Latest Jan. 6 report gets the all clear from Trump's favorite judge
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon announced that she will allow the release of a portion of the Justice Department’s report by former special counsel Jack Smith on President-elect Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and inciting an insurrection.
Without any future legal filings by Trump’s lawyer, the report could be released as soon as just after midnight on Tuesday morning.
Cannon, a Trump appointee, blocked the release of the report on Tuesday, but nearly a week later, she denied a motion requesting to stop the publication of the report by Smith, who was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland. However, Cannon won’t allow the release of part two of the report—which covers the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case—until the active criminal case against two Trump aides is completed.
The latest move came a week after a whirlwind of legal filings last week when Trump’s attorneys reviewed a draft of Smith’s final report related to federal investigations into the president-elect. Trump’s team argued that Smith didn’t have the power to assemble the report and that any publication of his report by Garland would violate DOJ’s policy, practice, and the law.
For many, the legal drama surrounding Trump shows the flaws in America’s justice system. Despite his alleged involvement in inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection, attempting to subvert the 2020 election results, and mishandling classified documents, the legal system is granting him leeway.
The Supreme Court’s recent decisions, which shielded Trump from any accountability for his despicable actions by granting him broad immunity during his presidency—and now, for his second term—have deepened this sense of impunity for those in power with connections or resources. Smith himself even indicated that Trump would be "dropped" from the investigation now that he has returned to the White House.
Smith quietly resigned from the DOJ on Sunday after bringing two failed cases against Trump. However, no formal announcement of Smith leaving office was made. Smith had signaled his intention to leave before Trump, who will take office on Jan. 20, threatened to punish him.
This ongoing drama means that Americans may soon learn whether any individuals, inside or outside of Trump’s circle, conspired with him in 2020 to interfere with the election process. And more than a dozen Senate confirmation hearings for his Cabinet appointees, like Pete Hegseth, Kristi Noem, and Marco Rubio, are set to take center stage this week.
These hearings not only shape the trajectory of the next four years but also serve as a preview of the political chaos of a second Trump term. With Trump’s legal woes still looming, these appointments—and the questions they provoke, such as overlooking sexual misconduct allegations, not accepting the election results, and participating in animal abuse—will have consequences for both the administration and the norms of politics, law, and culture.