Attorney General Merrick Garland told lawmakers Wednesday that he believes it is in the public interest to release special counsel Jack Smith’s report covering the Mar-a-Lago documents probe after the case against President-elect Trump’s two co-defendants concludes.
His letter to Judiciary Committee leaders in both chambers reiterated much of what prosecutors have disclosed in court: that Garland plans to release the volume of Smith’s report on Trump’s election interference case but must wait to do so until the conclusion of a court battle spurred by the two co-defendants.
Garland has also said he will not release the volume of the report covering the Mar-a-Lago documents probe given the ongoing case against valet Walt Nauta and property manager Carlos de Oliveira.
“I have determined that once those criminal proceedings have concluded, releasing Volume Two of the Report to you and to the public would also be in the public interest, consistent with law and Department policy,” Garland said of the report covering the discovery of more than 300 records with classified markings at Trump’s home estate.
Whether he will ever get the chance to do so is another story.
Nauta and de Oliveira scored an initial win before U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon, who blocked the release of either volume of the report.
The matter is now before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, where the two co-defendants also challenged the report’s release.
The new letter from Garland would typically notify Congress of the report’s imminent release, but the court battle currently prevents that transmission.
Garland has also said he will allow review of the Mar-a-Lago report to the Judiciary leaders — something Nauta and de Oliveira are also contesting.
