Garland Set to Unveil Jack Smith’s Findings on Trump’s Alleged Interference in the 2020 Election

Garland plans to keep the classified documents report under wraps as the proceedings against Trump's co-defendants continue.

Garland Set to Unveil Jack Smith’s Findings on Trump’s Alleged Interference in the 2020 Election
Attorney General Merrick Garland plans to make public special counsel Jack Smith's final report, which details evidence that Donald Trump engaged in a criminal conspiracy to undermine the 2020 election and disenfranchise millions of voters.

However, Garland will not release a second volume of the report, which pertains to Smith’s case against Trump for accumulating classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after leaving the presidency in 2021.

The Justice Department announced Garland’s decision on Wednesday morning in a court filing that opposed Trump's attempt to prevent Smith from releasing his final report entirely, stating, “since the President-elect is no longer a defendant in any Special Counsel matter.” Both cases against Trump were dismissed after he secured re-election in November, referencing long-standing DOJ policies that discourage the prosecution of a sitting president.

By choosing to withhold the second volume, it appears that the responsibility will fall to Trump’s Justice Department, which will be tasked with deciding the fate of the case against Trump’s co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira. Despite expectations that Trump might terminate the ongoing prosecution of his former co-defendants and his objections to the public release of the final report, it presents a complicated scenario for the incoming president. Trump has previously supported the public disclosure of special counsel reports, including Robert Hur’s critical assessment of President Joe Biden.

The Justice Department has stated that it intends to provide a redacted version of the classified documents report to the leaders of the House and Senate judiciary committees, as long as those lawmakers agree not to share any details publicly.

This filing from prosecutors was in response to a request from Trump, Nauta, and De Oliveira to prevent Smith from releasing any part of his final report. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, appointed by Trump and overseeing the classified documents case, temporarily barred Smith from releasing his report until three days after the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit Court of Appeals makes a final decision.

In the filing, prosecutors urged the 11th Circuit to overturn Cannon’s ruling, which seemingly halts the release of any section of the report for the time being. The Justice Department is waiting for a decision from the 11th Circuit on this appeal before establishing a timeline for the release of the 2020 election report.

Cannon dismissed the case against all three defendants in July, asserting that Garland’s original appointment of Smith was not valid. The DOJ was in the process of appealing that decision when Trump was re-elected.

Additionally, the Justice Department disclosed that Smith formally submitted his report to Garland on Tuesday night and advised against the public release of the section related to Nauta and De Oliveira's ongoing prosecution. Smith also noted that both volumes of the report “minimize the identification of witnesses and co-conspirators.”

Ramin Sohrabi for TROIB News