Trump-Appointed Judge Bars Release of Jack Smith’s Report in Documents Case

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by Alan Feuer

February 23, 2026

AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary

A Trump-appointed federal judge, Aileen Cannon, has ruled to block the release of a report by former special counsel Jack Smith regarding former President Donald Trump's handling of classified documents after leaving office in 2021. The judge described Smith’s decision to draft the report after she dismissed the case as a "brazen stratagem," emphasizing that it violated the spirit of her dismissal order. This marks the latest effort by Judge Cannon to prevent the public from accessing Smith’s detailed findings, which were part of his twin prosecutions against Trump. The report, detailing Trump’s mishandling of classified materials, was deemed significant enough by the judge to warrant its concealment. In her ruling, Cannon argued that releasing the report would cause "irreparable damage" to Trump and his co-defendants and undermine fairness in the justice process. Smith had previously dropped another case against Trump related to election interference after the 2024 election, though Volume I of his work was made public in January 2025. This decision raises important questions about transparency and accountability in government. By blocking

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Originally published on NYT Homepage on 2/23/2026