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BumRushDaShow

(167,890 posts)
Mon Feb 23, 2026, 10:02 AM 2 hrs ago

Judge blocks release of special counsel Jack Smith's report on Trump classified documents case

Source: AP

Updated 9:54 AM EST, February 23, 2026


WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Monday permanently barred the release of a report by special counsel Jack Smith on his investigation into President Donald Trump’s hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, granted a request from the Republican president to keep under wraps the report on a criminal investigation once seen as posing significant legal peril to Trump.

Smith and his team produced a two-volume report on investigations into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election after he lost to Joe Biden and his retention of classified documents at his estate in Palm Beach, Florida, after he left the White House following his first term.

Both investigations produced indictments that were abandoned by Smith’s team after Trump’s November 2024 election win in light of longstanding Justice Department legal opinions that say sitting presidents cannot face federal prosecution.


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/trump-classified-documents-jack-smith-3a86d9c12f18b4dfe648e539925d72a2



Just breaking.
36 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Judge blocks release of special counsel Jack Smith's report on Trump classified documents case (Original Post) BumRushDaShow 2 hrs ago OP
Must be a Scotus member about to retire. ananda 2 hrs ago #1
I'm hearing Alito may be going before the end of 2026. ABC123Easy 29 min ago #30
Of course she did. What a surprise. Ocelot II 2 hrs ago #2
Shit. lamp_shade 2 hrs ago #3
Cannon's corruption is totally predictable. C_U_L8R 1 hr ago #4
SHE was the deal breaker that kept TSF out of prison. bluestarone 1 hr ago #20
Calling on Neal Katyal. gab13by13 1 hr ago #5
She's overstepping....................... Lovie777 1 hr ago #6
she is over stepping right up to the supreme court rampartd 37 min ago #26
Shouldn't a decision that important be made by more than one person? imaginary girl 1 hr ago #7
Yes, and I'm sure there will be an appeal. Ocelot II 1 hr ago #13
Permanent until someone in the House puts together another discharge petition. Hugin 1 hr ago #8
Doesn't Justice Cannon have a conflict of interest ruling on anything having to do with Smith??? ... marble falls 1 hr ago #9
Conflict of interest with SMITH? ScratchCat 1 hr ago #17
Conflict of interest with ruling on anything having to do with Smith. I said it, I fucking meant it. marble falls 35 min ago #27
I suspect that Cannon will replace Thomas or Alito before Trump leaves. walkingman 1 hr ago #10
Do we think she would get confirmed in the Senate? Another reason we need to win the Senate. Katinfl 4 min ago #35
Why did I know that it would be Cannon? Botany 1 hr ago #11
Time to Appeal eringer 1 hr ago #12
Exactly right. They can delay. That's it. marble falls 34 min ago #28
She is unqualified to do the job she holds. City Lights 1 hr ago #14
Deadline Legal Blog-Judge Cannon blocks release of Jack Smith's classified documents report LetMyPeopleVote 1 hr ago #15
Read the shit ScratchCat 1 hr ago #16
My guess here is bluestarone 1 hr ago #18
"Loose" Cannon... GiqueCee 1 hr ago #19
The 11th circuit will rule against her, BUT bluestarone 1 hr ago #21
Leak the damn thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AverageOldGuy 1 hr ago #22
Agreed! That might be the best course, if someone has the courage to do it. TheRickles 8 min ago #34
Fucking Aileen Cannon. I knew it. Ray Bruns 50 min ago #23
She is protecting Trump..but what can be done about it? Playingmantis 42 min ago #24
"Without Cannon's order, Smith's report was set to become public on Tuesday." riversedge 40 min ago #25
I have chime in here again, because i'm so fucking upset about this. (even though i KNEW she would do this) bluestarone 30 min ago #29
I consider Cannon to be one of the co-conspirators JoseBalow 19 min ago #31
Who was the Federal Judge that blocked it permanently? oldmanlynn 17 min ago #32
Have you read the thread? Aileen Cannon. Katinfl 2 min ago #36
The myth, "No one is above the law". republianmushroom 10 min ago #33

rampartd

(4,425 posts)
26. she is over stepping right up to the supreme court
Mon Feb 23, 2026, 11:30 AM
37 min ago

just as soon as one of trump's "foreign influenced justices" resigns or is killed off.

imaginary girl

(1,017 posts)
7. Shouldn't a decision that important be made by more than one person?
Mon Feb 23, 2026, 10:13 AM
1 hr ago

Is there a way to appeal to a larger group or different individual?

Hugin

(37,710 posts)
8. Permanent until someone in the House puts together another discharge petition.
Mon Feb 23, 2026, 10:13 AM
1 hr ago

That seems to be how things are done lately.

marble falls

(71,453 posts)
9. Doesn't Justice Cannon have a conflict of interest ruling on anything having to do with Smith??? ...
Mon Feb 23, 2026, 10:14 AM
1 hr ago

... time to appeal to the next level.

ScratchCat

(2,719 posts)
17. Conflict of interest with SMITH?
Mon Feb 23, 2026, 10:49 AM
1 hr ago

With SMITH?

No, with DONALD FUCKING TRUMP!!

