Judge Rips Jack Smith’s ‘Brazen’ Attempt To Release Report On Trump Docs

A federal judge slapped down former special counsel Jack Smith from releasing a report on President Donald Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving office in January 2021. 

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by Trump, wrote in a Monday ruling that releasing the report would violate principles of fairness and justice. She said Smith undertook a “brazen” strategy by compiling the document even after she dismissed the classified document charges against Trump. 

Cannon wrote that releasing the report “would cause irreparable damage to former defendants from disclosure of non-public discovery material implicating still-contested grand jury and privilege concerns; and it would contravene basic notions of fairness and justice in the process, where no adjudication of guilt has been reached following initiation of criminal charges.”

Cannon dismissed the charges against Trump in July 2024, ruling that Smith’s appointment violated the Constitution’s Appointments Clause and that his office was not properly authorized. 

Despite her dismissal order, Cannon noted that Smith continued investigating Trump and compiling a report that was intended for release to congressional lawmakers.

Cannon wrote that, instead of seeking a stay or clarification of her order, Smith and his team “chose to circumvent it, for months, by taking the discovery generated in this case and compiling it in a final report for transmission to then-Attorney General Garland, to Congress, and then beyond.”

“The Court need not countenance this brazen stratagem or effectively perpetuate the Special Counsel’s breach of this Court’s own order,” she added.

Cannon said releasing the report would deny Trump and his co-defendants a meaningful opportunity to respond to the allegations. Smith, however, has claimed that he obtained “powerful evidence that showed Trump willfully retained highly classified documents” after leaving office in January 2021. 

Cannon wrote that the court “strains to find a situation in which a former special counsel has released a report after initiating criminal charges that did not result in a finding of guilt,” particularly where “the defendants contested the charges from the outset and still proclaim their innocence.”

Last month, Smith faced questions from lawmakers about his investigations into Trump. He also brought charges against Trump related to the January 6 Capitol riot, which were later dismissed after Trump’s election and before he returned to office in January 2025.