On Thursday, a federal appeals court decided to allow the Justice Department to release a report detailing President-elect Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. However, the court also upheld a previous order from a judge that imposes a three-day delay on the report’s release to give time for further appeals.
This ruling provides Trump an opportunity to petition the Supreme Court to block the report written by special counsel Jack Smith. In response, a Trump spokesperson did not confirm whether they would challenge the ruling but instead criticized Smith in an official statement.
Adding to his legal issues, Trump faced another setback on Thursday when the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, paved the way for sentencing in his New York hush money case to proceed on Friday.
Trump was indicted in 2023, and then again in 2024, on charges that include conspiracy to defraud the United States related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, which subsequently led to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The charges were dismissed after his election due to a Justice Department rule protecting a sitting president from prosecution.
Despite these legal battles, Trump, who has stated his intention to pardon numerous January 6 defendants once he regains office, continues to affirm his not-guilty stance.
In a letter to Congress on Wednesday, Attorney General Merrick Garland stated his intention to make public the election interference-related segment of Smith’s report, contingent upon U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s block being lifted. The appeals court’s decision maintains Cannon’s order, which mandates a short delay before release.
Garland also mentioned that he would not disclose volume two of the report, which covers Trump’s classified documents case, while legal proceedings involving co-defendants Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira remain ongoing.
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung, in a statement on Thursday night, declared, “It is time for Joe Biden and Merrick Garland to do the right thing and put a final stop to the political weaponization of our Justice system.”
Trump, who has been vocal about his criticisms of the special counsel, stated in an October interview prior to his election that he would “fire him within two seconds” upon taking office again. Reports from NBC News in November indicated that Smith and his team plan to resign before Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
