Court of Appeals Refuses to Block Release of Special Counsel Report on Trump Impeachment

An appeals court on Thursday said it will not block the Justice Department from releasing special counsel Jack Smith's report on two now-closed investigations into President-elect Donald J. Trump.

In a brief and unsigned order, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in Atlanta, rejected an emergency request by Mr.

But this order does not necessarily mean that the report will be made public immediately.

Both sections of Mr. The two Smiths are currently under an injunction imposed this week by a lower court judge in Florida temporarily blocking their release.

The Justice Department has already said it intends to stop releasing the volume related to the Florida case in which Mr. Trump has been accused of mishandling classified documents after leaving office.

But the branch said it wants to release another document, which explains Mr. Smith's decisions in the case he opened in Washington accusing Mr.

In its order Thursday night, the appeals court vacated the decision but said the Justice Department could take other steps to appeal the decision. However, the order, issued by Judge Aileen M. Cannon, who presided over the classified documents case, is scheduled to last only three more days.

If the deadline expires, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland may continue his plans to release part of Mr. Smith regarding the election interference case.

At the moment, the lawyers of Mr.

Mr. Smith was forced to drop both criminal charges after Mr. Trump won the 2024 election because of the Justice Department's policy that sitting presidents must be seen as unimpeached for the time being in office.

Although that meant that Mr. Trump had largely won the legal case, a final conflict has erupted over whether the public will see Mr. Smith about his investigation and prosecutors' decisions. Department regulations require him to provide that information to Mr. Garland.

The Department of Justice said Mr. Garland does not intend to issue a volume on the case of classified documents because the charges are pending against the two defendants of Mr. The prosecutors agreed that it would not be fair for the men to reveal the decisions of the special lawyers in this case because that could interfere with their right to a fair trial.

The new administration is widely seen as likely to end the case altogether, either by pardoning the co-defendants or simply dropping it. However, it will be for those appointed by Mr. Trump whether they will release that part of the report, Mr.'s legal team.