Aileen Cannon permanently blocks release of special counsel report on Trump documents
Washington — aileen cannon on Monday issued a permanent order preventing the Justice Department from releasing the portion of former special counsel Jack Smith's report that details the investigation into President Trump's alleged mishandling of sensitive government documents and alleged obstruction of the federal probe. The ruling stops the attorney general from sharing that portion of the final report and came as the document was set to become public on Tuesday.
Aileen Cannon's order and scope
The order granted requests from the president and two former co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira, to prohibit public release of the report's second volume. It specifically bars the attorney general, Pam Bondi, or her successors from releasing or sharing that portion of the final report. The judge found that releasing the material would expose large amounts of case-related material that remain subject to an existing protective order.
Legal reasoning cited in the decision
In her written decision, the judge wrote that the former special counsel's appointment was challenged and that the resulting indictment and proceedings were initiated "without lawful authority. " The decision noted that the defendants still enjoy the presumption of innocence and that the court would not act against that protection without a statutory or other lawful directive. The opinion also observed that previous final reports by former special counsels appeared in contexts where no charges were brought or after adjudications of guilt by plea or trial — circumstances the court said differ from this case, where charges were contested and defendants maintained their innocence.
Background actions and immediate reactions
Bondi had already concluded that the second volume should not be released to the public, citing questions about the legality of the special counsel's appointment among the reasons for withholding it. The judge reiterated that the second volume contains "voluminous discovery" tied to protective orders issued earlier in the proceedings. Smith had appealed an earlier ruling that the appointment was unlawful; that ruling led to dismissal of the charges in the documents case, and the matter later concluded after the president won a second term in the White House.
- Key takeaways: The order blocks public release of the report's second volume and bars the attorney general from sharing it; the judge cited appointment legality and protective-ordered discovery; the report had been scheduled to be made public on Tuesday.
Kendra Wharton, one of the president's lawyers, praised the ruling as a correct protection of grand jury testimony, discovery materials, and defendants' rights. A spokesperson for the former special counsel declined to comment, and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
What happens next will depend on enforcement of the court's order and whether any party seeks further judicial action. The order is framed as a permanent bar on the release of the second volume, and the judge emphasized the tension between public disclosure and protections tied to discovery and the presumption of innocence.
