The release of a final report by special counsel Jack Smith that also handles the election meddling case was attempted to be blocked Monday by President-elect Donald Trump and his erstwhile co-defendants in the Florida classified papers case.
Trump’s two lawsuits have been dropped.
In a motion filed Monday evening, the attorneys for defendants Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira requested that U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon prevent Smith, the case’s prosecutor, from releasing his findings. The judge’s earlier decision that Smith’s appointment was unconstitutional was cited.
In order to achieve a single goal—convincing the public that everyone Smith charged is guilty of the crimes charged—the Final Report is expected to be biased and one-sided, relying almost entirely on evidence that was presented to a grand jury and that was protected by all necessary safeguards. Smith only learned of this because of his unconstitutional appointment, the four attorneys wrote.
Defense attorneys said they think the report will be released soon, so they urged Cannon on Monday to have a hearing and rule on their petition by Friday.
Meanwhile, Trump’s attorneys wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland, pleading with him to prevent Smith from making the findings public. In the letter, Trump’s attorneys referred to Smith as an unruly private individual who was acting illegally as a prosecutor with the intention of politically harming Trump.
You must so thwart Smith’s plan and get rid of him right away because he has suggested an illegal course of action. In accordance with the people’s stated desire, they wrote, Smith’s report should be turned over to President Trump’s next attorney general if he is not fired.
Over the weekend, Trump’s attorneys reportedly went over a two-volume draft copy of Smith’s report in the special counsel’s office in Washington, D.C.
According to Justice Department procedures, Garland must receive a private report from the special counsel’s office, which he may decide to make public.
A request for comment Monday evening was not immediately answered by the Justice Department.
According to NBC News, Smith and his group intend to step down prior to Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
After he left office, Trump was charged by the Justice Department in Florida with improperly handling sensitive documents. In July, Cannon threw out the lawsuit, claiming that Smith’s appointment was unlawful. Trump entered a not guilty plea.
Smith challenged the dismissal, but because of the Justice Department’s long-standing policy of not prosecuting sitting presidents, the case was turned upside down by Trump’s election in November. Later, at Smith’s request, an appeals court decided to dismiss the lawsuit against Trump.
After indicting Trump in 2023 for his attempts to rig the 2020 presidential election, Smith was also compelled to close the election meddling case against him. At Smith’s request, a court in November also agreed to dismiss the case.
Cannon’s decision to drop the charges against Nauta and De Oliveira is currently being appealed by federal prosecutors.
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