The Jack Smith report stays buried, American justice pays the price

Introduction: a document that may never see the light of day

A permanent judicial block since February 2026

Since February 23, 2026, federal Judge Aileen Cannon, appointed by Donald Trump, has maintained a permanent injunction preventing the publication of the second volume of former special counsel Jack Smith's report, the one devoted to the case of classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago.

This ruling, which confirms and makes permanent a block already in place for several months, deprives the American public of a document that Smith himself described as damning evidence regarding the handling of classified documents by the former, and now sitting, president.

A striking contrast with the already published first volume

The first volume of the Smith report, devoted to attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, had been made public in January 2025, even before the end of Joe Biden's term, without triggering a judicial block comparable to the one the second volume now faces.

This asymmetry between the two volumes raises legitimate questions about the consistency of the judicial reasoning that distinguishes these two documents, even though they stem from the same inquiry and were written by the same special counsel.

The grounds cited by Judge Cannon

An accusation of maneuvering around her dismissal order

In her ruling, Judge Cannon described Jack Smith's preparation of the report as a "troubling breach of the spirit of her dismissal order," arguing that the special counsel had attempted a "bold gambit" to circumvent her earlier decision to dismiss the classified documents case.

Cannon had originally dismissed the entire case against Trump in the summer of 2024, citing procedural flaws in the special counsel's very appointment, a decision that had already drawn sharp criticism from many American constitutional scholars.

A ruling built on contested procedural arguments

Several legal experts cited by American outlets believe Judge Cannon's reasoning rests on a broad and questionable interpretation of her own authority, given that the report is an internal Department of Justice document rather than an active piece of court procedure.

This legal controversy feeds a broader debate over the real independence of certain federal judges appointed by Trump when it comes to ruling on questions that directly touch the personal interests of the sitting president.

The legal battle waged by transparency organizations

American Oversight and the Knight First Amendment Institute on the front line

The organizations American Oversight and the Knight First Amendment Institute tried to intervene in the proceedings to argue for the publication of the report, citing the clear public interest in knowing the full conclusions of the inquiry into the classified documents.

Judge Cannon, however, refused to grant these organizations permission to formally intervene in the case, a procedural decision that considerably narrows the avenues available to force the publication of the document.

An appeal pending before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals

Faced with this refusal, the two organizations took their case to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, where it remains pending, backed by a brief filed by the Yale Law School MFIA clinic on March 13, 2026, in favor of publication.

The outcome of this appeal remains uncertain, but it currently represents the only concrete judicial avenue capable of overturning the block imposed by Judge Cannon and eventually allowing the second volume of the Smith report to be published.

What Jack Smith himself is publicly denouncing

A Department of Justice called 'corrupt'

In a filmed interview obtained by the New York Times and published on May 6, 2026, Jack Smith described the current Department of Justice as "corrupt" and "tainted" by Trump loyalists, a rare and direct statement from a former senior federal official.

These remarks, made after he left the department, illustrate the scale of the rift between the traditional judicial establishment and the current administration, a tension that extends well beyond the report blocked by Judge Cannon.

A firm defense of the integrity of his original inquiry

Smith maintained, in that same interview, that his investigation rested on solid, corroborated evidence, firmly rejecting the accusations of political bias that the Trump administration and its allies have continued to level against him since the case was closed.

This public defense of his work, while understandable coming from a prosecutor whose professional reputation is being directly attacked, obviously does not replace the transparency that the full publication of the report itself could have offered.

What the already published first volume revealed

Damning conclusions on the attempts to overturn the election

The first volume, made public in January 2025, concluded that the investigation had gathered "evidence beyond a reasonable doubt" that Trump had illegally tried to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, according to the published report's own findings.

This conclusion, though it never led to a conviction after the charges were dropped following the 2024 election, remains a landmark historical document for anyone studying the events surrounding the electoral dispute of that period.

Evidence deemed 'powerful' on the classified documents

The report also referred to "powerful evidence" of unlawful retention of classified documents, a central element of the second volume whose publication remains blocked today by Judge Cannon despite the documented existence of these preliminary findings.

This difference in treatment between the two volumes, one published and the other blocked indefinitely, illustrates just how much the fate of a document of public interest can depend on the composition and convictions of the court hearing the case.

The impact on trust in judicial institutions

A troubling precedent for judicial independence

This prolonged block, ordered by a judge appointed by the very person targeted by the investigation, fuels legitimate concerns about the real independence of the American federal judicial power when the interests of a sitting president are directly at stake in a proceeding.

