Trump-appointee Cannon blocks DOJ from sharing Smith’s Mar-a-Lago report with Congress

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon prevented the Justice Department from disclosing to senior lawmakers the details of former special counsel Jack Smith’s report on his investigation into President Trump’s handling of classified records.

Cannon issued her order, effectively removing the risk that DOJ officials would share the report with the leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary committees, as former Attorney General Merrick Garland had reportedly intended and before either defendant went to trial.

The judge sided with Trump co-defendants Mar-a-Lago valet Walt Nauta and property manager Carlos de Oliveira saying any effort to share the report reflected Garland’s “limited time” in office and “do not reflect well” on prosecutors, The Hill reported.

“There is no ‘historical practice’ of providing Special Counsel reports to Congress, even on a limited basis, pending conclusion of criminal proceedings. In fact, there is not one instance of this happening until now,” Cannon wrote.

Cannon went on to slam Smith in a 14-page order.

“Never before has the Department of Justice, prior to the conclusion of criminal proceedings against a defendant — and absent a litigation-specific reason as appropriate in the case itself— sought to disclose outside the Department a report prepared by a Special Counsel containing substantive and voluminous case information. Until now,” Cannon wrote.

“Meanwhile, on the other side of the balance, there are two individuals in this action, each with constitutional rights to a fair trial, who remain subject to a live criminal appeal of this Court’s Order Dismissing the Superseding Indictment,” she said, referring to the co-defendants.

“Given the very strong public interest in this criminal proceeding and the absence of any enforceable limits on the proposed disclosure, there is certainly a reasonable likelihood that review by members of Congress as proposed will result in public dissemination of all or part of Volume II.”

Trump has railed against Smith’s “witch hunt” and blasted the “lunatic” on Monday as he signed executive orders and spoke of Joe Biden’s pardons.

“Now, maybe every president that leaves office, they’re gonna pardon every person they ever met so they don’t have some lunatic like deranged Jack Smith– who’s a total lunatic by the way, not a smart guy. He’s a dummy. But we beat the hell out of him,” Trump said.

And it looks like Team Trump beat him again on Tuesday with Cannon’s order. Although her order did disclose a glimpse of Smith’s report that was not public.

“Volume II includes detailed and voluminous discovery information,” she wrote, referring to the Mar-a-Lago volume, The Hill reported.

“Much of this information has not been made public in Court filings. It includes myriad references to Bates-stamped information provided by the Special Counsel in discovery and subject to the protective order, including interview transcripts, search warrant materials, business records, toll records, video footage, various other records obtained pursuant to grand jury subpoena, information as to which President-Elect Trump has asserted the attorney-client privilege in motions in this proceeding evidence, and other non-public information.”

Smith had requested to provide a copy of the report’s second volume to the leading Republicans and Democrats on the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, stating that it could inform “potential legislative reforms related to the use of special counsels.”

Nauta and De Oliveira have been accused of conspiring with Trump to conceal sensitive and classified files at Mar-a-Lago. Both co-defendants have filed for an appeal to dismiss Smith’s case.

“Cannon’s order prevents the report from being released or shared by any DOJ official until 30 days after the 11th Circuit rules on the defendants’ appeal,” The New York Post reported.

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