Judge Aileen Cannon said on Monday (13) that she will not block the release of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report on his investigation into Donald Trump and alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 elections.
In any case, Cannon has scheduled a hearing for later this week on Attorney General Merrick Garland’s plan to share with some lawmakers the part of Smith’s report that deals with the investigation related to confidential documents against Trump.
Meanwhile, she continued to block the release of this point in the report to anyone outside the agency.
Historically, the Justice Department released final reports on special investigations into presidents, including while those heads of state were still in the White House.
But Trump and his allies postponed the publication of the excerpt of the report on the attack on the US Capitol, on January 6, 2021, and suspended the release, even if limited, of the report on the investigation of confidential documents.
Trump chose several members of his personal defense teams for roles in his next administration.
Cannon, according to Monday’s order, continued to block the release of the report’s volume of confidential documents because she is “unwilling to make that gamble based on the widespread interest of members of Congress, at least not without a full and a hearing on the matter.”
Garland planned to allow the Republicans and Democrats who lead the House and Senate Judiciary Committees to review the report in private, on the condition that they not release information from it.
The attorney general said he will publicly release the report on Trump and the 2020 election before the Republican takes office next Monday. The U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A previous order by Judge Aileen Cannon blocking the release of both volumes will expire at midnight on Tuesday, which would mean the department could release the election volume unless another court intervenes. .
It is unclear whether Trump’s team or others being investigated in the case will seek appeal in a higher court. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has already rejected his earlier request to block publication of the report.
Trump calls case political persecution
After Cannon’s latest order, Trump said on social media that Smith was “illegitimately involved in this political persecution, and all the hundreds of millions of dollars spent by our unfortunate government have simply been wasted!”
In the case investigating alleged electoral subversion, Smith alleged that Trump and several others who allegedly conspired against the outcome of the vote undertook a multi-phase scheme to attack the peaceful transfer of power, culminating in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. USA by Trump supporters.
The case was thwarted by a Supreme Court ruling last summer and eventually dropped after Election Day.
In the case of the Mar-a-Lago documents, Trump was accused of misusing national defense information he had with him since his first term in the White House. He was also accused of obstructing the federal investigation into the whereabouts of the documents, as were his two employees, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira.
Defense attorneys argued that Cannon’s ruling that Smith was unconstitutionally appointed prevented Garland from releasing the report for both special counsel investigations.
Given that the decision on the appointments is currently under appeal, raising the possibility of the indictment being revived, Trump officials also argue that releasing the report could harm them as defendants. Trump was removed from the case after his re-election.
This content was originally published in Judge releases investigation report on Trump and 2020 election on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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