wrote, according to NBC News. “There is no ‘historical practice’ of providing Special Counsel reports to Congress, even on a limited basis, pending conclusion of criminal proceedings. In fact, there is not one instance of this happening until now.”
Cannon also shot holes in Garland’s assertion that lawmakers should be educated on Trump’s possession of classified documents. “There is no indication of pending legislative activity that could be aided by the proposed disclosure of Volume II to the specified members of Congress,” she added.
“Prosecutors play a special role in our criminal justice system and are entrusted and expected to do justice,” the judge concluded. “The Department of Justice’s position on Defendants’ Emergency Motion as to Volume II has not been faithful to that obligation.”
Garland charged Trump and two aides, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, in 2021 after the U.S. National Archives accused Trump of refusing to return classified documents in his possession. Judge Cannon dismissed the case against Trump last year, concluding that Smith had been improperly appointed by Garland. Nauta and De Oliveira are pursuing appeals in the case.
