Tuesday, January 7, 2025

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1/ A federal judge in Florida temporarily blocked the Justice Department from releasing special counsel Jack Smith’s report on Trump’s classified documents investigation. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon justified her order “to preserve the status quo” and to prevent “irreparable harm” while the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals considers a motion from Trump’s co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, who argued that the report’s release would prejudice their cases. That filing came after Smith confirmed he’s “working to finalize” reports for Attorney General Merrick Garland outlining the results of his investigations into Trump’s handling of classified documents after he left office and his attempt to subvert the 2020 election. Garland previously said he’d release the report publicly in some form. Cannon’s injunction, however, follows a series of legal rulings that have limited Smith’s authority and dismissed charges against Trump in the case. Cannon, a Trump appointee, previously ruled Smith’s appointment unconstitutional, and the Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity further weakened the special counsel’s cases. (Washington Post / NBC News / CNN / Associated Press / Politico / New York Times / ABC News / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg)

2/ A New York appeals court judge denied Trump’s request to delay his Friday sentencing in the election interference case involving falsified business records, rejecting arguments that presidential immunity applies. Trump’s lawyers argued that immunity protections for a sitting president should extend to the transition period as president-elect, but the trial judge and appellate court rejected this claim. While the trial judge suggested that Trump would likely face no jail time, he emphasized the importance of finalizing the case before Trump’s inauguration. Trump was convicted in May of falsifying business records related to hush money payments made during the 2016 election. (Associated Press / Politico / Washington Post / New York Times / ABC News / Bloomberg / Axios /

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