Lawyers for Donald Trump and two of his former co-defendants in the Mar-a-Lago confidential documents case have taken an unusual step, asking a federal judge in Florida to block the Justice Department from releasing a report prepared by Special Counsel Jack Smith. This case has been a hot topic, especially since the judge handling it, Aileen Cannon, dismissed charges against Trump earlier this year. She ruled that Attorney General Merrick Garland had improperly appointed Smith as special counsel.
The legal team representing Trump, along with attorneys for Waltine Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, filed an emergency motion claiming the release of the report would be unfair and unlawful. They argue that Smith is using the report to attack Trump and his associates politically.
Trump’s lawyers, in a letter included with the motion, painted Smith as someone on a mission to harm Trump, now the incoming president, and his allies. They described Smith’s draft report as a continuation of what they see as a politically motivated campaign. According to the letter, the Justice Department only allowed Trump’s legal team to view the draft in person, under strict conditions, and even demanded that previous case-related materials be deleted.
The letter claims the report not only targets Trump but also makes baseless accusations against Elon Musk and his social media platform, X. Trump’s lawyers argue that releasing the report would interfere with Trump’s transition to office and unfairly harm his team.
Meanwhile, lawyers for Nauta and De Oliveira expressed their concerns in the motion. They claim the report, if made public, could harm their clients’ chances of a fair trial. They described it as one-sided and said it relies on evidence Jack Smith only had access to because of his supposedly unlawful appointment. The motion also accused Smith of being a “rogue actor” acting outside the law.
Smith’s office, however, has pushed back against these claims. In a filing, they explained that the report is a standard part of a special counsel’s duties—a confidential explanation to the Attorney General about decisions made during the investigation. Whether any part of the report will be released publicly is ultimately up to the Attorney General, according to Smith.
This legal drama is playing out in Florida, just as the world marks four years since the events of January 6, 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. Nauta and De Oliveira’s lawyers argue that releasing the report now could disrupt the peaceful transition of power, something the Presidential Transition Act was created to protect.
In their motion, they said the report could damage Trump’s ability to govern effectively once in office. They also argued that it would violate constitutional norms and create unfair prejudice against the defendants.
The motion calls for Judge Cannon to halt the release of the report entirely until these concerns are addressed. Smith’s team, meanwhile, suggested in their response that Attorney General Garland might choose not to release the report at all.
For now, the clock is ticking. Smith’s team has outlined a timeline, stating that the report’s release, if approved, won’t happen before January 10, 2025. Both sides are gearing up for what looks like another intense legal battle in this high-profile case.