Judge Leans Against Sharing Special Counsel Report With Congress

In this image from video provided by the U.S. Senate, Aileen M. Cannon speaks remotely during a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight nomination hearing to be U.S. District Court judge for the S

Judge Aileen Cannon expressed reservations on Friday about allowing the Justice Department to share special counsel Jack Smith's report on the classified documents case against Donald Trump with Congress at this time.

During a hearing in Fort Pierce, Florida, Cannon questioned the urgency of sharing the report with Congress, asking Justice Department attorney Elizabeth Shapiro for clarification.

Attorney General Merrick Garland recently released a portion of Smith's report that focused on January 6 and Trump's efforts to challenge the 2020 election results. The Justice Department is currently seeking permission to share the classified documents report with select members of Congress, but not to make it public.

DOJ seeks permission to share classified documents report with select members of Congress.

Judge Cannon questions DOJ's timing to share report with Congress.

Attorney General Garland released a portion of Smith's report on Trump's election challenges.

Cannon did not make a final decision during the public portion of the hearing regarding whether the DOJ can disclose information from the classified documents section of the report to parties outside the agency, as requested by the president-elect and his former co-defendants in the case.

Following over an hour of public proceedings, the hearing transitioned to a closed session to delve into specifics from the report.