Justice Department to release Trump election interference report; classified documents section restricted to Congress amid ongoing legal case.
The Justice Department announced it will release special counsel Jack Smith’s findings regarding Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election results, while withholding details about his handling of classified documents.
This decision came after a federal appeals court evaluated a defense request to prevent the release of the two-volume report during ongoing charges against Trump’s co-defendants related to the classified documents case. Judge Aileen Cannon, appointed by Trump, temporarily blocked the report’s release.
The Justice Department plans to disclose the first volume, which addresses election interference, but will restrict access to the classified documents section. Only the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees will have private access to this section while the case against Trump’s co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, is still pending.
This decision is aimed at balancing public interest and the defendants’ rights, as stated in the filing. The limited disclosure is intended to keep congressional leaders informed about significant Department matters.
However, this announcement raises concerns about the possibility of the classified documents report being made public. Given the previous tight-lipped stance from Trump’s Justice Department, it appears unlikely that the report will ever be publicly accessible, even after the resolution of the ongoing case against his co-defendants.
