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.