Attorney General Garland to release Trump report on election charges, but not classified records

WASHINGTON ? Attorney General Merrick Garland intends to release part of special counsel Jack Smith's report about election interference charges against President-elect Donald Trump before he takes office, even though the charges were dismissed.But the government will withhold part of the report about classified documents, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.

A federal judge blocked the release of the entire report Tuesday, based on a request from two of Trump's co-defendants in the classified-documents case. But government lawyers argued in a filing at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the restriction on the portion of the report about election interference charges was unnecessary and unjustified.

Smith prepared the report in two volumes, one about Trump's charges of election interference and one about the documents case. Department lawyers said Garland plans to release the volume on election charges, but the second volume about the classified documents would not be released publicly as long as charges remain pending against two of Trump's co-defendants.

The second volume would be available for review by the top Republican and Democratic lawmakers on the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, the lawyers said.

"The Attorney General intends to release Volume One to Congress and the public consistent with ... and in furtherance of the public interest in informing a co-equal branch and the public regarding this significant matter," said the filing by Brian Boynton, principal deputy assistant attorney general; Markenzy LaPointe, U.S. attorney in southern Florida; and Mark Freeman, a lawyer in the civil division. "This limited disclosure will further the public interest in keeping congressional leadership apprised of a significant matter within the Department while safeguarding defendants’ interests."

Trump is trying to block the release of the entire report, which could contain the most detailed account yet of the criminal accusations against him, less than two weeks before he returns to the White House on Jan. 20.

Two of his staffers, co-defendants Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira in the classified-documents case, argued the release of the “promises to be a one-sided, slanted report” that has “a single purpose: convincing the public that everyone Smith charged is guilty of the crimes charged."

Nauta and De Oliveira urged the appeals court to send the case back to U.S. District Court for a hearing. They argued that disclosing the portion of the report dealing with classified documents to lawmakers on the House and Senate Judiciary Committees would risk prejudicing any potential trial.

“This is a scenario where the district court is best suited to resolve the myriad factual disputes created by the government’s response,” lawyers for Nauta and De Oliveira wrote.

Judge blocked release of Smith's two-volume report

Special counsels typically write reports explaining their investigations and the decisions about whether to bring charges. Trump faced two federal indictments before judges dismissed the cases at Smith's request because of longstanding Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president.

Smith preparing a final report “should have been no surprise” to Trump because other special counsels such as Robert Mueller, who investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election; Robert Hur, who investigated President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents when not in public office; and John Durham, who reviewed the 2016 probe, each issued final reports as required by department regulations, the lawyers said.

But U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon ordered Garland and Smith on Tuesday not to release or share the report or any drafts outside the Justice Department unless an appeals court rules differently. Cannon, a Trump appointee, had previously dismissed the charges by ruling that Smith was appointed and funded illegitimately.

Trump welcomed Cannon's decision at a news conference Tuesday and called Smith "deranged" and "disgraced."

“If they’re not allowed to issue the report, that’s the way it should be," Trump said. "That’s great news."

What's in the Smith's report?

Smith's report is expected to provide the fullest description yet about the investigation that led to two federal indictments against Trump, one for allegedly conspiring to overturn the 2020 election and the other for allegedly mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House.

Trump has maintained he did nothing wrong and that the charges represented partisan attacks from the Democratic Biden administration to interfere with the 2024 election.

“I defeated deranged Jack Smith," Trump said Tuesday. “We did nothing wrong."

In Washington, Trump was charged with conspiring to overturn the 2020 election with baseless claims of widespread fraud. He was also charged with obstructing Congress from counting Electoral College votes on Jan. 6, 2021, when a riot of his supporters at the Capitol temporarily halted the count.

In Florida, Trump was charged with unlawfully retaining national defense documents after leaving the White House at the end of his first administration. FBI agents found more than 100 classified documents during a search of Mar-a-Lago in August 2022.

In a letter to Garland, Trump’s lawyers argued that the dismissal of the cases represented “Trump’s complete exoneration,” but that Smith’s report would “perpetuate false and discredited accusations.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: AG Garland intends to release report on Trump election charges: DOJ