Former special counsel Jack Smith may have violated a court order in his last-ditch effort to publicize a report about his failed prosecution of President Donald Trump, a judge suggested Monday.
Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, blocked the release of the second part of Smith’s final report focusing on his classified documents case, slamming his decision to even compile one after she dismissed the indictment.
Although Cannon found Smith’s appointment unlawful in July 2024, his team “went ahead for months, undeterred, preparing Volume II using discovery collected in connection with this proceeding and expending government funds in the process,” she wrote in the Monday ruling.
“Defendants learned of this continued work in December 2024 through media reports and then timely raised their objections to Special Counsel Smith—but he continued unabated, offering defendants only the courtesy of brief review under strict conditions, including forced deletion of discovery materials in the custody of the defense,” Cannon wrote.
“Nevertheless, rather than seek a stay of the Order, or clarification, Special Counsel Smith and his team chose to circumvent it, for months, by taking the discovery generated in this case and compiling it in a final report for transmission to then-Attorney General Garland, to Congress, and then beyond,” Cannon continued. “The Court need not countenance this brazen stratagem or effectively perpetuate the Special Counsel’s breach of this Court’s own order.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) released Volume I of Smith’s report, which focused on his election interference case against Trump, before Trump took office in January 2025. Volume II was held back due to pending litigation against Trump’s former co-defendants.
Releasing the report would be a “matter of manifest injustice to the former defendants,” Cannon noted.
“Special Counsel Smith, acting without lawful authority, obtained an indictment in this action and initiated proceedings that resulted in a final order of dismissal of all charges,” she wrote. “As a result, the former defendants in this case, like any other defendant in this situation, still enjoy the presumption of innocence held sacrosanct in our constitutional order.”
Trump’s DOJ urged Cannon not to release the report, noting Smith’s “investigation was unlawful from its inception.”
“Put simply, Smith’s tenure was marked by illegality and impropriety, and under no circumstance should his work product be given the full weight and authority of this Department,” the DOJ’s Jan. 23 filing stated.
Smith, appointed by former Attorney General Merrick Garland to lead the investigations into Trump in 2022, resigned from the DOJ before Trump’s inauguration. Because Smith was a private citizen never appointed by the president or confirmed by the Senate, Cannon found his appointment was unconstitutional.
Smith testified before the House Judiciary Committee in January about his two Trump prosecutions, where he faced questions from Republicans about search warrants he obtained for members of Congress’ phone records, spending on the cases and other litigation decisions.
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