Garland ready to release Trump report with court's OK despite president-elect's opposition
WASHINGTON – Attorney General Merrick Garland told Congress late Wednesday he would release special counsel Jack Smith's report on the investigation into President-elect Donald Trump’s alleged election interference in 2020 “when permitted by the court to do so,” setting up a potential embarrassment to Trump as he prepares his return to the White House.
Smith's report is expected to provide the most detailed explanation yet about what evidence the special counsel uncovered during its two-year investigation and why the Justice Department decided to indict Trump in two cases: for charges of election interference and mishandling classified documents.
Trump has tried to block the report his lawyers said would perpetuate false accusations from cases that have now been dismissed. A potential legal battle before the U.S. Supreme Court also makes the timing of any public release of Smith's report uncertain as Trump's inauguration approaches on Jan. 20 and where several of the incoming president's personal lawyers are set to take on senior leadership roles in the Justice Department and the White House.
A federal judge in South Florida on Tuesday blocked the release of the report at the request of two Trump co-defendants who said it could prejudice their case on charges of mishandling classified documents.
Government lawyers have asked a federal appeals court to overturn her decision and allow the release of a portion of the report dealing with the investigation of election interference. The rest of the report dealing with classified documents would be released after the classified-documents case is resolved.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hasn’t ruled yet on the department’s request. If Trump loses before the Atlanta-based court, the president-elect's attorneys are expected to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to block the Smith report's release.
“As stated in the Department's filings in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals today, when permitted to do so by the court, I intend to provide to you and to the public Volume One of the Report,” Garland wrote in a letter to top Republicans and Democrats on the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. “I have determined that releasing these materials to you and the public at this time is consistent with … applicable law, and that this release is in furtherance of the public interest in informing a co-equal branch and the public regarding this significant matter.”
The head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, called the report a "smear campaign" against Trump.
“Jack Smith’s politically-motivated cases against President Trump belong to the ash heap of history," Grassley told USA TODAY. "Attorney General Garland and Special Counsel Smith’s attempt to launch one last public smear campaign against the president-elect before he takes office won’t change that reality.”
Trump has tried to block the release of the report while preparing to return to the White House on Jan. 20. Judges have dismissed both cases at Smith’s request because of longstanding Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
Trump’s lawyers argued at the appeals court that Garland wants to defy Cannon by publishing the report despite her finding Smith was appointed unconstitutionally.
“The report is nothing less than another attempted political hit job which sole purpose is to disrupt the Presidential transition and undermine President Trump’s exercise of executive power,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in an appeals filing.
Trump’s co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, contend the report could hurt them at any eventual trial they face.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, dismissed the classified documents case by ruling Smith was appointed illegitimately. Smith appealed to the 11th Circuit but dropped the case against Trump after the election. The appeal over his legitimacy remains for Nauta and De Oliveira.
Cannon also temporarily blocked the release of Smith's report until the appeals court rules. Trump welcomed her decision, calling it "great news."
But government lawyers said Smith's report should come as no surprise because special counsels traditionally file reports explaining their investigations and decisions on charges. In recent years, these included 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.
Nauta and De Oliveira have asked the appeals court to return the case to Cannon to decide whether the report could be released.
But government lawyers contend Cannon, who presides in Florida, has no jurisdiction over the election-interference portion of the report, which was investigated in Washington, D.C.
“Consistent with local court rules and Department policy, and to avoid any risk of prejudice to defendants Waltine Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, whose criminal cases remain pending, I have determined, at the recommendation of the Special Counsel, that Volume Two should not be made public so long as those defendants' criminal proceedings are ongoing,” Garland wrote.
While not releasing the classified-documents volume immediately, Garland plans to make it available to the top Republicans and Democrats on the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. Nauta and De Oliveira said even that limited release could hurt their criminal case.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Garland says he will release Trump election report when court permits