A Florida federal judge on Tuesday barred the release of a report on the criminal case against Donald Trump concerning his alleged retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, ruling it would jeopardize the rights of his co-defendants.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon denied the government’s request to share the second volume of former special counsel Jack Smith’s report with Congress. The judge stated that such a release, before the criminal proceedings involving Trump’s personal aide Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira conclude, could undermine due process protections.
Judge: Release Risks Prejudicing Defendants
Judge Cannon emphasized the risks of public dissemination, despite the government’s proposed safeguards, citing “a very strong public interest in this criminal proceeding.” She concluded that the likelihood of the report becoming public was significant and could unfairly prejudice the defendants.
“The department has offered no valid reason to engage in this gamble with the defendants’ rights,” Cannon wrote. “The bare wishes of one attorney general with ‘limited time’ in office to comply with a non-existent ‘historical practice’ of releasing special counsel reports in the pendency of criminal proceedings is not a valid reason.”
