The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon to stop delaying the release of the remaining parts of Special Counsel Jack Smith's report on President Donald Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents.
In September, the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and American Oversight asked the appeals court to force Cannon to release the report. Cannon had blocked former President Joe Biden's Justice Department from releasing the report in January.
"By keeping this order in place, Judge Cannon is undermining both accountability and the rule of law." American Oversight Director Chioma Chukwu noted. Trump appointed Cannon during his first term.
"There is no legitimate reason for the report's continued suppression, and it should be posted on the court's public docket without further delay," Knight Institute Director Jameel Jaffer insisted..
On Monday, the appeals court ordered Cannon to stop delaying the report's release.
"Petitioners filed their motions on February 14 and February 24, 2025, and filed notification on July 7 and July 10, 2025, informing the district court that their motions had been fully briefed for more than 90 days. To date, the district court has not ruled or conducted any other further proceedings on the pending motions," the court noted.
"Accordingly, Petitioners have established undue delay in resolution of their motions to intervene and the petitions for writs of mandamus are HELD IN ABEYANCE for a period of 60 days to allow the district court to fully resolve the motions."
