Lawyers for Donald Trump on Monday called on Attorney General Merrick Garland to block the release of a report authored by special counsel Jack Smith detailing his findings in the Justice Department’s two criminal cases against the president-elect, which could be made public as soon as this week.
In a letter addressed to Garland on behalf of Trump, the president-elect’s attorneys shared Trump’s demand to terminate the preparation and release of Smith’s report.
His lawyers said they had a chance to go over the document in person in a conference room at Smith’s office in Washington, D.C., between Friday and Monday, but complained about not being allowed to use the internet or access their electronic devices during the review.
“It is clear, as has been the case with so many of the other actions of Smith and his staff, that the Draft Report merely continues Smith’s politically-motivated attack, and that his continued preparation of the Report and efforts to release it would be both imprudent and unlawful,” they wrote.
As part of their arguments for urging Garland to stop publication of the document, Trump’s attorneys said Smith lacks the constitutional authority to issue the report because he was not properly appointed to the special counsel role, referring to Judge Aileen Cannon’s ruling in the classified documents case earlier this summer. Cannon dismissed the case, saying that Smith’s appointment as special counsel was unconstitutional.
Trump’s lawyers claimed the report violates “fundamental norms regarding the presumption of innocence, including with respect to third parties,” and asserted its release would run afoul of the Presidential Transition Act and the presidential immunity doctrine.
They also baselessly accused Smith of being politically motivated.
“Finally, the release of any confidential report prepared by this out-of-control private citizen unconstitutionally posing as a prosecutor would be nothing more than a lawless political stunt, designed to politically harm President Trump and justify the huge sums of taxpayer money Smith unconstitutionally spent on his failed and dismissed cases,” the letter states.
“Under such circumstances, releasing Smith’s report is obviously not in the public interest — particularly in light of President Trump’s commanding victory in the election and the sensitive nature of the ongoing transition process,” it continues.
Beside blocking the report, the lawyers also urged Garland to dismiss Smith.
“If Smith is not removed, then the handling of his report should be deferred to President Trump’s incoming attorney general, consistent with the expressed will of the People,” they wrote.
Their letter was included as part of the exhibits in the emergency motion of Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, Trump’s co-defendants in the case involving Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving the White House in January 2021. Both have pleaded not guilty in the case.
Nauta and De Oliveira’s motion called on Cannon to stop the public release of Smith’s report.
“These Defendants will irreparably suffer harm as civilian casualties of the Government’s impermissible and contumacious utilization of political lawfare to include release of the unauthorized Report,” the motion states. “The Final Report relies on materials to which Smith, as disqualified special counsel, is no longer entitled access — making his attempt to share such materials with the public highly improper.”
It’s unclear whether Cannon could have a say in Garland’s decision on whether to make the report public, The Washington Post notes.
Smith addressed the emergency motion in a new filing, saying he will submit the volume of the report pertaining to the classified documents case to Garland by Tuesday afternoon before replying to the defendants’ motion that evening.
Smith noted that while it will be up to Garland to decide whether to release that part of the report at all, the attorney general won’t do so before Friday.
Garland’s office has so far not commented on those latest developments.
While Cannon dismissed the classified documents case over the summer, the Department of Justice is still appealing the ruling as it pertains to Nauta and De Oliveira.
Apart from the classified documents case, Smith also oversaw Trump’s federal election interference case, involving his efforts to undo President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential race.
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Smith moved to dismiss both of the cases against the president-elect following his win in November but is still preparing to share a final report with Garland on his work and findings, as is consistent with DOJ policy.