A U.S. appeals court on Thursday refused to block the U.S. Justice Department from releasing the special counsel's report on President-elect Donald Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.
The decision by the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit Court of Appeals means the report could be released as early as next week.
The appeals court's decision did not immediately lift an injunction issued earlier this week by U.S. District Judge Eileen Cannon to block the release of the report. But Cannon set the order to expire three days after the appeals court rules on the issue.
But Cannon set the order to expire three days after the appeals court rules on the issue.
The appeals court asked the Justice Department to file a separate appeal if it wanted to overturn the ruling.
If the report is released, special counsel Jack Smith, who filed two landmark lawsuits against President Trump for attempting to overturn the 2020 election results and for mishandling classified documents, will It is likely to be his last act.
Mr. Smith withdrew both lawsuits after Mr. Trump's election victory, but neither case went to trial.
Thursday's ruling comes after two of President Trump's former co-defendants in the classified documents case, Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira, appealed to block the release of the report, saying it would jeopardize ongoing prosecutions. The decision was made after a petition was filed with the court.
The decision comes after Attorney General Merrick Garland, who appointed Mr. Smith, decided not to release a portion focusing on classified documents while legal proceedings against two of Mr. Trump's former co-defendants continue. , so far the report is only expected to include details of the 2020 election investigation.
The Justice Department said in a court filing that it plans to allow only some senior members of Congress to review that portion of the report.
Mr. Nauta and Mr. de Oliveira argued that even limited release to Congress of the written portion of the report could undermine the defense against charges of obstruction.
Both have maintained their innocence.
It is unclear how much new information will be included in the public portion of the report.
Smith and a House committee have already released a detailed report on Trump's actions surrounding the 2020 election, including during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has argued that the charges against him are part of an attempt to damage his political career.
