WASHINGTON – House Judiciary Committee Democrats are pressing the Justice Department and Attorney General Pam Bondi to release special counsel Jack Smith’s report on former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents. The lawmakers argue that Bondi is withholding the report while allowing Smith to testify to Congress, and they are preparing to ask a federal court to lift the injunction blocking its release.
The report has remained sealed following a January order from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who cited potential risks to defendants in ongoing cases and noted that Congress had not formally requested it. The Justice Department dismissed the classified documents case earlier this year, but the injunction has kept the report from being made public. Recently, the House Republican majority subpoenaed Smith to testify before the committee in a closed-door session, which the Justice Department has approved.
Democrats criticized this approach as contradictory. In a letter to Bondi, led by Representative Jamie Raskin, they said the Justice Department “has no justification” for withholding the report now that the related cases against Trump’s co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, have been dismissed. They argued that Congress cannot meaningfully question Smith without access to the report, which is central to his investigation.
The Democrats also urged the Justice Department to petition the Southern District of Florida to lift Cannon’s injunction, emphasizing that the original reasons for keeping the report sealed no longer apply. They called the investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents “one of the most significant criminal investigations in American history” and said releasing the report is in the public interest to balance public claims and available information about Smith’s probe.
The Justice Department has signaled it does not plan to release the report, citing the court order and dismissing the Democrats’ letter as politically motivated. Meanwhile, the lawmakers are preparing to file an amicus brief asking the court to overturn the injunction, arguing that the public and Congress deserve access to the report to evaluate the special counsel’s work. Trump has continued to criticize Smith, calling him a “sick man” and a “thug,” but has indicated he would prefer Smith testify publicly rather than behind closed doors.