US News

Jack Smith Finalizing Report on Trump Case, Anticipated Release Soon


Lawyers are urging both the attorney general and a federal judge to prevent the report from being released.

On January 7, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed that special counsel Jack Smith is finalizing a report regarding the case involving President-elect Donald Trump and two others.

According to a filing to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, Smith’s office is drafting a two-volume report that will clarify Smith’s decisions in the prosecution, as stated by lawyers from Smith’s office and the DOJ in court documents. One volume specifically addresses the case against Trump, former aide Walt Nauta, and Mar-a-Lago manager Carlos De Oliveira.

The lawyers indicated that Attorney General Merrick Garland “has not yet determined how to manage the report volume related to this case,” but assured that it would not be released to the public before 10 a.m. on January 10. They also noted that Smith will not send the report to Garland before 1 p.m. on January 7.

Following this, Nauta and De Oliveira, through their legal representatives, requested that Cannon issue an order to prevent Smith from sharing the report with anyone and from taking additional actions to finalize it.

The lawyers argued that releasing the report “would directly violate Nauta’s and De Oliveira’s Fifth Amendment due process rights, presenting a public version of an invalid new indictment filled with prejudicial claims about supposed offenses that extend far beyond the allegations in the indictment and other public documents.”

They emphasized the urgency for Cannon to act as they believe the government plans to release the final report within days.

According to federal law, each special counsel must submit a confidential report to the attorney general that “explains the prosecution or declination decisions made by the Special Counsel.”

Smith has filed two cases against Trump, both of which were dismissed after Trump was elected to office once more in 2024.

In a separate correspondence to Garland, Trump’s lawyers informed that they had reviewed a draft of the report recently in Washington and cited significant issues with the document.

The lawyers claimed, “The Draft Report undermines essential principles regarding the presumption of innocence, including concerning third parties who are unjustly accused by Smith’s misleading assertions.”

Additionally, both sets of legal counsel pointed out that Cannon had previously determined that Smith’s appointment as a special counsel was unconstitutional.

The lawyers urged Garland to act decisively, stating, “Since Smith has proposed an unlawful course of action, you must countermand his plan and remove him without delay. If Smith is not dismissed, the management of his report should be entrusted to President Trump’s incoming attorney general, in line with the will of the people.”

Finally, they add, “If you disagree with the positions we’ve outlined, we respectfully request that you notify us of that decision prior to the unlawful release of any report, so we can seek injunctive and other relief to safeguard the rights of President Trump, others wrongfully implicated by Smith’s actions, and the citizens of this great nation who elected President Trump to govern and to put an end to the politicization of the justice system.”

Smith’s office, along with the DOJ, noted that a brief, early morning filing would be succeeded by a more detailed response to the emergency motion by 7 p.m. on Tuesday.



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