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A federal judge on Monday agreed to permanently block the release of volume two of former special counsel Jack Smith’s report — centered on President Donald Trump’s handling of classified materials after his first term in office — in a significant victory for the president and his co-defendants.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, granted the president’s request to permanently block the release of the second volume of the report, ruling that its publication would represent a “manifest injustice” both to Trump and the co-defendants in the classified documents case.
“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,” Cannon said Monday.
JACK SMITH SUBPOENAED FOR DEPOSITION WITH HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Former special counsel Jack Smith says the Pledge of Allegiance before he testifies before the House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill on Jan. 22, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Al Drago/Getty Images)
The ruling blocks the Justice Department from “releasing, distributing, conveying, or sharing with anyone outside the Department of Justice any information or conclusions in Volume II or in drafts thereof.”
It also comes just day before Volume II of Smith’s special counsel probe was slated to be released on Tuesday.
Trump’s former defense attorney, Kendra Wharton, praised Cannon’s decision to block Volume II of Smith’s report from being released publicly, telling Fox News Digital in a statement that her “courage and judicial resolve on these important due process issues should be recognized and taught in law school classrooms across America.”
Neither Smith’s law firm nor the Justice Department immediately responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Monday’s ruling.
Cannon previously ruled that Smith was unconstitutionally appointed as special counsel, though the matter was ultimately dismissed following Trump’s re-election in 2024.
In her 15-page order Monday, Cannon said allowing the release of Volume II of the special counsel report would “contravene basic notions of fairness and justice” and likely prompt the sharing of protected information, including material covered by attorney-client privilege.
“Moreover, while it is true that former special counsels have released final reports at the conclusion of their work, it appears they have done so either after electing not to bring charges at all or after adjudications of guilt by plea or trial,” Cannon said.
TRUMP STRIPS SECURITY CLEARANCES FROM LAW FIRM TIED TO JACK SMITH CASES
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, joined by President Donald Trump, speaks at a press conference on recent Supreme Court rulings in the briefing room at the White House on June 27, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
“The Court strains to find a situation in which a former special counsel has released a report after initiating criminal charges that did not result in a finding of guilt, at least not in a situation like this one, where the defendants contested the charges from the outset and still proclaim their innocence,” she added.
Smith was tapped by former Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022 to investigate the alleged effort by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election, as well as Trump’s retention of allegedly classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach after leaving office in 2021.
Smith had brought charges against Trump in both cases.
The charges were dropped after Trump’s election, in keeping with a long-standing Justice Department policy that discourages prosecuting sitting presidents on federal criminal charges. Smith resigned from his role shortly afterward.
Trump’s former defense attorney, Kendra Wharton, praised Cannon’s decision to block Volume II of Smith’s report from being released publicly, telling Fox News Digital in a statement that her “courage and judicial resolve on these important due process issues should be recognized and taught in law school classrooms across America.”
JACK SMITH SUBPOENAED FOR DEPOSITION WITH HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Former Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith, center, and his attorney Lanny Breuer, center rear, arrive at a hearing room in the Rayburn House Office Building. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)
Smith, for his part, has forcefully sought to dispute the notion that his team had acted politically, using public and private remarks to House Republicans in December and January to defend his team’s actions.
His team had developed what he described as “powerful evidence” that Trump had willfully retained highly classified documents after leaving office in January 2021 at his private Mar-a-Lago residence, and had been obstructing the government’s efforts to recover the records.
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“I made my decisions in the investigation without regard to President Trump’s political association, activities, beliefs or candidacy in the 2024 presidential election,” Smith told members of the House Judiciary Committee in a Dec. 17 interview.
Breanne Deppisch is a national politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI and other national news. She previously covered national politics at the Washington Examiner and The Washington Post, with additional bylines in Politico Magazine, the Colorado Gazette and others. You can send tips to Breanne at [email protected], or follow her on X at @breanne_dep.
