The US Justice Department will not publicly release the entire special counsel report on Trump Reuters
By Sarah N. Lynch and Andrew Goudsward
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department will not release special counsel Jack Smith’s report on Donald Trump’s withholding of classified information for now, it said on Wednesday, citing the ongoing prosecution of two associates of the president-elect.
That portion of Smith’s report will be available to certain members of Congress charged with judicial oversight, the department said in a filing with the Atlanta-based federal appeals court.
The department said Smith has completed his two-volume report on Trump and that Attorney General Merrick Garland plans to release only the first part, which deals with Trump’s efforts to undermine the 2020 presidential election, for now.
Although the Department dropped both criminal prosecutions of Trump after the November election, it is continuing its case against two other defendants, Waltina Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, who worked for Trump, over the documents.
Justice Department regulations require Smith to submit a final report at the end of his investigation.
It was unclear how much information it would contain that has yet to be revealed in the now-dismissed criminal case Smith brought against Trump over the 2020 election and a 700-page congressional committee report that examined similar events.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who oversaw the classified documents case, temporarily blocked the department from releasing the report following requests from Nauta and De Oliveira.
The Justice Department said that limited disclosure of the documents report to members of congressional leadership would advance the public interest while protecting the interests of the two remaining defendants.
US prosecutors accused Trump of illegally retaining classified records after he left the White House in January 2021 and attempting to obstruct the government’s efforts to retrieve them.
They also accused Trump of trying to obstruct the government from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory over Trump.
The Justice Department dropped both criminal prosecutions against Trump, citing its longstanding policy against prosecuting the sitting president.
Prosecutors urged the appeals court to reopen their case against Nauta and De Oliveira, who have pleaded not guilty to obstruction charges. Cannon previously dismissed all charges after ruling that Smith was improperly appointed as a special prosecutor.
