A federal appeals court this week ordered Judge Aileen Cannon — who dismissed special counsel Jack Smith’s classified documents case against President Trump — to review requests to release Mr. Smith’s voluminous report.
The three-judge panel from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals told Judge Cannon, a Trump appointee, to consider two motions within the next 60 days requesting public access to Mr. Smith’s findings.
“Petitioners have established undue delay in resolution of their motions,” the panel wrote on Monday, putting Judge Cannon on the clock.
The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University filed a request in February to release Mr. Smith’s report, reasoning the public had a First Amendment right to examine the prosecutor’s work and allegations.
Judge Cannon did not act on the motion, so the organization petitioned the 11th Circuit in September, asking for it to compel Judge Cannon to consider the request.
“We’re pleased that today’s order recognizes that there is no legitimate reason for the court’s monthslong delay in ruling on our request to make the special counsel’s report public,” said Scott Wilkens, senior counsel at the Knight First Amendment Institute.
“This report is of singular importance to the public because it addresses allegations of grave criminal conduct by the nation’s highest-ranking official and should be made public without further delay.”
Last November after Mr. Trump won the election, Mr. Smith requested that the prosecution he had been appealing to the 11th Circuit be dismissed without prejudice. A dismissal without prejudice means the case could be resurrected in the future.
The 11th Circuit granted Mr. Smith’s request, which concerned the special counsel’s case over Mr. Trump’s handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
Mr. Smith had appealed to the 11th Circuit over Judge Cannon’s move to dismiss his charges.
Judge Cannon dissolved the case in July 2024, reasoning Mr. Smith was unlawfully made special counsel, since he was not confirmed by the Senate and was a private citizen when given the case.
Mr. Smith appealed that ruling, and his request was pending at the 11th Circuit when Mr. Trump won, making the prosecution moot based on Justice Department guidance to not prosecute a sitting president.