These concerns are not confined to the usual partisan circles: several politically unaffiliated legal scholars have publicly voiced their discomfort with how this case has been handled, from the initial dismissal to the current block on the second volume.

An issue that reaches far beyond the Trump case alone

Beyond Donald Trump's personal fate, this case raises a lasting institutional question: to what extent can a document produced by a legitimate federal investigation be permanently withheld from the public by a single, barely contestable judicial decision.

This question will likely outlast Trump's current term, since it directly touches on the accountability mechanisms available to oversee the exercise of executive power by future American presidents, regardless of their political affiliation.

The possible next steps in this legal battle

A ruling awaited from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals

The next decisive step remains the ruling from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals on the intervention request filed by American Oversight and the Knight First Amendment Institute, a decision whose precise timeline remains uncertain as of now.

If the Court of Appeals agrees to hear the appeal and overturns Judge Cannon's ruling, the second volume of the Smith report could eventually be made public, although such a judicial process could still take several months before reaching a final conclusion.

A firm Department of Justice stance against any publication

The current Department of Justice has also stated that it would not publish the report even if the judicial block were lifted, describing the document as worthless and stating, according to its own officials, that it does not deserve to be released to the public.

This position, layered on top of the existing judicial block, illustrates a double barrier, both judicial and administrative, that makes eventual publication of the Smith report even less likely in the near future.

Comparisons with other blocked federal investigative reports in history

Rare precedents of a total judicial block

Recent American judicial history offers very few precedents comparable to such a total judicial block on a federal special counsel report, with most investigative reports having historically ended up being made public, even in partially redacted form to protect certain sensitive information.

This historical rarity makes the Smith report case all the more significant, since it potentially represents the first modern example of a federal investigative document being completely withheld from the public through a final judicial decision rather than through simple administrative delay.

What this means for future special investigations

This precedent could influence how future special counsels structure their investigative reports, now knowing that a federal judge can, under certain circumstances, permanently prevent the publication of findings even after they have been completed and documented by a legitimate federal investigation.

This prospect worries several legal scholars, who fear that such a precedent could permanently weaken the American public's ability to obtain full accounts of federal investigations involving powerful political figures in the future.

Conclusion: transparency sacrificed on the altar of power

A document that may remain forever incomplete for history

The fate of the second volume of the Jack Smith report starkly illustrates the fragility of democratic transparency mechanisms when they run up against the political will of an executive power determined to protect its own interests by every legal means available.

This situation, though perhaps not yet permanently settled while the appeal remains pending before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, sends a troubling signal about the current state of the balance of power in the United States in this year 2026.

A civic vigilance that must remain constant

Faced with this prolonged block, the vigilance of transparency organizations, journalists and American citizens remains essential to maintaining the pressure needed for the possible future publication of this document of exceptional public interest.

While awaiting a ruling from the Court of Appeals, this case forcefully reminds us that democratic transparency is never automatically preserved, but demands constant defense against those who would rather see it quietly disappear.

By Maxime Marquette, columnist

Columnist's transparency note

Who I am and my acknowledged biases

I sign this essay as a columnist critical of the current Trump administration's handling of the classified documents case, while relying strictly on facts corroborated by recognized judicial and journalistic sources, without giving in to unfounded speculation.

I did not have access to the full content of the second volume of the Smith report, since it remains precisely blocked; my analysis relies on the available summaries, public judicial rulings and Jack Smith's own direct statements.

What I don't know

I do not know the future outcome of the appeal before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, nor whether the second volume will ever be released to the public in full. I am not speculating on its precise content beyond what public sources allow us to establish.

My method consists of cross-referencing several recognized outlets and available public judicial rulings, in order to present a factual and measured account of this legal battle still ongoing before American federal courts.

Sources

Primary sources

Politico — Judge Cannon permanently blocks release of Jack Smith's classified documents report — February 23, 2026

ABC News — Judge permanently blocks release of final report on Trump classified documents

Secondary sources

Axios — Judge Aileen Cannon blocks Jack Smith's classified documents report

American Oversight — Organization condemns Judge Cannon's order permanently blocking release of Volume II of the Jack Smith report

Yale Law School — MFIA clinic urges Eleventh Circuit to unseal special counsel Jack Smith's report — March 13, 2026

The New York Times — Jack Smith calls the Department of Justice corrupt in filmed interview — May 6, 2026

BBC News — Judge permanently blocks release of Trump classified documents report