Photo: Pool / Getty Images News / Getty Images
Attorney General Merrick Garland plans to release Special Counsel Jack Smith's report on former President-elect Donald Trump's alleged efforts to subvert the 2020 election. The Justice Department announced Garland's decision in a court filing on Wednesday (January 8). However, Garland will withhold a second volume of the report related to Trump's handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after leaving office in 2021.
The decision to release the report comes after Trump's federal election case was dropped following his presidential victory. Despite this, Trump has opposed the release of the report, which details evidence of his alleged criminal conspiracy to disenfranchise voters.
The Justice Department intends to make a redacted version of the classified documents report available to leaders of the House and Senate judiciary committees, provided they pledge not to release details publicly.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who dismissed Trump's classified documents case, temporarily blocked the release of Smith's final report to prevent "irreparable harm" while the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals considers the matter. Prosecutors have asked the Eleventh Circuit to overturn Cannon's order.
