“Judge Cannon's decision to permanently block the release of this extraordinarily significant report is impossible to square with the First Amendment and the common law,” said Scott Wilkens, senior counsel at the Knight Institute. “There is no legitimate basis for its continued suppression.”

Today’s ruling would permanently bar the report’s release, largely based on Judge Cannon’s view that Special Counsel Jack Smith was unlawfully appointed when he prepared it. The court denied the defendants’ request to order the report destroyed.

“A major purpose of the First Amendment is to protect the free discussion of governmental affairs, and the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the First Amendment protects the public’s right of access to documents filed in connection with criminal trials,” said Jameel Jaffer, executive director at the Knight Institute. “Given the significance of the Special Counsel’s report, and the role it played in earlier proceedings before Judge Cannon, there is really no question that both the common law and the First Amendment require the report’s release.”

Earlier this month, the Knight Institute asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to reverse an earlier order by Judge Cannon refusing to release the Special Counsel’s report. The Institute also filed a separate motion in the district court explaining that Judge Cannon lacks jurisdiction to order the report’s destruction and that she has been divested of authority over issues relating to the report in light of the Institute’s pending appeal before the Eleventh Circuit. The appeal stems from a motion filed by the Institute last year requesting that Judge Cannon lift an injunction prohibiting the Department of Justice from releasing the Special Counsel’s report. The Institute also asked Judge Cannon to post the report on the court’s public docket, arguing that the First Amendment and common law guarantee the public a right of access to records submitted in connection with criminal proceedings. 

Read today’s decision here. 

Read more about the case here.

Lawyers on the case include Scott Wilkens, Jameel Jaffer, Alex Abdo, and Noah Kim for the Knight First Amendment Institute, and David Buckner for Buckner & Miles.

For more information, contact: Adriana Lamirande, adriana.lamirande@knightcolumbia.org 

“There is no good reason for withholding this report from the public,” said Scott Wilkens, senior counsel at the Knight First Amendment  Institute. “The public has a right to the report under the First Amendment and common law, and the Freedom of Information Act requires its release as well.” 

In February of last year, the Institute filed a motion asking Judge Cannon, who presided over the Justice Department’s now-abandoned prosecution of President Trump, to lift her injunction prohibiting the Justice Department from releasing Smith’s report. The Institute also asked Judge Cannon to post the report on the court’s public docket, arguing that the First Amendment and common law give the public a right of access to it because it was submitted in connection with a criminal proceeding. After Judge Cannon failed to rule on the Institute’s request for 218 days, the Institute asked the Eleventh Circuit to intervene. That court held that Judge Cannon had unduly delayed the adjudication of the Institute’s motion and ordered her to rule within 60 days. Judge Cannon denied the Institute’s motion 11 days before the expiration of that period.

“This is an official Justice Department report that addresses alleged criminal activity by the nation’s highest official—it should have been released to the public months ago,” said Jameel Jaffer, the Knight Institute’s executive director. “The First Amendment has long been understood to require the release of records filed in connection with criminal trials. There is no exception for records that concern the president.”

In a separate filing today, the Institute informed Judge Cannon that she lacks jurisdiction to order the destruction of Jack Smith’s report, which President Trump’s co-defendants have asked her to do. (The Justice Department has also asked that the report be relegated to the “dustbin of history.”) The Institute argues that Judge Cannon has been divested of jurisdiction over issues relating to the report because the Institute’s appeal is now before the Eleventh Circuit. 

Read the Institute’s Eleventh Circuit brief here. 

Read the Institute’s motion filed with Judge Cannon here.

Read more about the case here.

Lawyers on the case include Wilkens, Jaffer, and Alex Abdo for the Knight First Amendment Institute, and David Buckner for Buckner & Miles.

For more information, contact: Adriana Lamirande, adriana.lamirande@knightcolumbia.org. 

In February, the Knight Institute filed a motion to intervene in the case arguing that the public has a First Amendment right to review the report, which concerns allegations of grave criminal conduct by the nation’s highest-ranking official. In September, the Institute asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to compel Judge Cannon to rule on its motion to intervene, which had been pending for more than six months. On November 3, the appeals court found that the lower court had unduly delayed its ruling on the motion and said that it would hold the Knight Institute’s petition for 60 days with the expectation that Judge Cannon would issue a ruling within that time frame. That period was set to expire on January 2, 2026. 

