District Judge Cannon issues ruling on fate of Trump adversary's Biden-era special report

In a case that has stretched over several years, a federal judge has seemingly put a nail in the coffin of a major report, the release of which President Donald Trump has consistently opposed.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who has served the Southern District of Florida since 2020, permanently barred the Department of Justice from releasing former special counsel Jack Smith's final report regarding Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, Politico reported.

'Special Counsel Smith and his team went ahead for months, undeterred, preparing Volume II using discovery collected in connection with this proceeding and expending government funds in the process.'

Trump's motion to bar the release of the special counsel's report — which Cannon previously determined Smith and his office had unlawfully prepared during the Biden administration — was granted in full on Monday.

"The Court has reviewed the Motions and the full record pertinent to the Motions, including the United States' position that 'Volume II should not be released outside of the Department of Justice' due to the unlawful appointment of Special Counsel Smith and Attorney General Bondi's deliberative-process determination. Fully advised in the premises, Trump's Unopposed Motion is GRANTED," the Trump appointee wrote in the ruling.

RELATED: 'Flagrant violation': GOP lawmaker grills Jack Smith for 'spying' on former House speaker

Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Cannon's ruling on the "complex" case, which she said "generated close to 800 docket entries since the filing of the initial indictment in June 2023," will ostensibly put to rest the impending release of Volume II of Smith's report.

Following the order, the current Department of Justice and its successors are "enjoined from (a) releasing, sharing, or transmitting Volume II of the Final Report or any drafts of Volume II outside the Department of Justice, or (b) otherwise releasing, distributing, conveying, or sharing with anyone outside the Department of Justice any information or conclusions in Volume II or in drafts thereof."

However, a second motion filed by two co-defendants alongside Trump was rejected in part. This separate motion requested that Volume II be destroyed, but this request was denied.

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