Every judge in her district told he she legally had to decline the case because he appointed her, and she gave them the finger. Every other judge in her district knows she is a corrupt hack.

marble falls

(71,453 posts)
27. Conflict of interest with ruling on anything having to do with Smith. I said it, I fucking meant it.
Mon Feb 23, 2026, 11:33 AM
35 min ago

Katinfl

(693 posts)
35. Do we think she would get confirmed in the Senate? Another reason we need to win the Senate.
Mon Feb 23, 2026, 12:04 PM
4 min ago

Botany

(76,890 posts)
11. Why did I know that it would be Cannon?
Mon Feb 23, 2026, 10:22 AM
1 hr ago

Her #1 job from her bosses called Federalist Society is to protect Trump.

https://thiswillhold.substack.com/p/she-won-part-ii-seven-judges-direct

Your Seat Awaits, Judge Cannon

Just seven days after Trump lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden, the Senate rammed through Judge Aileen Cannon—a Federalist Society loyalist—to the federal bench, again via the nuclear option. The seat? It would later oversee Trump’s classified documents case.

Think about that. Before he even walked out of the White House with stolen materials and a failed insurrection attempt, Donald Trump had already secured the judge who would protect him. He wasn't just breaking the law—he was fortifying his legal escape route in advance, with an assist from Senate Republicans.

By mid-2022, Judge Cannon was the only active judge in Florida’s Fort Pierce division. Trump’s legal team took full advantage, filing his case in person—in violation of standard protocol—which all but guaranteed it would land on her desk. That week, Cannon was assigned 9 of 29 new cases—over 30%, nearly triple the norm. Despite calls for recusal, she refused. She stayed. And she stalled.

eringer

(520 posts)
12. Time to Appeal
Mon Feb 23, 2026, 10:29 AM
1 hr ago

Nothing is permanently blocked. That is nonsense. Time to appeal
The judges decision.

LetMyPeopleVote

(177,741 posts)
15. Deadline Legal Blog-Judge Cannon blocks release of Jack Smith's classified documents report
Mon Feb 23, 2026, 10:43 AM
1 hr ago

The Trump appointee had previously dismissed the criminal case against Trump on the grounds that the special counsel was unlawfully appointed.

BREAKING: Judge Cannon blocks release of Jack Smith’s classified documents report

READ MORE: www.ms.now/deadline-whi...

MS NOW (@ms.now) 2026-02-23T15:04:19.584Z

https://www.ms.now/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/judge-cannon-blocks-release-of-jack-smiths-classified-documents-report

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon granted a request from President Donald Trump and his former co-defendants to block the release of Jack Smith’s report on the classified documents case he brought against Trump.

Cannon had dismissed the case in 2024 when Trump was running for president. The Justice Department was appealing her order, but dropped the appeal when he won the election, due to the DOJ’s policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.

Explaining her reasoning on Monday, the Trump-appointed judge wrote, in part, that “there is the matter of manifest injustice to the former defendants that would result from disclosure of Volume II. Special Counsel Smith, acting without lawful authority, obtained an indictment in this action and initiated proceedings that resulted in a final order of dismissal of all charges.”....

Cannon rejected a defense request to order the report’s destruction.

The 11th Circuit has reversed this idiot judge several times. I am looking forward to seeing this idiot reversed yet again

ScratchCat

(2,719 posts)
16. Read the shit
Mon Feb 23, 2026, 10:47 AM
1 hr ago

She literally cites Trump's insistence that he is innocent as a reason to not release it.

This will be appealed and the DCA will overrule her. The entire basis of her ruling is that its not fair to Trump for this to be released and he should be considered innocent because she(Cannon) dismissed the case for him.

GiqueCee

(3,733 posts)
19. "Loose" Cannon...
Mon Feb 23, 2026, 10:57 AM
1 hr ago

... must be impeached and disbarred. Her blatant corruption cannot go unchallenged.

And, though I've said it a thousand times, politicians should never, EVER have anything to do with the selection of judges, or especially SCOTUS Justices. This country has already been corrupted enough by conservative influences. Letting a bag of rancid excrement like Trump hand-pick his own personal judges is intolerable. ALL judges and justices should be required to abjure any political affiliation whatsoever if they are to be considered "impartial".

Sweet Jesus on a pogo stick, my hatred of Der Republican Party burns hotter than the surface of the Sun. They actually welcome crooked slime like Trump and his malignant minions.

bluestarone

(21,825 posts)
21. The 11th circuit will rule against her, BUT
Mon Feb 23, 2026, 11:00 AM
1 hr ago

Then this SC will sit on this until end of TSF's term.

AverageOldGuy

(3,637 posts)
22. Leak the damn thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mon Feb 23, 2026, 11:01 AM
1 hr ago

Will she replace Alito after he resigns in a couple of months?

TheRickles

(3,272 posts)
34. Agreed! That might be the best course, if someone has the courage to do it.
Mon Feb 23, 2026, 11:59 AM
8 min ago

Otherwise, the legal process will take forever.

Playingmantis

(585 posts)
24. She is protecting Trump..but what can be done about it?
Mon Feb 23, 2026, 11:25 AM
42 min ago

And they try to tell us this is the most transparent administration in history! BULLSHIT!!

bluestarone

(21,825 posts)
29. I have chime in here again, because i'm so fucking upset about this. (even though i KNEW she would do this)
Mon Feb 23, 2026, 11:37 AM
30 min ago

I say WHOEVER KNOWS what this report is about (fine details) they need to RELEASE it no matter what this scumbag says. Jesus Christ our country is gonna disintegrate is things don't stop this BULLSHIT!! On the HOUSE FLOOR!!

republianmushroom

(22,176 posts)
33. The myth, "No one is above the law".
Mon Feb 23, 2026, 11:58 AM
10 min ago

is total bull shit. You are if you can buy a Federal judge, and there are some for sale.

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