Less than two weeks before President-elect Donald Trump is set to take the oath of office, Democrat prosecutors and judges are refusing to relent in using closed cases to target him. In New York, Judge Juan Merchan has scheduled Trump’s sentencing for Friday, a decision that Trump is urging the Supreme Court to block. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is pressing to release special counsel Jack Smith’s final report despite U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s ruling preventing its release.
“There is no question that Merrick Garland is going to release Special Counsel Jack Smith’s final report, quite possibly for the same reason that Judge Juan Merchan is going to sentence President-Elect Trump this Friday — to get in a last-minute dig just before Trump’s inauguration,” John Malcolm, vice president of the Heritage Foundation’s Institute for Constitutional Government, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. Malcolm noted further that it remains an “open question” whether Smith has authority to write the report after Cannon found his appointment unconstitutional.
The DOJ indicated in a filing Wednesday that the first part of Smith’s report concerning the 2020 election investigation would be released, noting it is “in furtherance of the public interest in informing a co-equal branch and the public regarding this significant matter.” Smith has already submitted his entire report, comprising two volumes, to Attorney General Merrick Garland, according to a filing with the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Garland decided not to release the second volume of the report, which centers on Trump’s classified documents case, while proceedings for Trump’s co-defendants are still ongoing. It’s unclear if the DOJ under Trump will move to dismiss those remaining cases.
Both of Smith’s cases against Trump were dismissed after he won the election, although the DOJ did not drop charges against Trump’s co-defendants in the classified documents case. On Tuesday, Judge Cannon blocked the DOJ from releasing Smith’s report until the Eleventh Circuit issues a ruling, the Daily Caller noted. Trump, who is no longer directly a party to the case, filed an amicus brief Wednesday arguing that Garland “cannot issue a report of an unconstitutionally appointed and funded Special Counsel.” Publishing the final report at this time would violate the Presidential Transition Act, as stated by his attorneys in the brief.
“In sum, public release of the Final Report threatens the same, if not more, stigma and opprobrium as an indictment and, thus, represents an equal, if not greater, infringement on the exercise of the executive power, and completely disregards Congress’s intent in the Presidential Transition Act,” the brief explains.
Former federal prosecutor Andrew Cherkasky told the outlet that “transparency is vital, but it must not come at the cost of justice or constitutional order.” He added: “In light of the unique national interests at stake, including the ongoing presidential transition and the need to restore public confidence, the Attorney General should exercise prudence and defer any release until a proper review is conducted by the incoming administration.”
The legal expert also told the outlet he has concerns about “the emergency nature of rushing a complex and novel legal issue.” He noted further: “There is no pulling back the report once it is released, and to do so before the court, and appellate courts are able to weigh in with due time and consideration is shortsighted and obviously political given the few days AG Garland has before he leaves his post. This is lawfare of the highest order in cases that have been dismissed. It is outrageous to think Smith didn’t seek to release this report while the cases were pending (prosecutors rarely would release such because it gives away their strategy).”
Disclaimer: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.