Read today’s decision here.

Read more about the case here.

Lawyers on the case include Wilkens, Jameel Jaffer, Alex Abdo, and Noah Kim for the Knight First Amendment Institute, and David Buckner for Buckner & Miles.

For more information, contact: Lorraine Kenny, lorraine.kenny@knightcolumbia.org. 

The following can be attributed to Scott Wilkens, senior counsel at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University: 

“We’re pleased that members of the House Judiciary Committee recognize the importance of making the Special Counsel’s report public. The release of the report will shed light on the scope and integrity of the Special Counsel’s investigation and on the character and actions of the nation’s highest official. Judge Cannon should release the report without further delay.”

In February, the Knight Institute filed a motion to intervene in the case asking Judge Aileen Cannon—who presided over the now-abandoned prosecution of President Trump under the Espionage Act—to release volume II of the Special Counsel’s report, arguing that it should be made public under the First Amendment and common law right of access to judicial records. The Institute also asked the court to lift an injunction prohibiting the Department of Justice from releasing the report. In September, the Institute asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to compel Judge Cannon to rule on its motion to intervene, which had been pending for more than six months. On November 3, the appeals court found that the lower court had unduly delayed its ruling on the motion and said that it would hold the Knight Institute’s petition for 60 days with the expectation that Judge Cannon would issue a ruling within that time frame. That period will expire on January 2, 2026. 

Read today’s brief here.

Read more about the case here.

For more information, contact: Adriana Lamirande, adriana.lamirande@knightcolumbia.org. 

“We’re pleased that today’s order recognizes that there is no legitimate reason for the court’s months-long delay in ruling on our request to make the special counsel’s report public,” said Scott Wilkens, senior counsel at the Knight First Amendment Institute. “This report is of singular importance to the public because it addresses allegations of grave criminal conduct by the nation’s highest-ranking official, and should be made public without further delay.”

The Institute filed a motion in February asking Judge Aileen Cannon, who presided over the Justice Department’s now-abandoned prosecution of President Trump, to lift an injunction she imposed in January prohibiting the Justice Department from releasing the report. The Institute also asked Judge Cannon to post the report on the court’s public docket, arguing that the First Amendment and common law give the public a right of access to the report because it was submitted to the court in connection with a criminal proceeding. The petition the Institute filed in September argued that the lower court’s lengthy delay in ruling on the Institute’s motion is “manifestly unreasonable.” 

Read today’s order here.

Read more about the case here.

Lawyers on the case include Wilkens, Jaffer, Alex Abdo, Anna Diakun, and Noah Kim for the Knight First Amendment Institute, and David Buckner for Buckner & Miles. 

For more information, contact: Adriana Lamirande, adriana.lamirande@knightcolumbia.org 

“The court’s months-long delay in ruling on our motion for the release of the Special Counsel’s report has the same effect as denying the motion outright,” said Scott Wilkens, senior counsel at the Knight First Amendment Institute. “We hope the appeals court will quickly order the lower court to act on the motion, and that this extraordinarily significant report will be made available to the public right away.”

The Institute filed a motion in February asking Judge Aileen Cannon, who presided over the Justice Department’s now-abandoned prosecution of President Trump, to lift an injunction she imposed in January prohibiting the Justice Department from releasing the report. The Institute also asked Judge Cannon to post the report on the court’s public docket, arguing that the First Amendment and common law give the public a right of access to the report because it was submitted to the court in connection with a criminal proceeding. The petition the Institute filed today argues that the lower court’s lengthy delay in ruling on the Institute’s motion is “manifestly unreasonable.” 

“This report is of singular importance to the public because it addresses allegations of grave criminal conduct by the nation’s highest-ranking official,” said Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute. “There is no legitimate reason for the report’s continued suppression, and it should be posted on the court’s public docket without further delay.”

Read the petition here.

Read more about the case here.

Lawyers on the case include Wilkens, Jaffer, Alex Abdo, and Noah Kim for the Knight First Amendment Institute, and David Buckner for Buckner & Miles. 

For more information, contact: Adriana Lamirande, adriana.lamirande@knightcolumbia.org