Judge Eileen Cannon on Tuesday blocked the Justice Department from sharing Jack Smith’s classified documents report with Congress.
On Friday Judge Cannon during a hearing appeared skeptical of Merrick Garland’s plan to give Jack Smith’s Volume 2 final report on Trump’s classified documents case to Congress.
Cannon repeatedly asked DOJ lawyers why they needed to show the classified documents report to lawmakers. The Judge also asked if the final report was safeguarded from being leaked to the public.
“Why is there such urgency to disclose this to Congress right now, prior to the conclusion of the criminal proceeding — which would seem to be the ordinary course?” Cannon asked DOJ attorney Elizabeth Shapiro, according to Politico. “At the end of the day, what’s the upside of doing this right now?”
The DOJ lawyer argued that releasing a special counsel’s final report to Congress is a ‘historical practice.’
“I’m still not hearing a satisfying answer to that question,” Cannon said, according to Politico.
Shapiro insisted there was “virtually no likelihood that the report can leak.”
Lawyers for Trump’s co-defendant Walt Nauta insisted giving the final report to Congress would “really be a release publicly.”
Cannon said the final report contains information Trump’s lawyers argued were protected under attorney-client privilege.
On Tuesday, Judge Cannon excoriated the Justice Department for their “startling” conduct.
ABC News reported:
The federal judge who oversaw Donald Trump’s classified documents case has blocked the Department of Justice from sharing special counsel Jack Smith’s final report on his probe with select members of Congress.
Judge Aileen Cannon, in an order issued one day after Trump’s inauguration, offered a scathing criticism of the Department of Justice’s “startling” conduct and willingness to “gamble” with the rights of Trump’s former co-defendants by attempting to allow four members of Congress to review Smith’s final report as directed by DOJ policy.
“Prosecutors play a special role in our criminal justice system and are entrusted and expected to do justice,” Cannon wrote. “The Department of Justice’s position on Defendants’ Emergency Motion … has not been faithful to that obligation.”
US Attorney General Merrick Garland released Jack Smith’s Volume One report on his January 6 investigation into Trump last Tuesday after a temporary injunction blocking the release expired at midnight last Monday evening.
The post BREAKING: In Final Act, Judge Cannon Blocks DOJ From Sharing Jack Smith’s Classified Docs Report with Congress appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.