US Justice Department to release only part of Trump investigation report

Following a court’s ruling to reject some of the findings, United States officials have made it official that they will release only a portion of a report detailing federal investigations into President-elect Donald Trump.

On Wednesday, the Department of Justice indicated that the published report would focus on Special Counsel Jack Smith’s probe into Trump’s efforts to undo the results of the 2020 election.

However, it would not go into detail about a second federal investigation that would have examined Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents after his first term in office ended in 2021.

Due to the announcement, it is unlikely that any new information about the investigation into classified documents will be made public.

On January 20, Trump will take over the Justice Department, which will take over his second term.

Trump has been tangled in a slew of legal battles, which was once thought to be the most threatening. He is the first US president to have a conviction for a crime.

Trump, however, has denied wrongdoing in all the cases. He has repeatedly criticized the investigations as being “fake” and politically motivated.

The Justice Department has indicated that it will make the report’s classified documents available to the House and Senate Judiciary Committee chairmen and ranking members.

While the legal proceedings over the case of classified documents continue, those members must agree not to make the section public.

The Justice Department wrote in its court filings that “this limited disclosure will advance the public interest by protecting the interests of the Department’s congressional leadership.”

The decision to omit the publication of the report’s classified documents section was ultimately driven by those proceedings.

On Tuesday, a federal judge, Aileen Cannon, &nbsp, temporarily blocked its release, citing the continuing legal fight.

Trump’s two co-defendants, who are former Trump employees Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, are still facing potential criminal charges despite the fact that the charges against him in the classified documents case were dropped in November.

Nauta, an aide, and De Oliveira, a maintenance employee at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, have been accused of helping the president-elect withhold and conceal the classified documents, despite a subpoena to turn them over.

The report’s release would improperly interfere with the defense’s right to a fair hearing, according to defense attorneys.

The Justice Department has not yet specified when it will release the report’s second volume, which addresses the allegations of election interference.

In response to Trump’s looming return to office, Smith also filed to drop the charges in that case in November. He cited Justice Department guidelines for prosecuting presidents who are currently in office.

That case centred on Trump’s actions in the lead-up and after the November 2020 election, when the Republican incumbent faced Democrat Joe Biden for the presidency.

Trump ultimately lost. However, Smith and his team of federal prosecutors allege Trump abused his position by overturning his victory and causing unnecessary delays in official proceedings in order to confirm the outcome.

Trump has continued to fabricate his election victory and continue to deny it due to widespread voter fraud.

The Justice Department claimed in a court filing on Wednesday that Attorney General Merrick Garland was “clear” about releasing the report’s volume on the election interference allegations.

“Indeed, with respect to Volume One of the Final Report, defendants are hardly differently situated than any other member of the public”, the department said.

In order to avoid a potential conflict of interest, a political appointee could have the case lead by a member of the administration of the incoming President Biden.

Smith must turn in a final report to Garland in accordance with Justice Department rules.

The attorney general has stated that he will make any special counsel reports he receives public. Special Counsel Robert Hur previously wrote a report into Biden’s handling of classified documents outside of office.

Trump and his defence team, however, have fought to stop the release. At a Tuesday news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump blasted Smith as a “disgrace”.

Source: Aljazeera