American Oversight Petitions Court to Vacate Judge Cannon’s Gag Order Blocking Release of Special Counsel Report on Trump

Tuesday, as the Trump administration continues to pursue its perceived political enemies over their alleged mishandling of classified documents, American Oversight asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to vacate Judge Aileen Cannon’s gag order that has indefinitely barred the Department of Justice from releasing Volume II of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report on President Trump’s own mishandling of classified documents.

Judge Cannon’s Jan. 21, order has prevented the public from accessing the report, which would ordinarily be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), pursuant to applicable exemptions. Although all appeals in the criminal case were dismissed nearly a year ago, the injunction remains in effect, blocking the release of information.

“As the Trump administration continues to target its perceived political enemies over the alleged handling of classified documents, the public is still being denied access to Special Counsel Smith’s findings about Trump’s own mishandling of classified documents,” said Chioma Chukwu, Executive Director of American Oversight. “Transparency isn’t optional in a democracy. The public has a right to know what Special Counsel Smith found, and the Justice Department cannot continue to withhold a report that should have been released nearly a year ago under federal law. By keeping this order in place, Judge Cannon is undermining both accountability and the rule of law.”

American Oversight filed its petition for a writ of mandamus after repeatedly seeking relief in other courts, including the District of Columbia and the Southern District of Florida. With the injunction still in place nearly a year after the dismissal of the underlying criminal appeals, the Eleventh Circuit is now being asked to restore the public’s right of access.

In February, Judge Cannon rejected American Oversight’s request to expedite a motion to lift her gag order barring release of Smith’s report into President Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents. The request to expedite the motion was sought because the report is expected to contain information about whether Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel misled the public in claiming Trump declassified documents before leaving office. At the time of the motion, Patel’s confirmation vote in the U.S. Senate was imminent.

Judge Cannon’s ruling followed multiple attempts by American Oversight to seek release of Volume II of the report. On Feb. 10, the nonpartisan watchdog filed a FOIA lawsuit and motion for preliminary injunction against the DOJ, demanding the release of the report after the agency’s failure to respond to the FOIA request. In its opposition to American Oversight’s motion, the DOJ relied on Judge Cannon’s gag order.