‘Truth must prevail’: Garland urged to ‘release the damn report’ on Smith’s Trump probe

Special Counsel Jack Smith, set to leave his office before Donald Trump is sworn in as President in less than two weeks, has indicated that he will deliver his report to Attorney General Merrick Garland Tuesday afternoon. The two-volume report details the findings of his investigations into the now-President-elect, which resulted in felony charges against Trump. These charges stem from his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election, including his role in the January 6 insurrection, as well as the alleged unlawful removal and retention of highly classified documents from the White House.

By law, Special Counsels are required to send a report of their findings to the Attorney General. Even Trump Attorney General Bill Barr released a highly redacted version of the Mueller Report, although he did so after mischaracterizing the findings in a letter he published ahead of the release. (A federal judge later said the letter was a “distorted” and “misleading” account of Mueller's report.)

Critics, including legal experts, are demanding Attorney General Garland release Smith's report to the public.

"Follow the law, release the reports," urged conservative Bill Kristol of The Bulwark. "Just as AG Garland released special counsel Hur's report on Biden's handling of classified documents, the AG should now release Weiss's report on Hunter Biden and Smith's report on Trump and Jan. 6, and Trump and classified documents."

But Trump is in court attempting to block its release. Trump's attorneys were allowed to review the draft report, and reportedly spent three days in Jack Smith's office doing so, Politico reported.

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"In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland sent Monday, Trump’s lawyers said they were allowed to review Smith’s report in the criminal case in which Trump was charged with conspiring to keep classified documents after he left office," The Daily Beast reports. "They threatened legal action if it is released, noting Smith’s findings include strongly worded allegations that Trump 'engaged in an unprecedented criminal effort' and describe him as 'the head of the criminal conspiracies.'"

Trump's lawyers referred to the Special Counsel as an "out-of-control private citizen unconstitutionally posing as a prosecutor."

Noting that Trump's attorneys said the decision about releasing the report should be left to the incoming Trump DOJ, Politico adds, "In the letter to Garland, Trump’s attorneys said that releasing a public narrative of the evidence Smith gathered — in the classified documents case as well as the federal election conspiracy case over Trump’s bid to subvert the 2020 election — would illegally interfere with the presidential transition and be little more than a political attack."

The Guardian's Hugo Lowell reports Trump's attorneys are also asking Garland to remove Smith.

New — Trump’s lawyers asked AG Garland in an emailed letter today to remove Special Counsel Jack Smith and stop the release of his Final Report, per court filings pic.twitter.com/XIQ5Daij7P
— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) January 7, 2025

Politico's Kyle Cheney reported Tuesday morning that "Jack Smith says AG Garland has not decided whether to release his reports to the public and won’t do so before Jan. 10 at the earliest. Smith won’t send his classified docs report to Garland before this afternoon at 1pm."

January 10 is the date Donald Trump is slated to be sentenced by New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan in the business fraud case, commonly referred to as the "hush money" case, which prosecutors called “election fraud, pure and simple.” Trump was found guilty by a jury on 34 felony counts, making him the first former U.S. president to be convicted of felonies.

Cheney also reported late Tuesday morning that "Trump is preparing to formally intervene in the effort to block Jack Smith’s report, his codefendants say. And they’re asking the 11th circuit to send the case back to [Judge Aileen] Cannon so she can rule on it."

Among those urging Attorney General Garland to release the report is Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department officer Daniel Hodges, who was crushed by January 6 rioters as he defended the Capitol and the lawmakers inside it.

In a letter to AG Garland, portions of which Cheney posted, Hodges wrote, "I was beaten, crushed, and had one of my eyes gouged - and I would do it all again if it meant preserving the Republic."

"Donald Trump is once again going to get away with his crimes. I don't know if there is anything you could have done differently to have guanteed [sic] the opportunity for justice, and that's not why I'm writing today," Hodges noted. "I'm writing because, while he may have evaded justice, it is imperative that history know the extent of his crimes. Please: release Jack Smith's final report of his investigation to

the public."

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"Even in this age of unparalleled propaganda, misinformation, and lies, the truth still matters. We must do everything we can to see that it is given the opportunity to take root in our society, and aid pathfinding of our future by illuminating our past," he continued. "This report is the closest I and many Americans will ever get to closure with regards to Trump and his role in the insurrection. I implore you to release the report. If not for your own legacy, then for the benefit of Americans everywhere, and democracies around the world."

Former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) issued a lengthy statement, concluding: "AG Garland now has a duty to release the Justice Department Report and prevent its evidence from being destroyed. The truth must prevail. The framers of our Constitution knew the lessons of history — that people led by men without character can quickly lose their freedom."

Former federal and state prosecutor Ron Filipkowsi, the editor-in-chief of MeidasTouch News, responded to Liz Cheney:

"At the VERY LEAST, since he accomplished nothing else to hold the leaders of this accountable, Merrick Garland needs to release the damn report and stop being afraid of his own shadow. Weak people all over this Admin[istration] is part of what got us here."

Former Obama senior advisor David Axelrod noted, "Trump had no objection when the Justice Department released the special counsel report at the close of its investigation of Biden's handling of classified documents. This was WHILE BIDEN WAS PRESIDENT. Now Trump argues the same should not apply to him."

Award-winning and well-known attorney Ted Boutrous on Monday evening said simply, "Attorney General Garland should release the report(s) tomorrow."

Some have suggested that President Joe Biden might be able to fire Garland and install an acting AG who would then release the report, or, others have suggested, release it via an executive order, neither of which seem likely.

Over at The Bulwark, Kristol seemed certain Garland will release the report. But he also expanded his thoughts, writing: "In a sense, the release now of Smith’s report will simply signify the failure of the effort, over the last four years, of accountability and truth-telling about January 6th. It will be the last gasp, for now, of a lost cause."

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