Garland tells Congress he'll provide Trump special counsel report to leaders when courts allow

Attorney General Merrick Garland told lawmakers Wednesday that he believes it is in the public interest to release special counsel Jack Smith’s report covering the Mar-a-Lago documents probe after the case against President-elect Trump’s two co-defendants concludes. 

His letter to Judiciary Committee leaders in both chambers reiterated much of what prosecutors have disclosed in court: that Garland plans to release the volume of Smith’s report on Trump’s election interference case but must wait to do so until the conclusion of a court battle spurred by the two co-defendants.

Garland has also said he will not release the volume of the report covering the Mar-a-Lago documents probe given the ongoing case against valet Walt Nauta and property manager Carlos De Oliveira. 

“I have determined that once those criminal proceedings have concluded, releasing Volume Two of the Report to you and to the public would also be in the public interest, consistent with law and Department policy,” Garland said of the report covering the discovery of more than 300 records with classified markings at Trump’s home.

Whether he will ever get the chance to do so is another story. 

Nauta and De Oliveira scored an initial win before U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who blocked the release of either volume of the report. 

The matter is now before the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where the two co-defendants also challenged the report's release. 

The letter from Garland would typically notify Congress of the report's imminent release, but the court battle currently prevents that transmission. 

Garland has also said he will allow review of the Mar-a-Lago report to the Judiciary Committee leaders — something Nauta and De Oliveira are also contesting. 

“The concern about leaks cannot be overlooked; Congress is a political body; its individual members have political aims; and this is a political case,” lawyers for the two men wrote Wednesday. 

“Are they permitted to publicly share their opinions on the report? Are they permitted to discuss the case at all publicly, now that [they] have had access to confidential material that will inevitably shape how they view the case? Are they permitted to disclose their reactions to their own staff?”

But Garland’s plan to allow review by only four members of Congress rankled others eager to review the document. 

Citing the House Oversight Committee’s role in overseeing the National Archives, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) penned a letter to Garland asking to likewise be able to review the report at the Department of Justice (DOJ). 

“The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is responsible for the collection and retention of records created or received by the President, including classified information. NARA played a central role in the case involving President Trump’s willful retention of classified documents after leaving office, going so far as to refer the matter to DOJ,” Connolly wrote. 

“In light of the Committee’s legislative jurisdiction over presidential records, broad investigative jurisdiction, and vested interest in this matter, I urge DOJ to make available Volume Two of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s final report to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,” he wrote, adding he hoped to review the documents by Jan. 15. 

It’s not clear when the 11th Circuit will rule, and the legal battle could complicate the sharing of either volume of the report. 

With Trump set to take office in a little over a week, and his Justice Department is expected to drop the charges against Nauta and de Oliveria as well as shelving both volumes of the report. 

Updated at 10:49 a.m. EST