Attorneys for President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday urged an appeals court to block the publication of special counsel Jack Smith’s report explaining why prosecutors decided to charge Trump for alleged crimes tied to Jan. 6, 2021, as well as the alleged illegal retention of classified documents, saying there is information “never released to the public” and more that could endanger his transition to power.
Trump’s request is part of an amicus brief, or a letter of support, for his onetime co-defendants in the classified documents case, personal valet Waltine Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira. The charges against Trump were dismissed after he won the election in November, but they remain for Nauta and De Oliveira.
Nauta and De Oliveria this week asked the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to stop publication of what will be a two-volume report and remand any decision on the matter back to the district court level, where Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon could hold a hearing and render a decision.
In his letter Thursday, Trump’s lawyers slammed special counsel Jack Smith, rehashing now-longstanding grievances against the prosecutor as well as Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The charges against him were unconstitutional from the start, the lawyers wrote, and the publication of the report is another “attempted political hit job which sole purpose is to disrupt the transition and undermine President Trump’s exercise of executive power.”
“Attempting to publish the Final Report evidences complete disregard for the district court, which found that Smith is unconstitutionally appointed and funded,” the brief states. “Instead of respecting that ruling, Garland seeks to defy the district court by publishing the Final Report in a manner inconsistent with the rule of law and the principles of constitutional governance.”
Trump’s lawyers said too that the final report “goes into more detail about the alleged crimes President Trump and others supposedly committed and involves evidence that was never released to the public — indeed, evidence that could not be released, such as those involving official acts.” (Emphasis original)
We Need Your Support
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.